should i stick to a classic? Help!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-17-2007
should i stick to a classic? Help!
6
Sun, 04-01-2007 - 4:33am

hello, i have been working so hard every day for months to select a name.
i have 5 baby name books.
i go to the social security website. it's very outdated. it has Aidan as only #44.

Question: is a name in the top 100 "trendy"?

i don't know many babies at all so i can't tell what is really common or not.

plus, i don't love any names.

i liked Aidan but i do not want a trendy name that will be clearly a "2005-2008" name.

how do i select one? my baby's due date is approaching and i have nothing staying on my list.
HELP!
thanks!!!
JEN

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-09-2005
Sun, 04-01-2007 - 8:17am

Question: Is a name in the top 100 "trendy"?
NOT Necessarily. There are some names (ie. Elizabeth, William, Matthew, Alexandra, etc.) that are classics and will always be and have always been in the top 100. They are not trendy in any sense, but they ARE popular and it is something to be wary of.

Then you have the names like Aidan, Brayden, Madison, etc. which ARE trendy and shot up in the SSA charts and, in a few years, will drop back down. These are the kind of names that I would avoid. You can get an idea of this by looking at past years and seeing where they were then.

HTH,
I would be happy to give you some ideas of names that aren't trendy
-Nikki


                             
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Sun, 04-01-2007 - 12:10pm

Well first you have to figure out if you want to avoid trendy names, popular ones, or both, because there is a big difference.

Elizabeth, for example, is rather popular (#12 in 2005, and top ten for many years prior). It is far from trendy, however. Even fast-risers like Ava, which is in the top ten but wasn't even in the top 100 in 2001, aren't technically trendy. There may be a trend toward certain types of names (in this case old-fashioned revivals), but that doesn't mean every name that falls into that category is in and of itself trendy.

Aidan is a slightly different story, because while it IS a real name with a real history, it's also the basis of a HUGE trend of rhyming names (Braden, Caden, Hayden, Jadon), made-up kre8iv variants (Drayden, Maidyn, Treydon, Zaden) and random misspellings (Aidyn, Braidon, Kadynn, Haiden, Jayden, etc.). So while Aidan itself *appears* less popular on the charts, you have to keep in mind that there are numerous misspellings and very similar names that will make it seem overwhelmingly-popular. The next most common spelling is Aiden, for example, and simply adding that to Aidan's numbers moves it up to #12, roughly. That's not even taking into account all the kids (boy and girl) named Aidyn, Aidynn, Aydan, Ayden, Aydin, Aydyn ...

You get the idea. ;)

If you're not quite sure what type of name you're looking for, but you do know a few more trendy and/or popular names you like (but would like to avoid), you could use that as a starting point.

If you like Aidan, for instance, but don't want an overly-popular name, you might look into some less common Irish/Scottish type options. Declan, Desmond, Egan, Ewan, Oran, Lachlan, Angus, etc. (I don't think any of those are even in the top 300, and many are barely in the top 1000, if at all).

Or if it's an old-fashioned and/or classic type name you want, but you don't want something that's currently popular, the older SSA lists can be wonderful resources. Of course, alternate spellings and pet forms will be listed, so do some research on whatever names appeal, but it really can be a nice way to "discover" some older names you might not have thought of otherwise. The "granny" (or "grampa" LOL) names are hot right now anyway, so less common choices like Beatrix, Eloise and Alice -- none even in the top 400 -- are refreshing options that fit right in with a nursery/classroom/playground full of Emilys, Sophias and Avas. ;)

If you can narrow down your style a bit, I'm sure everyone here would be happy to suggest some names as well.

HTH


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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2006
Sun, 04-01-2007 - 3:41pm

I agree with everything the pp said. Here's a list of some boys names that I would not consider trendy and maybe one is good match for you. Let me know if any of these appeal to you.

Declan
Bennett
Beckett
Dean
Quentin
Owen - a tad hot right now, but it is Irish like Aidan
Ronan
Miles
Colin
Everett
Griffin
Graham
Harris
Liam
Lucas
Seth
Spencer
Troy
Tucker
Weston
Zane

Good luck,
Brooke

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-03-2005
Mon, 04-02-2007 - 4:10pm

I'm in Boston and since having my 17 mo. old DD, we've attended numerous playgroups, classes, park visits, etc. and I do run across a lot of Aidens roughly her age. It's a great name but, at least in my area, it's very popular. HTH!

Debbie
Holly 11/10/05
#2 edd 8/31/07

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-29-2005
Mon, 04-02-2007 - 5:00pm
The Everything Baby Name Book has some good choices! Good luck! I'm right there with you.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-14-2003
Mon, 04-02-2007 - 9:46pm

Like the PPs, I agree that Aidan is VERY trendy ANd popular right now, esp when you consider all the sound-alikes that are out there (Jaydens, Cadens, etc.).

Check out the Baby Name Wizard's Name Voyageur. You can see what names are trendy by typing in a name and if you see a big spike then it has just risen a lot.

Here is a link: http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html

HTH!!

Steph

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