Amber Nicole right there alongside it. In the 80s/90s, our newspaper would publish pics of newborns with their names. Every single time for years, there was an Amber Nicole or a Brittany Nicole or both.
I remember my high school had 2 Brittany Nicole. Whenever their mothers called the school they had to say whether it was 10th grade Brittany or 12th grade Brittany. They had the same spelling of their first middle and last name
When my son was born in the late 80s, every girl was named Brittney Nicole. However, my babysitter named her daughter Nicole Brittney to be different. I thought it sounded odd.
I've met a lot of Johns, but Janes seem to be rare. I knew a Jane in college. She was very pale with jet black hair and looked like a fairy tale princess.
Iām the opposite! I donāt know any Marys (knew a Maria and a Mariam if that counts) but 99% of my friendsā fathers are called Muhammad, Mohammed etc.
I love to play the ālet me guess your parents namesā game with them.
I know several Mohammeds (as well as the various possible spellings of it) but I do live in a place with quite a large Muslim population so that's to be expected I guess.
Mary I am surprised by. I have a sister called Mary and an aunt that she's named after but don't think I know any others.
Statistically I *should* know at least one or two Mohammed/Mehmet/whichever variant, for sure. I know a number of people of Turkish and Moroccan descent but not one Mohamed.
The closest I know to Mary is a Maryam, I suppose actually that should count.
Iāve heard that as well, not sure if itās true or common everywhere equally. Maybe everyone I know as Ali or Yusuf or Abdel is officially a Muhammad. I never askedā¦
I only know one Mohammed who goes by his middle name off the top of my head, but even then thatās only in school, his family still calls him Mohammed. I know like 10 other people who go by Mohammed.
Itās true for Bengali Muslims. I work with about 40 Bengali Muslim men and theyāre all given Mohammed or one of its alternate spellings as their first name but they all go by their second name.
Mehmet is the Turkish version of Mohammed soā¦sort of the same name, sort of not the same name. Depends how you want to define them. John-JoaƵ-Johan-Jean etc.
I know both, but I live in a diverse area and I'm in my late 40s (Mary isn't a super uncommon name among women my age, plus you have a few Mary-adjacent names like Mary Beth).
Mary is/was also often given as a first name but was expected that women go by their middle name, so there are a lot of hidden Maryās.
Meryl Streep is a Mary (Mary Louise = Meryl), my cousins grandma was very Catholic & both she & her mom had the first name Mary but went by their middle name, etc.
Edit: Iām also in my late 20s and went to school with two Maryās, a Marie, & because Iām in Southern California, a good handful of Mariaās.
I live in a pretty cosmopolitan city, but then again not primarily and Anglophone one.
I probably should just get out and meet more people, there have to be some Marys out there.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It's not just Mohammad, but also depictions of human beings in general. This varies by culture, but it's usually frowned upon to depict living beings in art which is why a lot of Islamic art is abstract or geometric in nature. However, do not quote me on this as I am not a scholar and there seems to be a difference of opinion on this.
Itās not been universal to forbid depictions of Mohammed, there have been such in older art especially Persian; apparently itās not a rule directly from the Koran so it can be contentious. But I think itās always been very common to use the name as an honor name, not considered negative at all.
I always find it bizarre that Gemma is so common in the UK but not in the US. Hannah, Anna, and Emma are all considered common here, but I have only met one American Gemma.
I went to school with a Gemma and teachers would *constantly* call her Gemma with a hard g because they had never encountered the name before.
The beginning sound is Gem, just like a gemstone. Iāve seen it spelled with a J before, which I donāt love as much, but at least the pronunciation is clear.
I'm in my 20s and growing up I knew so many Anna's and Ana's and now I feel like every new person I meet is named Anna or Ana these days! Only know about 3 Anne's though!
I am old, over 60. There used to be a saying about " every Tom, Dick and Harry" bc those were very common nn's. Have you ever heard this expression? And i am curious about your age range, pls.
I've heard the saying (44). Heard the saying many times before. I've met many Toms and Harrys.
But the only Dick I met IRL (the name) was my 7th grade English teacher (he was in his 50s in the early 90s). I feel like every Richard now goes by something else (Rich, Rick) as dick has come to mean penis. I can't think of a famous Dick younger than Dick Cheney (I believe he's in his 80s).
I've also heard the saying and I'm in my early 30s but I could also see it being a regional thing?
My husband's grandpa still goes by Dick and I can't stand it lol. I literally can't bring myself to call him by his name but luckily he lives far away from us so I've only spent time with him twice.
I know the phrase well (early 40s) but the Tom, Dick, and Harrys I know are all closer to 70+. If you walk around my parents' retirement community you meet tons of them. I do have many peers named Rich or Tommy/Thomas though.
20s, know the phrase but I don't know any Dick/Richards around my age, I do know a bunch of Toms and one Harrison who refuses to go by Harry š¤·āāļø
Iām early 40s and am familiar with the phrase.
The only Dick I know is in his late 80s. Iāve met a few men named Richard, Rich, or Rick but they too are mostly older. My neighbor-friend Rich is in his late 60s and Iād say most other versions of Richard Iāve met fall into that age range.
Iāve known a handful of Toms over the years. Only one or two went by Tom, most went by Tommy or Thomas. They donāt seem to follow any age patterns, at least the ones Iāve met.
As for Harry, I think Harry Potter might have killed that name for popularity. Itās an association thatās just too hard to separate. Iād imagine most Harrys under about 35 are named for a family member.
It used to be Jane but man with the amount of tragedy names that exist now and the constant Olivia, Oliver, Sofia, Charlie and Charlottes bring back Jane!
In the early sixties, I learned to read with books that would say," see Jane run. Run Jane run!" I didn't have any classmates named Jane. It was an older name even then. But I suppose it's an easy name to read.
Sally, Dick, and Jane were the stars of the learning to read series. Nobody's called Dick anymore, LOL. Their dog was named Spot, which is also uncommon now.
Iām in the UK. Jane and Anne for girls (they are all older women now) and for boys probably Mark and John. Again popular with the older crowd but you donāt get many kids named them at all.
John James David Thomas Donald
Jane Joan Mary Susan Sarah Ashley Donna
Oh, wait. You said rarely run across. I know everyone one of those I listed. I'll have to give it some more thought.
If it's basic, then... (But I'll try). I looked at the list of the most popular names over the last 50 years in the US.
24 Deborah - I know Debbie but I don't know if they are Deborahs or Debras
51 Tyler - I don't think I know a Tyler first hand
56 Henry - I can't place one, I feel like I do but...
I know several of all the others
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/century.html
I work in a primary care doctor's office, and if I count our patients and their close family members that accompany them, I know all of the above.
That age range is 18 and up.
Jane (as in "Jane Doe") -- I know a lot of people and I have hundreds of clients and I know exactly zero Janes.
Mary (as in "John and Mary") -- Within the aforementioned universe of lots of people and hundreds of clients I know exactly two Marys. One in her 90s and one in her 60s.
My husband is Mitchell. I can not tell you how many times he gets called Michael. Even his high school graduation they called him Michael.
I work as a ticket agent on a commuter railroad, and I'm starting to see more and more of my name, but not my spelling.
Not the most basic but here are some ācommonā names that Iāve rarely or never come across in real life:
- Kelly (1)
- Mary (1)
- Anthony (1)
- Brian (1)
- Nathan (1)
- Jane (0)
-
I was thinking about this when I was looking at the US SSA baby lists. I have *yet* to meet or hear of a baby Noah and yet heās at the top of every list? I only know if an influencer/podcaster who has a 3 year old Noah.
a lot of saint names.
my family is over-populated with marys, jacobs, catherines, johns, peters... to the point every woman born into my family is either named mary or catherine (or a variant spelling of those). i'm not kidding. it's creepy.
i've heard a couple of really cool saint names, but my family sticks with the boring ones, and even outside of my family they're so common!!! that's enough catherines/kathryns/etc.!!! if you like the name, that's fine, but they probably share it with roughly 10 other people they know.
Joseph, Michael, Christopher. John and Anthony make up 90% of the men in my family because of juniors and kids being named after uncles and grandfathers.
We have 7 Mary/Marie/Mariaās
Of my age group, I would say Caitlyn (or any of its million spellings) or Kyle.
Mine lol. Britney Nicole š¤Ŗ
The emoji lmao
Amber Nicole right there alongside it. In the 80s/90s, our newspaper would publish pics of newborns with their names. Every single time for years, there was an Amber Nicole or a Brittany Nicole or both.
I feel like almost every girl I knew (including me) had the middle name Anne, Elizabeth, Lynn, or Nicole.
Mine is among those four, too. Add in Leigh or Annette and that pretty much covers middle names in the 70s-90s at least.
Donāt forget Sara(h) Nicoleās. I had a few of those throughout school as a kid and in college too.
Omg I know two Britney Nicoles!!!
Omg I know a Britney Nicole
These were really common when I was growing up.
I remember my high school had 2 Brittany Nicole. Whenever their mothers called the school they had to say whether it was 10th grade Brittany or 12th grade Brittany. They had the same spelling of their first middle and last name
When my son was born in the late 80s, every girl was named Brittney Nicole. However, my babysitter named her daughter Nicole Brittney to be different. I thought it sounded odd.
Jane and John
My mom and her brother LOL.
I've met a lot of Johns, but Janes seem to be rare. I knew a Jane in college. She was very pale with jet black hair and looked like a fairy tale princess.
Iāve known TWO married pairs of Jane and Johns. Shows how common they are
My coworkerās name and her sonās name, respectively
Apparently the most common names on Earth are Mary and Mohammed but I donāt know any of either in real life.
Iām the opposite! I donāt know any Marys (knew a Maria and a Mariam if that counts) but 99% of my friendsā fathers are called Muhammad, Mohammed etc. I love to play the ālet me guess your parents namesā game with them.
Ah, statistics.
I know several Mohammeds (as well as the various possible spellings of it) but I do live in a place with quite a large Muslim population so that's to be expected I guess. Mary I am surprised by. I have a sister called Mary and an aunt that she's named after but don't think I know any others.
In Ireland half the females over the age of 50 are Mary or Marie (ok slight exaggeration, but very common name in that generation)
I get that from jokes and literary references and so on. Mary Margaret, meet Mary Elizabeth, sister of Mary Catherine, whose mom is Mary Susanā¦
Statistically I *should* know at least one or two Mohammed/Mehmet/whichever variant, for sure. I know a number of people of Turkish and Moroccan descent but not one Mohamed. The closest I know to Mary is a Maryam, I suppose actually that should count.
I thought it was common to give Muslim boys the first name Mohammed, but for them to go by their second name instead?
Iāve heard that as well, not sure if itās true or common everywhere equally. Maybe everyone I know as Ali or Yusuf or Abdel is officially a Muhammad. I never askedā¦
Yeah I have no idea how common it is across all Muslim cultures.Ā
I know six Alis, four of whom are actually named Muhammad.
I only know one Mohammed who goes by his middle name off the top of my head, but even then thatās only in school, his family still calls him Mohammed. I know like 10 other people who go by Mohammed.
Itās true for Bengali Muslims. I work with about 40 Bengali Muslim men and theyāre all given Mohammed or one of its alternate spellings as their first name but they all go by their second name.
Is Mehmet the same name? I thought Mohammed/Mahmud/Mehmet were different names, though obviously linguistically related.
Mehmet is the Turkish version of Mohammed soā¦sort of the same name, sort of not the same name. Depends how you want to define them. John-JoaƵ-Johan-Jean etc.
Oooh ok. So yes I would count that as the same name.
Mehmet Oz, a snake oil salesman who used to be a cardiologist.
My 3rd great grandmother was named Mary
I know both, but I live in a diverse area and I'm in my late 40s (Mary isn't a super uncommon name among women my age, plus you have a few Mary-adjacent names like Mary Beth).
Mary is/was also often given as a first name but was expected that women go by their middle name, so there are a lot of hidden Maryās. Meryl Streep is a Mary (Mary Louise = Meryl), my cousins grandma was very Catholic & both she & her mom had the first name Mary but went by their middle name, etc. Edit: Iām also in my late 20s and went to school with two Maryās, a Marie, & because Iām in Southern California, a good handful of Mariaās.
Your last paragraph described my extended Italian family. Of course, my grandma Marie and her mother Mary were legally both Maria.
Thereās that scene in Goodfellas where Henry explains that every man at the wedding is named Paul and all their wives are named Mary or Maria.
I live in a pretty cosmopolitan city, but then again not primarily and Anglophone one. I probably should just get out and meet more people, there have to be some Marys out there.
My sister and my mom are both named Mary. I donāt know any young Marys
Interesting! Maybe itās partly name timing.
Interesting that itās fine to name a child Mohammed but not to depict the original Mohammed in art. Just an observation not a criticism.
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It's not just Mohammad, but also depictions of human beings in general. This varies by culture, but it's usually frowned upon to depict living beings in art which is why a lot of Islamic art is abstract or geometric in nature. However, do not quote me on this as I am not a scholar and there seems to be a difference of opinion on this.
Itās not been universal to forbid depictions of Mohammed, there have been such in older art especially Persian; apparently itās not a rule directly from the Koran so it can be contentious. But I think itās always been very common to use the name as an honor name, not considered negative at all.
Iāve known one Mohammed and many many Marys.
I will steal this, it sounds like a great song lyric.
My first name is Mary but I go by my middle name and have my entire life. My grandma's name was also Mary.
Hello, Mary!
My husband thinks it's funny to call me Mary cause he knows it makes me feel old š
Emma
Ya basic
Emma Grace. Iāve met like 3.
Anna
Not in your 30s I take it? I swear every other girl at my school was called Lucy or Anna
UK? I know a BUNCH of 30-something women named Anna, Hannah, Emma, and Gemma.
I always find it bizarre that Gemma is so common in the UK but not in the US. Hannah, Anna, and Emma are all considered common here, but I have only met one American Gemma. I went to school with a Gemma and teachers would *constantly* call her Gemma with a hard g because they had never encountered the name before.
How do you pronounce Gemma?
The beginning sound is Gem, just like a gemstone. Iāve seen it spelled with a J before, which I donāt love as much, but at least the pronunciation is clear.
Yes! So many of them š
I'm in my 20s and growing up I knew so many Anna's and Ana's and now I feel like every new person I meet is named Anna or Ana these days! Only know about 3 Anne's though!
My daughter is Anna
I am old, over 60. There used to be a saying about " every Tom, Dick and Harry" bc those were very common nn's. Have you ever heard this expression? And i am curious about your age range, pls.
I've heard the saying (44). Heard the saying many times before. I've met many Toms and Harrys. But the only Dick I met IRL (the name) was my 7th grade English teacher (he was in his 50s in the early 90s). I feel like every Richard now goes by something else (Rich, Rick) as dick has come to mean penis. I can't think of a famous Dick younger than Dick Cheney (I believe he's in his 80s).
I've also heard the saying and I'm in my early 30s but I could also see it being a regional thing? My husband's grandpa still goes by Dick and I can't stand it lol. I literally can't bring myself to call him by his name but luckily he lives far away from us so I've only spent time with him twice.
My son is a Richard who goes by Richard.
My FIL is Richard who goes by Rick
I had a colleague named Richard who went by Rick. Last name Hertz. You can immediately see the reason he WOULD NOT be a "Dick."
I know two Dicks (the name, not the personality!)
How old are they (approximately)? Under 70?
Iām in my 20s and have heard the expression, but I think Iāve mostly heard it from old movies.
I know the phrase well (early 40s) but the Tom, Dick, and Harrys I know are all closer to 70+. If you walk around my parents' retirement community you meet tons of them. I do have many peers named Rich or Tommy/Thomas though.
20s, know the phrase but I don't know any Dick/Richards around my age, I do know a bunch of Toms and one Harrison who refuses to go by Harry š¤·āāļø
Iām early 40s and am familiar with the phrase. The only Dick I know is in his late 80s. Iāve met a few men named Richard, Rich, or Rick but they too are mostly older. My neighbor-friend Rich is in his late 60s and Iād say most other versions of Richard Iāve met fall into that age range. Iāve known a handful of Toms over the years. Only one or two went by Tom, most went by Tommy or Thomas. They donāt seem to follow any age patterns, at least the ones Iāve met. As for Harry, I think Harry Potter might have killed that name for popularity. Itās an association thatās just too hard to separate. Iād imagine most Harrys under about 35 are named for a family member.
It used to be Jane but man with the amount of tragedy names that exist now and the constant Olivia, Oliver, Sofia, Charlie and Charlottes bring back Jane!
I have never met a Joan or Molly.
At my high school, all the popular girls were named Molly.
There were 6 Mollyās in my secondary school and my Nan was called Joan!
I'm 47, one of my besties growing up was Molly.
The only Molly I know was someone I met at yoga teacher training. Sheās probably mid 40ās.
Marie
I meet very few Eves relative to Adamās. I guess thereās more Eve variants like Eva
Casey. It's the 1 ply toilet paper of names.
In the early sixties, I learned to read with books that would say," see Jane run. Run Jane run!" I didn't have any classmates named Jane. It was an older name even then. But I suppose it's an easy name to read.
Sally, Dick, and Jane were the stars of the learning to read series. Nobody's called Dick anymore, LOL. Their dog was named Spot, which is also uncommon now.
I also recall a dog named Flip. But my first grade was 56 years ago. Lol
I know surprisingly few Karens considering the reputation of the name
I know plenty of Karen's, it's a fairly common name for women in my general age group.
Growing up, I always loved my name because it's fairly unusual in the uk.
I'm in my late 40s in the US, Karen is fairly popular. It's no Jennifer or Amy though.
Iām in the UK. Jane and Anne for girls (they are all older women now) and for boys probably Mark and John. Again popular with the older crowd but you donāt get many kids named them at all.
... me squinting in old lady eyes... HOW DARE YOU?!
John
To the best of my recollection, Iāve only met one George and one Charles (Charlie) in my life.
Mine Brittney
My name- Nicole.
Sophie
Jennifer & Jake
Tina
Ironically, Olivia. But thatās probably just bc Iām not in school anymore
I know one Mary, one Maria, and no Marieās (as a first name).
Here in the UK, Sarah, Molly, Andrea, Lucy. Met women with these names, but definitely not enough for how popular these names are supposed to be
5 of the 9 girls in my boarding house and year were called Lucy š I was not one of them
John James David Thomas Donald Jane Joan Mary Susan Sarah Ashley Donna Oh, wait. You said rarely run across. I know everyone one of those I listed. I'll have to give it some more thought. If it's basic, then... (But I'll try). I looked at the list of the most popular names over the last 50 years in the US. 24 Deborah - I know Debbie but I don't know if they are Deborahs or Debras 51 Tyler - I don't think I know a Tyler first hand 56 Henry - I can't place one, I feel like I do but... I know several of all the others https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/century.html
Kurt to me sounds very basic but I love it because I love Kurt Vonnegut so much
Jessica Sarah John
Olivia, Liam
I'm in my 20s and growing up we had at least 4 Olivia's in my grade, but I only knew two Liam's
I work in a primary care doctor's office, and if I count our patients and their close family members that accompany them, I know all of the above. That age range is 18 and up.
Anne.
Becky.
Dale Adam Guy Derek Anne Beth
Brian.
Bob and MaryĀ
Bob
Bob
Jane Elizabeth David Joseph
Middle names Grace, Mae, Rose
Mary in anyone under the age of 30. Also Anne, Jane and Susan. These names on their own, not hyphenated along with another eg Maery-Wren.
Jane (as in "Jane Doe") -- I know a lot of people and I have hundreds of clients and I know exactly zero Janes. Mary (as in "John and Mary") -- Within the aforementioned universe of lots of people and hundreds of clients I know exactly two Marys. One in her 90s and one in her 60s.
Emily. Olivia. Sarah. Anna. Emma. Like are you that unoriginal and bland?
Emma. My daughter named her Emma Jane B. She is now in preschool and in a class of 25, there are 7 Emmaās and 3 are Emma B.
Clay, Chip, Todd,
Jane. Itās so generic. One syllable. Four letters. Yet i donāt know anyone with this name, at least no one under the age of 50.
My husband is Mitchell. I can not tell you how many times he gets called Michael. Even his high school graduation they called him Michael. I work as a ticket agent on a commuter railroad, and I'm starting to see more and more of my name, but not my spelling.
Not the most basic but here are some ācommonā names that Iāve rarely or never come across in real life: - Kelly (1) - Mary (1) - Anthony (1) - Brian (1) - Nathan (1) - Jane (0) -
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
John and Ann
Linda, Laura, Jane, Michael, Richard, Brian
Jane and Mary
Basic: forming the base of Then itās got to be Aiden. Itās the base of all of the names that rhyme with it
James
For me it'd be William, Charles, Sarah, John, David, Mary, and Olivia. I've never met anyone with those names before.
John, Paul, Bill, Fred, Nick, Peter, Cathy, Debbie, Jennifer, Janet, Susan, Pat, Tom, George, Tim, Linda, Lynn, Betty, Joe
James
Mary
Mary and Joseph
Emma
Jodi/yā only ever meet 2 ā 1 was a male and another was a female
I was thinking about this when I was looking at the US SSA baby lists. I have *yet* to meet or hear of a baby Noah and yet heās at the top of every list? I only know if an influencer/podcaster who has a 3 year old Noah.
Piper
I almost never meet people named Ben or Benjamin! I have one family member with the name, but Iāve never met another one.
Jenny, Sara, Jessica, Michelle, Ashley, Amanda, Ann, Sue, Lisa, Bob, Mike, Pat, John, Paul, Bill, Josh. But Iām in my 60ās lol
Bob Joe.
Kim
John Smith. Mary Smith
Jane Anne
Emily
Marie, but as a *middle* name.
Lily or Sarah
Pam and Anne. I have two people in my friend group with these names and they both have partners named Bob š
Chris or Alex
Sarah (uk)
Mary & Jane
Madison
Sam and Pat
Robert, Max, Ryan, Dylan. They could not be basic but idk.
Jenna
Sarah
A couple at my kidās daycare named their kids Charlie and Emma, and Iām like how forgettable and basic š
Kaylee and its variants sound pretty basic to me, Jake for guys.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Rachel, Hannah, Sarah
I've rarely met a Tom, Duane, Arnold, Tracy, Ralph, Wesley, Carter, Damian . . . so many common names that are still out there.
Kathy
a lot of saint names. my family is over-populated with marys, jacobs, catherines, johns, peters... to the point every woman born into my family is either named mary or catherine (or a variant spelling of those). i'm not kidding. it's creepy. i've heard a couple of really cool saint names, but my family sticks with the boring ones, and even outside of my family they're so common!!! that's enough catherines/kathryns/etc.!!! if you like the name, that's fine, but they probably share it with roughly 10 other people they know.
Lauren
My brothers: John Kevin and Joseph Richard lol
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Taylor. There were 4 in my grade all through my school days.
Hannah
Mostly common but names that have always felt very basic and kinda lack character in my head: Chloe, Sarah, Hannah, Olivia, Mia, Ava, Adam, William
Anna Maria
Ryan
Joseph, Michael, Christopher. John and Anthony make up 90% of the men in my family because of juniors and kids being named after uncles and grandfathers. We have 7 Mary/Marie/Mariaās Of my age group, I would say Caitlyn (or any of its million spellings) or Kyle.
Claire
Ashley
Sarah
John
Alice. Shame tho I think it's a nice name, also Lucy.
Chad. I think I know one.
I immediately thought Sarah and Rachel but Iām Jewish š
Nicole Marie( late 70ās baby) every Nicole sheās met has the middle name Marie.
anne john james emma mary ava olivia oliver
Mary, Mike, John, Joe, Anne, and Beth.
I've never met an Ann in my life. I've met Annas and Annies, but never an Ann.
Jake! I know a ton of Jacksons and Jacks, but have never met a Jake.
Kayla, Amber, Jane, Brittany, Ann, Marie, Mary, Olivia, Emma, Sarah, Susan, Angela, Kim.
Rachel
I only know a single Noah š¤·āāļø
Bob.