To pick a popular baby name or not?

[mzkellyb]

So, with my due date fast approaching and our ultrasound behind us we've been slacking in the baby name department. lol

We found out back at the end of January that we are expecting a girl, which is a (nice) surprise after 3 boys. I kind of thought that was the case as DH and I can discuss girls names and had pretty much decided on one before the ultrasound but we haven't been able to decide on a boys name. This was the case with the 3 boys too, we picked a boys name very early on but couldn't even make a list of 3 girls names we like. :giggle:

So, the name (first and middle - Isabella Sophia) we both love are both in the top 10 for baby names for at least the past 2 years. Once I found that out I started to re-think the name, I don't want her to be 1 of 4 in her class like it was with Jennifer and Jessica when I was in school. Part of our problem is that our last name is very Italian and some names we like sound horrible. DH is pretty set on it, and it's not that I don't like the name, I love it, I just question it because of it's popularity. It sounds great with our last name though and it's been on my list in my head for a few years now (before the whole Twilight deal) and I wonder if it's worth being hung up over the popularity of it. I suggested a variation of it to DH - Annabella - but he's not sold, plus it's a mouthful with our last name. I also like Audrey, but we can't agree on a middle name and I can tell he's not thrilled with the name.

So, popular baby name or no?

[heathert]

As long as she's popular in your family, I expect that's all that's needed, really... =) I had a very odd name when I was growing up (Heather, in French, produces garbage), and that's no fun either. But really, I got over it. *giggles*

[Charla]

I avoided popular names (though Jasmine's name was popular about 10 years before she came along)...but it's not the same as popular names were "in our day." I've read in more than one place that there are a lot more names "in the pool," so the #1 name isn't as common as Jennifer was for us. (:giggle: I know how old you are; I had 3-4 Jennifers in ALL my classes growing up).
It sounds like you both really like the name, so I'd probably go ahead and use it. I think it's more for when you're looking for a name, that before you've fallen in love with a name you veto super-popular names. KWIM?

[jenn7]

As one of those Jennifers... it doesn't matter. It didn't really bother me in school and yes, there were like 5 of us once I hit high school. Go with the name you love and don't worry about it. By the way, I love the name you picked. I would have loved to have named my daughter Isabella, but we're all J names in my little family so I've got Jordan and Jenna - both girls.

[missrubikscube]

i specifically tried to avoid a popular name - but wanted something that was recognizable and easy to pronounce (audrey and juliette). i'm not sure why i felt that way - but i enjoyed not having a name that was really common (and i have two sisters - jennifer and jessica - so i know how it is that way too - LOL) .... and isabella and sophia (and the 'e' endings to both those) are pretty common (i have one of each in the family - and several friends used those names too) ... that said, i think it's most important to have something YOU like! even if it is popular! so, if you can't think of something you like as much or better - then definitely use it!!

one name i LOVE that i would use if my sister-in-law didn't already use sophie is anne-sophie ... but my family is french and that sounds better to me in french then english - LOL ...

if it helps at all - my audrey is audrey grace and her best friend at school is audrey genevieve .. LOL - so far i'm finding that audrey is getting popular!! LOL! so even when you try you are not always 'safe' :)

[marianneh]

well, we thought we picked a name that was unique .... HA!!! turns out, so did most of the parents of Kaydin's age!! the proper spelling is Caiden, we changed it to Kaydin ... one of our friends has a girl, she's Caidence and then another friend who's girl is Cayden ... so much for uniqueness!!!! I'd say go with what you love :)

[JaneAgain]

LOL, we thought that Connor wasn't popular. Then I have a Georgia, named after my mother. For YEARS no one named anyone Georgia, and now they're all over. Sigh. Even our baby's name, Abigail, is becoming more and more popular. I think you almost can't win, especially if you want a "normal" (as opposed to unusual) name.

Isabella Sophia is a beautiful name...if you both love it, just go for it. :)

[Charla]

Yeah, that's in there too.
My husband is Josh. An uncommon name when he was born, but very common now. And my dad is Tyler. Unheard of until a few years ago, and then SO common. So you can't prevent it completely, you can just avoid names that were recently very popular.

[SunshineTK]

I agree - if you love it, do it!! :)

[jacinda]

Go with what YOU love. Don't worry about the rest of the world.

[Unica]

Yeah, I have to say go with what you love too. Josh and I are on the same predicament and funny enough if we have two girls one will be Bianca Maria and the other one will be Sophia ? (so Sophia is popular now... it's also classic and gorgeous so who cares LOL).

If we have a boy (or two) one of the names will be Noah Jack... with Noah also being one of those names that seems to always be making the popular list... but it's also timeless (in my opinion) so we are going with what we love and well, if there are a lot of them in their classes... too bad.

[jenn7]

LOL, we thought that Connor wasn't popular. Then I have a Georgia, named after my mother. For YEARS no one named anyone Georgia, and now they're all over. Sigh. Even our baby's name, Abigail, is becoming more and more popular. I think you almost can't win, especially if you want a "normal" (as opposed to unusual) name.

Isabella Sophia is a beautiful name...if you both love it, just go for it. :)

My husband really loves that name too, only he wanted to spell it with a J, cause of our J name thing. It is pretty!

[Charla]

Jen, "Jisabella?" :giggle: with a silent J?

[mzkellyb]

Thanks for calming my nerves! None of the boys names are super popular (Thomas, Anthony & Alexander), so I was shocked when I saw both names in the top 10. I should have figured though with the whole Twilight drama though.

Now to hope the ultrasound tech was right :wink: lol

[jenn7]

Jen, "Jisabella?" :giggle: with a silent J?

I had meant Jorgia. :wink:

[jenn7]

Thanks for calming my nerves! None of the boys names are super popular (Thomas, Anthony & Alexander), so I was shocked when I saw both names in the top 10. I should have figured though with the whole Twilight drama though.

Now to hope the ultrasound tech was right :wink: lol

Ahh Isabella was popular when I had my first daughter - nearly 9 years ago. :wink:

[Ami Collofello]

When I was pregnant with the twins (they're 6 now) we were almost settled on Samuel and Isabella. Then we thought that was a bit of a mouthful (both saying Samuel & Isabella together and saying Isabella Collofello) - so we went with Samuel and Celia, and I'm really glad we did. Celia has 3 Isabella/ Bella friends now.

But it is a beautiful name, which is why it's so popular. (Well, that and Twilight! LOL!) Who doesn't want an elegant name for their sweet baby girl? :) So if you love it, go for it!

[vivie]

We had languages to contend with, and grandmothers who didn't speak English on both sides so we went with lots of vowels and and something most languages can say. we didn't know it but the names we picked out turned out very popular, Amanda and Isabella...and nope, Isabella is not after the Twilight character...she was named for my Grandmother Ellie. We wanted it to be Elizabeth but it was so common so we picked the Spanish variation Isabella...who knew it would be so popular.

[kelleymickus]

I ended up with 3 popular names for my kids - Jake, Amanda, and Andrew. Jake's name was on the top of the baby list for YEARS, but surprisingly, he does not have one friend named Jake. No one else in the family either. My daughter has been called Mandy since birth - she had several Amanda's in her school but nobody went by Mandy, so that worked out too.

Honestly, I think the important thing is that you both love the name - that's not an easy thing to agree on! My husband had Jake's name picked out from day one and I actually didn't like the name. It had nothing to do with popularity - my husband loves John Wayne movies and Jake is a character in one of them - I thought it sounded like a crook - now I love it of course!

[gette3]

I think those names are beautiful. I went both traditional and non-traditional names. I have to admit, we did change my son's name once he got here...it just didn't seem to fit, and gave him one that came out of nowhere. I think that sometimes happens. Plan ahead, but be open for "feeling" something else...I am glad we did, his name suits him now. Congratulations, so exciting!

[Heather Prins]

mine are Myles, Alexa and Chloe, none were popular in their time but are gaining now. There has only ever been 1 other myles in my son's 12 years of schooling, and this is the first year there has been another alexa for my daughter (she's in grade 9) and Chloe, well she's 4 and there are a million of those, but only 1 her :)

[mzkellyb]

I love hearing how everyone came up with their baby names. Our oldest was either going to be Thomas James or Kyle James - once he was born Thomas just fit him. DH had mentioned when Tommy was about 6m or so that if we should have another boy that we should name him Anthony, so that was done. When we found out we were expecting boy #3 we were throwing around names and started throwing out names from tv shows. DH was still big on watching Smallville, so he said Clark, I countered with Lex and then remembered that my grandfather's middle name is Alex, so then we agreed on Alexander.

We agreed on this name just like the others, once it was said it just fit and we both liked it. DH was in the field earlier in the week so I got on one of those baby name sites and started clicking around and nothing else really stood out at me. The only thing that is bothering me now is that her monogram will be IBS...:nah: I don't see us getting many things monogrammed for her while she's little, but still.

All this name discussion reminds me that I've been meaning to make a page about how we came up with each of the boys names - before DH's story and mine vary from each other too much. :giggle:

[HeatherB]

Great idea for a page Kelly!

Our boys defied the names that were on our lists (ok, to be fair, our second son was born at 28 weeks - long before we had a list). In each case, we took a number of days to find the name that "felt" right. In each case, the names we prefered beforehand didn't fit.

We ended up with 2 traditional names, Benjamin and Samuel. Each has been the only one in their class with the name so far, but we do know quite a few Benjamins around the same age.

We spent time considering whether initials could spell something or stand for something rude or mean, all that jazz. But we didn't consider our kids having their own kids. When that happens, our family will have an Uncle Ben (rice anyone?), and an Uncle Sam (who wants YOU!). :giggle: