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09.10.19, 19:22 PM General Topics
126 replies
Did anyone take into account name popularity when choosing for your baby? I know this is crazy but the only thing keeping me from naming my daughter Sophie is how popular it is! Am I crazy? [ Reply | Watch | Flag ]
General Topics 09.10.19, 07:22 PM Flag
 

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I don’t think Sophie is that popular. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:24 PM Flag
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Wow-where do you live? There are 3 in my daughter's class, but she's in hs now [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:28 PM Flag
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"Sophia, which was the Number 1 girls' name in the US from 2011 to 2013, is among the most popular girls' names in the Western World." [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:54 PM Flag
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Source? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:37 PM Flag
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Dear lord woman, just admit when you are wrong. 5th in US (2018) / 6th in Australia (2016) / 8th in England (2018) / 17th in Scotland (2017) / 21st in New Zealand (2018) / 22nd in Ireland (2018) / 58th in Netherlands (2016) [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:49 PM Flag
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Sophie is #74 in the US. Sophia is #4. There's a difference. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 11:21 PM Flag
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NP: 3 Sophie/Sophias in our elementary class on the UWS [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:21 PM Flag
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I don't know many Sophies but I know several Sophias [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:55 PM Flag
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It is the Jennifer of girls born 2005-2015. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 10:00 PM Flag
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This [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 12:23 AM Flag
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+1 [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 03:19 PM Flag
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Was watching The Golden Girls with my 14 yo. She said she can't imagine Sophia as an old lady name because she knows so many little Sophia's. She couldn't believe that it was 100% old ladies when I was growing up. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:29 PM Flag
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Did you tell her that she, too, will get to be an old lady Sophia? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 01:05 AM Flag
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I knew an Emily in MS and thought she had an old lady name. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 01:16 PM Flag
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No, always wanted to use the name even before it became more widespread. It's not hugely popular right now but I'm surprised how it gained some traction. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:29 PM Flag
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It is hugely popular! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:55 PM Flag
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No, I'm talking about the name we chose. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:58 PM Flag
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^^sorry for the confusion [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:59 PM Flag
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ooooh ic [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:03 PM Flag
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A beautiful and classic name, the Gnostic goddess of wisdom, I believe. -HM [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:33 PM Flag
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Sophia, a word that means wisdom in Greek. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:19 PM Flag
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I did. Of course I ended up naming dd Lucy because I didn't think it was that common and it turns out there are Lucys everywhere [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:34 PM Flag
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Yes, I considered that. I didn't want my child to have the Jennifer equivalent of her generation. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:35 PM Flag
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Ava [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:38 PM Flag
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I was thinking of that name when I posted my response! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:39 PM Flag
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Or- lol, I’m a Jennifer! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:26 PM Flag
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I was thinking of Sophia for that position. I know far more of those, particularly when you think of all the variations: Sophia, Sofia, Sophie. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:53 PM Flag
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That is me and my daughter is the Jennifer of her generation. I had no idea her name was going to be so popular! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:47 PM Flag
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I have a Henry. I had no idea either. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 11:50 PM Flag
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I looked up potential names on the Social Security baby name list. Wanted something that would definitely be recognized as a "normal" non-trendy name but not TOO popular. There were five Debbies in my fifth grade class. I'm glad I wasn't named Debbie. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:42 PM Flag
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Same. Anything in the top 100 was ruled out for girls. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:44 PM Flag
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I'm a Deb and my closest friend is also a Deb. It's no biggie. At least it's biblical. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:44 PM Flag
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Biblical makes it worse. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:48 PM Flag
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Not really. It's an old name. It only saw an uptick outside the Jewish community because of famous 50s and 60s actresses with the name. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:50 PM Flag
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NP I remember in the early 90s there was a book called "Deborah, Golda and Me," about growing up Jewish in the US. Don't remember much about the book, though... [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:52 PM Flag
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Anything biblical is bad. Sheeple. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:41 PM Flag
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Whatever. It’s my name. We won’t be besties, that’s for sure. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:38 PM Flag
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To people who follow the bible, "sheep" isn't an insult. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:51 PM Flag
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Because they don’t understand it. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 10:15 PM Flag
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And what’s your delightful and unique name? I’m dying to know. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 10:21 PM Flag
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Isadora [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 12:03 AM Flag
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Beverly [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 12:58 AM Flag
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Sheepa [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.12.19, 12:55 AM Flag
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OR: I meant no disrespect to the name at all. Just feel like it's confusing to be one of many with the same given name. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:49 PM Flag
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No disrespect taken. I think I was only 1 of 3 in my entire high school. There were a lot of people named Kelly, and of course, Michael. I feel like every other guy I know (who is a contemporary) is a Michael. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:57 PM Flag
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I met a little toddler Debbie recently and it sounded so weird to call her that [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 08:32 AM Flag
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Did you all read the chapter in Freakonomics about baby names? Tis fascinating. Many people will simultaneously come up with the same "unique" name. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:52 PM Flag
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Happened to SIL. She and her supercool hubby thought they had landed on two unique names for their DCs and both names have been in top ten for a good chunk of the last last 20 years. Really drives her nuts that "poor" parents gave the same name to their DC as she did to hers. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:21 PM Flag
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oh man, I would love to know the names! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:52 PM Flag
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well that would out me. easy enough to look at the SS list for last 2 decades and see boy/girl names consistently in the top ten. both names are lovely and i think sil and bil care far less now than they did ten years ago. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:09 PM Flag
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Liam and Olivia!? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 03:09 PM Flag
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no. think the names have dropped but they were even in top 5 for some time. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 03:40 PM Flag
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Jayden!? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 11:42 PM Flag
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Jayden? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.12.19, 12:24 AM Flag
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Fascinating. Especially the part about how names travel down the social classes. Jennifer of the 70s is from a well off family but as you travel through the 80s Jennifer gets poorer. We have that now with British, Irish, Scottish last names as first names. It used to be a rich people thing, but now it a LC trend. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 01:13 PM Flag
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I grew in the Bronx in the 70s with tons of poor Jennifers. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 01:50 PM Flag
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this is such a sad image for some reason [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 03:10 PM Flag
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so "LC" is bad? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 03:42 PM Flag
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My kids are 10 and 14. There are so many Sophie/Sophia, Eva/Ava and Emma. All lovely names, but there’s at least two per class. I would not choose a top ten name. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 07:55 PM Flag
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Absolutely took it into account! For example, I liked Scarlett but it is way too trendy. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:00 PM Flag
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after the mary louise parker/billy crudup comments, i would never deign to honor her by giving my DD that name. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:22 PM Flag
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No clue what you are referring to [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:47 PM Flag
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+1 [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:44 PM Flag
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In 2003, Billy Crudup dumped Mary Louise Parker, his girlfriend of 7 years and expecting their baby, for Claire Danes. ScarJo basically called Parker an old hag and that it was understandable why Crudup would leave MLP for Danes, ScarJo's BFF. So nah, after that, Scarlett never made my list. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 11:24 PM Flag
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Who would even know or think of this? I never even heard of Billy Crudup. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 01:50 PM Flag
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more broadway than movies [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 03:53 PM Flag
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guess his starring in "almost famous" was sadly prescient [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 03:56 PM Flag
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i agree this is a *very* specific memory [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 03:11 PM Flag
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i was the same age of MLP when this all went down and had two younger female colleagues who were quite vocal about not liking having an "old" female boss (could hear them complain through the sheetrock walls as well as to a colleague/old friend outside the org who told me everything - dumb move). They even spread rumors about the "real" reason about why I had surgery, which was not the case. Again, why are you telling one of my oldest friends? My friend concluded that it was mix of immaturity and envy - I was married, had a house, etc and they were single and struggling and oblvious to the fact that I was ten years older than them. Rather than look inwards, it was just easier to blame the person who expected them to meet deadlines, show up to work on time, etc. One ended up fired and the other one moved on to "greener pastures." Latter ended up being fired from another post later for misuse of expense account. So yeah, a "very" specific" memory. Guess even Claire Danes now says she didn't grasp the consequences of her actions (and that does not absolve Crudup). [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 03:53 PM Flag
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Why is this slave owner name so popular? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 11:33 PM Flag
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I googled possible full names to make sure dcs wouldn’t have the same name as some German serial killer, but otherwise no. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:00 PM Flag
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But having the same name as a serial killer would be great cover, if your child wanted to be hard to discover online. My first name is fairly common, and my last name is a verb, so I am very difficult to find on Google. I love it. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:12 PM Flag
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np. DH has the names of some inventor, somewhat famous it seems, since he is the one that pops up in a 1000 results. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:45 PM Flag
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Ooh, maybe some day the Nobel Committee will send your DH a big check by mistake! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:54 PM Flag
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I chose what was a popular name but in her class of 95 there are no others. There are however 5 Lillys [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:13 PM Flag
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Funny how these things go in waives. When I was a kid there were a ton of Kathys. When my niece was very young it was Lauren, and Blake or Ethan for boys. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:14 PM Flag
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So glad we didn't choose Lucas or Liam, hear those names almost every day at the park. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:27 PM Flag
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so true [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:37 PM Flag
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+1 [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 03:24 PM Flag
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Yes. I didn't want anything that was overly popular or trendy. I also considered what the nicknames might end up being with certain names. For ex, love the name Daniel, hate Danny. Loved Lawrence, because that was my uncles name, but hate Larry. So I chose a name that was both classic (but current) and had nicknames I could live with. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:34 PM Flag
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Yes, I definitely took that into consideration. I landed on a name that I love. It's a well known name but not too many kids have it now. You can find women of all ages with this name. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:34 PM Flag
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same here. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 11:25 PM Flag
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There are way more Sophias than Sophies . I can only think of one kid names Sophie. I can name several Sophias, Avas, Olivias, Emmas, Isabellas and Chloes [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:45 PM Flag
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and Maddies [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:45 PM Flag
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forgot Lilly and Ella [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 08:46 PM Flag
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I wish I had (mom to Emma and Jacob). Call me a moron. I honestly had never heard these names being popular. Then 5 in each preK class for each. lol. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:15 PM Flag
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You can bet that whatever name you are somehow drawn to so are tens of thousands of other women your age. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:56 PM Flag
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how old are your E and J? Emma has been going strong since mid-90s! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 11:28 PM Flag
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DD has an old-lady name but I didn't care. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:47 PM Flag
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Bertha? Mildred? Enid? Ethel or Doris? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:56 PM Flag
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That is trendy. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 01:51 PM Flag
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Use the name if you love it! Who cares how many Sophies are in the class? Your kid does not have to have a unique name. In fact, children PREFER it when other people have their name. They HATE it when they have what they call a "weird" name. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 09:52 PM Flag
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They may hate it as a child but as an adult they will be glad to have a unique name. My first name is unique (nothing super out there just not common) and when I was a kid I always hated it and now as an adult I am so glad to not be one of 10 Lauren’s, Amanda’s, etc. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 11:40 PM Flag
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I have a unique name. I loved it as a kid and I still love it. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 06:00 AM Flag
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I love ALL the trending names right now. Love. But can’t do it. DH and I picked a name in the same “family” of romantic, classic, names but that is surprisingly not trending (Juliette), at least yet. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 10:17 PM Flag
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Top 10 Girls Names in 2019: Emma (Previously # 1) Ava (Previously # 3) Olivia (Previously # 2) Isabella (Previously # 4) Amelia (Previously # 8) Mia (Previously # 6) Evelyn (Previously # 9) Charlotte (Previously # 7) Sophia (Previously # 5) Harper (Previously # 11) [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 10:17 PM Flag
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Wow, Emma, Olivia, Isabella, Mia, and Sophia have some real staying power. DK about Evelyn. Friend named her DD Amelia slightly ahead of the name curve. Know a Harper in college - really ahead of curve. I love Charlotte, but had a terrible prof with that name, so just couldn't do it. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 11:28 PM Flag
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Not crazy. I love it too but there are three in my kid's K class and so many coming up in preschool. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 10:37 PM Flag
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Go for it. Sophie is different from Sophia and much less common. Don't be like me who didn't name her daughter Emma because it was so popular. Flash forward 12 years and we don't know a single Emma. I honestly regret it. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.10.19, 11:18 PM Flag
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I don't see how this is possible [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 12:04 AM Flag
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We know SO MANY Emmas. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 05:02 PM Flag
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I posted below. Went with Emma despite hesitation over the popularity. We haven't had one in their grade/classes yet. So many Sophies/Sophias/Dylans though. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 05:54 PM Flag
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Yes but we finally got it right with #3. First baby - picked a unique name (not in top 500), but 3 months after birth a TV show introduced a new, very popular character and soon this formerly uncommon name skyrocketed to top 5. No others in the same grade with the name, but many younger kids! With #2 we picked my grandfather’s brother’s name. It was around #300. But there were 2 others on his sports team with same name! Child #3 - we picked a name that was quite popular In our generation. While a very “normal” name, it is now uncommon and he’s one of a very few. So when we tried to be a bit different, it backfired. The most unique name of all our kids was right under our nose all along! Think something like naming a girl Susan now. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 12:12 AM Flag
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Nancy? Linda? Barbara? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 01:55 AM Flag
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It’s like naming a kid Thomas, Steve or Dennis or Paul. Haven’t met any boy with any of those names [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 08:36 AM Flag
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I picked a name that has always been around 300 in ranking. Classic. Freakishly, there are three in my dd's class. I think it's going to be weird for her when she goes out into the wide world thinking she's a Jennifer and she's not. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 12:26 AM Flag
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Yes. I loved Isabel, but given the popularity of Isabella, I didn’t use it. Use Sophie as a middle name. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 12:43 AM Flag
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I never understood why everyone names their kids the same name as everyone else. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 02:05 AM Flag
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Because there’s only one Frank Zappa. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 02:39 AM Flag
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Exactly. Only one. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 02:42 AM Flag
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And 1 million Sophie Elizabeth Ella's. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 02:45 AM Flag
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We took it into account but it wasn’t the deciding factor. She’s named for my grandmother. I also wanted a classic name that wouldn’t scream “American” (i.e. something recognizable to people in other countries.) Pick the name that you love. How many successful men are named John, Jeff, Dan, David, etc. In fact, the most popular names of today are still less common (by percentage of births) than they were 60 years ago. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 04:03 AM Flag
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I think boys should get solid classic names. Ben, Sam, David, John, James, Michael. They are the little black dresses, the tan trench coats, the white shirts of names. You can't go wrong with them. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 06:05 AM Flag
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It's hilarious that you should say this, given that there's a poster above who claims that biblical names are always wrong. Every single name you listed is biblical in origin. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 12:32 PM Flag
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Why just boys and not girls? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.13.19, 03:26 AM Flag
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Yes. Always thought I would name a son Henry but when the time came scrapped it for that reason. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 11:46 AM Flag
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I named my son Luke and did not think it was popular and there are 4 on his grade. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 01:17 PM Flag
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Popularity isn’t what it once ones if you look at the numbers meaning the actual number of girls being named Sophia now doesn’t come close to the number of kids named Jennifer 40 years ago. People are using a wider variety of names now. That being said, sure. A Sophia/Sophie has a better chance of knowing more kids with their name then someone with an unranked name, but it is still a crap shoot. DD has 20 girls in her K grade. There is 1 Sophia, but 2 girls share a name that was ranked in the 900s the year they were born. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 01:48 PM Flag
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I picked names that I loved and thankfully none were popular but they are now. My kids were the only ones named as they were in school but in recent years more have popped up. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 03:54 PM Flag
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happened to me with Isabel. It was my favorite girl's name ever since I was a little girl in the 80's and I always wanted to name a DD that... until 2010 rolled around and it turned out to be a ridiculously popular name. I'm of latin origin so I loved how perfectly bilingual it was. oh well. I made it dd's middle name. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 05:11 PM Flag
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Sofie is a beautiful name. Classic, elegant, easily pronounced in many languages, immune to misspellings. Go for it, Sophie's mom! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 05:17 PM Flag
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Lolol “immune to misspellings” but you spelled it two different ways in one post [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 06:40 PM Flag
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Sort of. Our oldest has a family name that is very unique, so we don't expect and still haven't met any others with her name. Our son has a classic biblical name that was not in wide use when he was born, but now we know a few. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 05:36 PM Flag
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Almost didn't choose our favorite because it was (is) a top name. Glad we did. I've like the name for 20+ years and funny enough don't encounter too many other ones. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 05:52 PM Flag
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Yes,but everyone would know how to pronounce and spell it. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 06:17 PM Flag
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Yes. I had a lot of fun looking at the trends in the social security baby names site. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 09.11.19, 06:52 PM Flag
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