Hi there! Hoping you can help!
Just realized all of my top name choices for a baby boy are in the top 5 or so names. I’m worried to have a kiddo with lots of kids in their class someday having the same name.
Important info:
Surname Merrick
Big Brother- Paxton Robert
Big sister- Isla Mae
Due in early June 2021Names we like- Theo, Jude, Levi, Ezra, Oakley
Middle name- Silas or George (both family names).Thank you so much!
Danielle Merrick
I can start with some good news, which is that if you’re in the U.S., none of those names are in the Top Five, or even in the Top Ten. According to the Social Security Administration, here are the 2019 rankings of each name:
Theo: #195 (Theodore, which would add to the total Theos, is #36)
Jude: #153
Levi: #25
Ezra: #49
Oakley: #441 (it’s #348 for girls, which would add to the total Oakleys-per-classroom)
More good news is that it’s rarer now than in previous generations for kids to have a lot of kids in their class with the same name: even the very most popular names are used at a rate that statistically ought to mean no duplicates. (Though of course there are going to be geographical hot spots and abundant anomalies, such as zero Liams in nine of the ten kindergarten classes and then three in the tenth class; or not a single Olivia in the entire 1st grade, but three Olives. These things happen, and are not avoidable.) More common are clusters of similar name-sounds: one classroom might have an Eleanor, an Ella, an Elizabeth, an Elijah, and an Eli.
So any of your choices COULD result in having more than one kid with that same name in a classroom—but none of them are LIKELY to. And I can say from both personal experience and parental experience that when duplicates aren’t at the level of the Lindas of the grandmother generation or the Jennifers of the mom generation, the occasional coincidental duplicate can be fun rather than exhausting: I double-checked with William, who had a fluke of two other Williams in his classroom for several of his years in school, and they STILL call themselves The Williams and greet each other with “Hey, Will C.!” and so on. And I had another Kristen in my classroom once or twice, and that’s why some of my oldest acquaintances still sometimes slip and call me Kristy, and that’s just fine.
I think all of your options go well with your surname. The only one I wouldn’t choose with the sibling names is Levi, because it shares so many sounds with Isla.
My son is Noah Jacob 2010, which I think were the #1 & 2 names. He’s at a school with 100 kids in his grade. No Noah’s, but one female Noa in the whole grade. Meanwhile my younger son has 4 Nora/h in his class 🤷♀️
Paxton, Isla, and Ezra. Ezra Merrick. Jude Merrick. Paxton, Isla and Jude. I love both but I’m learning toward Jude since the vowel sound and # of syllables is different than the siblings. Best of luck!
Great name list with some good options!
How about adding Josiah to the mix? Josiah George Merrick, with nickname options of Joe or Si?
Personally I might drop Oakley (unless it has a special family meaning), since to me it is so strongly associated with the sunglasses brand. It also seems like a bit of an outlier on the list.
These aren’t top ten in England or Australia either. From my circle of mother’s groups etc I’d say they are popular with a certain circle (older, professional, church going types). I’ve seen kids called Theo, Ezra, and Judah in my church circle. I haven’t seen any of these in my kids school (less affluent area than my church). Oakley isn’t really in use here so I can’t comment but i think the others will be highly dependent on your social circle (I’ve seen a few Islas in that group as well fwiw – does her names popularity bother you?).
I particularly like Jude Silas.
Any chance you like Josiah George?
Oh sorry, I missed the exact same name being suggested earlier. Great minds think alike :)
My favorite is Silas George, followed by Levi George. though any of them would be great.
And remember, you could still run into another child with the same or a very similar name, no matter how obscure. My Susan has Sunday School with a Susie (Suzette). If there are more than 500 kids with either name in the entire country the year they were born, I’d be surprised, yet here are 2 born the same month living in the same town.
I like Jude with your sibset…Jude Silas?
Another idea is Dane as a nod to you. Dane Silas or Dane George work well.
I could also see: Declan, Grady, Finnegan (Finn) or Callahan (Cal).
Jude Silas, all the way. It’s perfect!
I like the name Silas, but I would only use it for a middle name as I think it’s too similar aurally and visually to Isla. The name Isla is just one S short of being an anagram of Silas.
I like Theo George or Theo Silas the best.
I like Ezra Silas best. Jude Silas is nice, too.
Oakley George! Oakley George and Paxton Robert sound like brothers. They’re both two-syllable surnames with a bit of cool feel to them, paired with traditional middle names.
Oakley is a bit trendy right now but I like Wade, Hastings, Keller, Ford, Harris, and Wesley with Paxton and Isla!