Why Popular Name Data Only Tells You Half the Story 📖

Local trends could have much more of an impact

My party trick – unless you count knowing all the lyrics to an embarrassing number of noughties indie anthems – is being able to guess the ranking of any Top 1000 baby name with almost equally embarrassing accuracy.

The secret to this impressive yet largely pointless skill is that I spend more time trawling through popular name data than most would care to admit. And I can’t blame it all on Nameberry! 

I’ve always been fascinated by names and trends. I’ve always loved hearing cool names and sibling sets while out and about. And I’ve always enjoyed trying to guess the names expectant friends and family members would choose for their babies. 

(The latest: Imogen “Immy” 🥰 My guesses: Harriet “Hattie”, Beatrice “Bea” or Penelope “Nell”. Close, but no cigar!)

Yet despite my lifelong interest – okay, obsession – with all things names, I’m still frequently surprised by the choices I actually hear most often in real life.

With the summer holidays upon us, I’ve spent most of the last four weeks out at various local parks and playgrounds with my children: making the most of the sunny weather, fending off requests for yet another ice cream, and – of course – keeping half an ear out for any interesting name sightings.

I’ve spotted a few of my favourites “in the wild” for the first time, like Cleo and Caspar 😍 

And I’ve also heard quite a bit of some Top 10 picks, like Archie and Arthur for boys; Ava, Isla, Lily and Rosie for girls.

But other repeats have been more surprising!

I’ve spotted at least ten different Teddys (#31 in England and Wales), as well as multiples of Bertie, Brodie, Kuba, Quinn and Raffy for boys – all well below the Top 100 here.

For girls, Cecily, Eden, Georgie, Indie, Ottilie, Talia and Tallulah are all technically unusual choices that have popped up more than once.

It’s a case in point of how local popularity can matter a whole lot more than the official national statistics when weighing up which of your favourite names are likely to repeat in a class or school, which are going to feel “trendy” or “overused”, and which are going to have that individual flair that so many parents are searching for.

It’s not always the ones you’d expect!

Musing as I have been on this, I was drawn to this thoughtful comment from Berry @Emarkulics on the forums this week:

Growing up I always hated my super popular name and swore up and down I’d never name my child anything in the Top 1000. Then when it was actually time to name a baby, our top name was around the 300 mark. Then I kept checking all our runners up… A lot of them were within the Top 300-500. 

I had to decide what was more important, some arbitrary number or how much I actually loved a name.

I was super nervous the name we picked was too popular, but then as we started telling people all we heard was “Wow, you never hear that one!” and “Oh, that’s so unique!” Even from his doctors and nurses at the hospital and at his doctors’ offices, and they obviously hear names constantly.

The takeaway: if popularity is a prime concern for you, national data is a great starting point – but it doesn’t tell you everything you might want to know.

People with similar tastes, values and experiences tend to gravitate to the same neighbourhoods, schools and activities. So it makes sense that your local area will have its own distinctive style.

Ask around, keep your eyes and ears open, and as @Emarkulics so perfectly says above, don’t necessarily let your head overrule your heart!

More Naming Goodies

👖👗 Two picture perfect styles profiled on the blog this week. Are you more of a Blue Jean or Little Black Dress namer?

😅 It's all fun and games until you’re naming your own baby. These quotes from our followers are too relatable!

nameberry

A post shared by Nameberry | Baby Names (@nameberry)

🔮 A fun interview in Vogue with TikTok baby name predictor extraordinaire Emily Kim.

“Names are vibes, and the name you got as an infant is a reflection of your parents’ vibe, not you. And in this era when being your #authentic self is a driving force, I think changing your name to reflect your identity is plausible… And parents are choosing freaking weird names.”