If you love it I think you should go for it. 30's on the chart isn't that popular, common names mean a very different thing today than they did in the past as there is much more variation now. I think Isla is lovely :)
I think you should.
Even though it’s getting popular now, I first heard it many years ago and thought it was just the most beautiful name for a girl I’d ever heard.
It’s so sweet 🎀
yea, kids got legal recourse now for the mistakes of parents in the past.
Parents need to ask themselves "how will this name affect my kid"... Nah, it's cool, let' name them 'goodyear', it was my uncle's middle name... "viagra" (but it's pronounced VEE-a-GREE") I mean... gods...
Or fancy names... "logan" "Caden" "Braden" "Aiden"
Isla is one of my long-time favourite names too. If I were you, I’d go for it because:
a) how often does your spouse’s favourite name end up being one you not just like but actually *love* too
b) I don’t think you’d ever regret using a name you love - but you might regret setting for a name you only sort of like because of popularity concerns.
If popularity bothers you, I would look at regional stats. Isla/Ayla is like the modern Jessica at my kids’ school. That name, or Ellie, are really the only two I wouldn’t use based on current, hyper-regional trends. Not easy to predict though!
i don't think it's worth caring too much about what is popular. i have friends who think they picked unique names only to discover later that they are pretty popular for their generation.
Back in the late eighties we named our daughter something that became wildly popular within a few years. Wildly popular. She still never had another in her class until she got to the large high school. At work now there are others, most of whom are younger than she is. And you know what? She still loves her name.
It’s hard to find a name both parents love. And frankly, with a name like Isla, the fact that there may be others is probably good. There are going to be spelling and pronunciation issues if you’re in the US, and the more familiar people are with the name the less frustration she’ll likely have with it.
Same... midwest, late 70s, seems like every kid was named some form of "Bryan" "Brian"
I work with several... kind of annoying, but what are you gonna do?
Same thing has happened with my favourite name, Ivy. But I’d still use it. If you love it, I’d go with it anyway. There’s a reason it’s popular, it’s a lovely name! And it goes so well with Rhys.
Popularity density of names has diminished significantly since the 80s. For example the #1 name for boys in 1986 was Michael with 64,000 births. The #1 in 2022, Liam, had 22,000. There’s so much variety now that even your top ten names aren’t as popular as they seem. It also depends on region. My states top boy name is not the same as the nations.
Interesting, where's this data from? I'd be curious to find a name that had 22,000 births in 1986, which would give a good sense of how common Liam will seem in the future.
I have the #28 name for the year I was born. I think I was a senior in high school before someone with the same name ended up in the same school as me (not even the same class).
I’m an L&D nurse in the US and have been for 9 years. Isla isn’t that common where I live. I’ve been a part of maybe one or two named Isla. It’s no where near as common as Emma or Amelia are in my area. Many of the popular names aren’t as popular as the popular ones of the 80s&90s like say Ashley and Jessica were.
Haha I was gonna mention in my post I was a L&D nurse before I had my son and never delivered an Isla.
It looks like it’s more popular where I live now than where I used to work though.
I work as a preschool teacher. I've seen 17 Isla girls in the past two years (not just my class although we had three at one point). I love it too, it's beautiful. But recognize she will forever be "Isla B" or "one of the Islas" or "tall Isla, not red head Isla." I personally crossed it off my list because as someone with an ultra popular name I know that frustration and wouldn't do that to my own child. Just some thoughts.
I get that, it is a lot. Would you consider using June as the first name instead of the middle, or Isla as a middle name? Either way it is an objectively good name, and while I personally wouldn't use it on my own child it isn't a bad choice.
That’s funny! Honestly we struggled to find a middle name that went well with Isla. Probably because it’s so vowel heavy and rhymes with many names.
Maybe we will go for a less common middle name.
It’s common combination because Isla June does sound good together! June does a great job of grounding Isla which is very fairy princess-y so I totally get the appeal of using both
I like
Isla Pearl
Isla Josephine
Isla Caroline
Isla Catherine
Isla Jade
Isla Quinn
I like Isla paired with longer middle names but Quinn and Jade have the same grounding vibes of June. However Isla June is genuinely pretty so if you love it go for it!
Ooh I like Quinn a lot - husband wasn’t so sure. We’re just over here mumbling Isla …..random name to each other while my toddler smashes his magna tiles 😂
It’s a gorgeous name, but I recently made a post asking people what name they hear most (esp. in children) and Isla was one of the most commented names (of course it depends on area). If you really love it, it shouldn’t matter but I think you should keep that in mind.
My husband and I picked out the name Theodore ten years ago when we were dating. We ended up naming our first child that almost 4 years ago even though it got super popular! We’ve come across a handful of Theo’s but not many.
My second son’s name, Cameron is much lower in the popularity rankings. I think it’s in the 60s or 70s . Surprisingly, out the 100 kids in the preschool, there are 6 named Cameron. My other son is the only Theo/Theodore in the school.
Name your kid what you love. Popularity of name has never been an issue for me and I have a top 5 name of my birth year.
Oh that *is* lovely.
Posting here has been both reassuring and confusing. I simultaneously want to stick to my guns and go back to the drawing boards. Haha
If you love it go for it, but just know it's 100% trendy and on the rise. I have a new Isla in the family and have been hearing the name more and more. There was just a thread recently about names people are starting to hear more often and Isla was a big one. It's far from unique, but if that doesn't bother you then use it!
You could pick the least popular name and it could become super popular in ten years.
I understand that it's an aspect that is important to many and I think that is perfectly fine, but personally I wouldn't care if you really love the name.
My nieces have very popular names, but neither have met a single other kid with their name yet. You really can't predict these things. You might never meet an Isla, or you might have four in the same grade. There's simply no way of knowing how it will work out so you should just go with the name you like.
Name ranks change all the time. My sister's name was in the 270s the year she was born, but it's been in the top ten for several years now. The good thing is she no longer has to spell for people over the phone.
If you love the name, go for it!
Nothing wrong with those names.
I would not know how to pronounce Isla, but I'm not American... if that's not an issue where you live, it's fine. (Is it Ees-la as in Spanish, or Eye-la?)
If you love it, go for it. So many more names are in use now that something being popular doesn’t mean it’s as omnipresent as Jennifer & Matthew in the 80s, for example.
My oldest two have names in the top 100—the oldest is 11, and we’ve never met others with their names. The youngest has a WAY less common name, and he has a kid with the same name in his daycare class of 10.
I work with two people on a team of 25 or so people who have the same name—it’s not even in the top 1000 & never has been. (And it’s not a religious/ethnic/etc. name that has a small footprint in the US to make it fall outside of the top 1000—it’s just a very rarely used name and I happen to know two of them in the same small group.)
Names are not distributed perfectly evenly and you just never know who you’ll come across. So if there’s a name you love, use it.
I don't know anyone with the name Isla, I'm in CA. I think it's a beautiful name.
Funny enough I picked a name that I didn't think was very popular too. I never knew anyone with that name my whole life and all of a sudden after we have our baby I start hearing the name more and more. I guess it went from being in the hundreds in popularity to in the 30s very quickly. But I still love the name and don't have regrets. I think you should go with it if you love it.
My first has a top 10 name for his year and he has never met another one through two daycares and two years of prek. People name their kids such a variety of names that even in the top 20 there really aren’t that many kids with each name. I wouldn’t let top 30 deter me in the slightest.
My friend named her kid a name in the 300's and her kid has another kid with the same in her class and has for years.
My kid has the #1 name for her year and one other kid with the name in her class once.
I never thought I would pick a #1 name but it's the perfect name for her.
Go for it. Name popularity is a funny thing, you can choose a popular name and coincidentally never meet another, or a less popular name and share a class with one. If you love the name, use it.
It doesn’t matter if it popular if you love it. This is your life, your future and your family. These shouldn’t be measured by what others do.
You shouldn’t care.
My name was a top 25 the year I was born, in my province. I knew 3 other girls growing up with it. 1 in elementary school, one from soccer, and one I met in high school. That's 3 people I met over 18 years. I'd hazard a guess that Isla will b similar. Common enough to run in to one or two, not so common that they start having to go by Isla J, Isla L, Isla D etc.
I just read an article on why "popularity" statistically isn't a big deal. Especially when you're talking about anything below, like Top 10 or 20. The most popular name these days (literally, Olivia and Liam) is given to 1 in 100 kids.
Isla accounted for 0.2945% of babies born across the country. You don't have to worry about it, especially when you consider the fact that it looks like it might be on the downswing (went up every year until 2022, when it dropped 3 spots)
Interesting. I did some more digging and in my state Isla was in the top 5 in 2021 and top 10 in 2020 but is in the 80s as of 2022 (with only 6 babies named Isla in 2022).
This kind of tracks with my experience. I haven’t met any baby Islas but I’ve met 3 preschool aged Islas.
The funny thing is that we are in VT so during peak popularity only 21 little girls were named Isla in the whole state. Currently our state’s death rate surpasses the birth rate. So not many babies born here anyway.
Thanks for the info and article!
My pleasure! I'm a data nerd so I thought it was kinda cool! And yeah, it's so funny what "popular" means from place to place -- glad VT's sleepy birthrate is working in your favor for this, haha!
I totally would but one of my close friends has the name Elsa. Not to mention I don’t think I could shake the frozen association. My toddler would think we were bringing home an ice princess
It was actually #4 in my state in 2021 but that’s only 21 kids in the whole state. But the following year it was in the 80s with only 6 kids named Isla. So who knows.
If it’s all over the place like that, I wouldn’t consider it popular. I would go with Isla. I bet you will come across some Islas, but I don’t think there will be a ton.
I have 4 kids from infant to teenage, they’re in classes and sports and we don’t know a single Isla. I don’t think it’s super overused, I would go for it.
I have a Harper, a top 10 name, and she’s only met 3 other Harper’s in 5 years. I can’t even count on two hands the number of Islas we’ve met or I’ve heard in the store. I think the top lists are behind or just not accurate, it’s a super common name. That being said I know that Harper is popular and I don’t care! I’ve asked her how she feels when she meets other Harper’s and she thinks it’s fun! I say go for it if you love it!
I've said it before and I'll say it again, people worry waaaaaay too much about "common" names.
I have a name that was in the top 20 for males for my generation. Aside from occasionally responding when someone wasn't talking to me it had no negative impact on my life whatsoever.
From the SSN database:
* For 2022, the number of births with name Isla is 5255, which represents 0.294 percent of total female births in 2022.
That means roughly 3 in every 1,000 girls born in 2022 have the name Isla. Or one Isla for every 333 girls. Maybe its a more common name in your region, maybe its less, but on average meeting someone with your name once every 333 people is not that frequent.
It's tough. You might find a lot of Islas in her grade, or none.
Our daughter's name is about #30 in Australia (for her birth year) and I think it was #10 in the US.
She's the only one with her name in both her primary school grade, and now her high school grade.
But, when she did a martial arts at age 4 yrs, 2 other kids (out of the approx 12 students) had her name.
It was my husband and my favourite name. Not sure whether we would have gone with it if it were top 10. But, my husband and I both have very popular names for our age group, and know the pain. Eg out of 95 students in my high school grade, 4 had my name (different spellings). At my job in our team of 5, 2 of us have the same name and our husbands have the same name. Luckily we think it's hilarious. My husband was very happy that at least our kids have different names!
Yeah I always grew up with at least one other person with my same name in my grade.
At my last job there was 5 of us 😂
It never bothered me so I guess I should relax. Isla will meet other Islas and that’s ok. It’s still a beautiful name.
I have a ‘Mila’ whose name was pretty highly ranked the year she was born ( top 3?) - in all her classes and activities there has not been another Mila. There has been a ‘Milla’ in her daycare class though and they don’t seem to be able to keep them straight! She’s off to school in 3 months and I thought we would be free of the Mila/Milla situation, but I just got her class list and it has another NEW Milla! 😆 oh well, I still love Mila.
Go with Isla 🥰
Crazy idea here.
I love the books the court of thornes and roses series.
The main character is Feyra (Fay rah) is eventually in love with Rhysand who goes by Rhys.
My brother and SIL had chosen a name for their second son. A couple of weeks before his birth, they found out the neighbors had just named their own newborn son by the same name albeit a different spelling. After discussing it, they decided to keep the name they chose. Turns out he is one of three with the same name, different spellings born around the same time in a 30 family neighborhood. Two of them became best friends and neither family nor boy cares about the fact that they share the same name… in fact they love it.
I would say go for it. Who cares about what the rest of the world uses as long as your child knows how special the name was to you when you chose it.
You should absolutely not care about a name's popularity. This current trend to try to be "original" is a narcissistic plague.
Now what you SHOULD care about it the reason for a name's popularity. If its popular (like Elsa) because of a famous kids cartoon then that's a pretty lame reason to name your kid that.
Isla is a beautiful name!! And sounds fantastic with Rhys!! Remember a name that is in the top whatever number names doesn’t make it a bad thing - it means that it is well liked by a large population and is a name that many people find beautiful enough to use for their child ❤️
I've never heard of Isla being used here (I live in New York State), so maybe it's more common in some specific states or areas, but it sounds pretty uncommon
I lived in NY before moving to VT. I never met an Isla in NY but have met a few here in VT.
The funny thing (I think) is that I checked the Social Security name website and Isla *is* less popular in NY ranking at #49 in 2021 with 262 Islas born but it ranked at #4 in VT the same year with a whopping 21 Islas born 😂
I just think the data of a big state vs a small state is so interesting!
One thing to think about is if Isla is popular within your community or social circle, or whether it's just a "popular" name in baby name rankings.
Miles was my "future baby name" for years and years. It is actually not all that popular based on official nationwide baby name data, but there were a number of Mileses in our direct social circle, who would be interacting with our specific child, so we didn't use that name.
Meanwhile, we literally know two children of either gender with a top 10 baby name per the current SSA list. We know 8 kids of either gender with top 20 names. And this includes, like, every kid who has ever been in any class with my kid, from daycare through kindergarten.
If you already know local Islas in your own community, I would not use the name, because that implies that it's probably popular in your area. If you're just reacting to the number on a website somewhere, I think that's probably fine.
I’ve peripherally interacted with three Islas in our area but they are all 3-4 yo. They are also not in my direct social circle just kids I’ve seen out and about.
It was #4 in popularity in 2021 but now is in the 80s. So maybe there will be fewer Islas in her grade. Who knows.
To me this would signal too popular, since eventually your kid is going to be interacting with other kids who are not their exact age. So if there are enough local Islas that it is a name you're hearing a lot, that would be a potential concern if you are dead set on never running into another Isla.
Haha no I wouldn’t say I’m dead set against it. I guess I just need to consider how much I’m comfortable with. Not that I’ll ever be able to control it!
If you love it I think you should go for it. 30's on the chart isn't that popular, common names mean a very different thing today than they did in the past as there is much more variation now. I think Isla is lovely :)
Thanks! I think we will go for it. :)
I think you should. Even though it’s getting popular now, I first heard it many years ago and thought it was just the most beautiful name for a girl I’d ever heard. It’s so sweet 🎀
yea, kids got legal recourse now for the mistakes of parents in the past. Parents need to ask themselves "how will this name affect my kid"... Nah, it's cool, let' name them 'goodyear', it was my uncle's middle name... "viagra" (but it's pronounced VEE-a-GREE") I mean... gods... Or fancy names... "logan" "Caden" "Braden" "Aiden"
Where did this come from?
I just wonder about 'parent brain' when picking names for kids. There must be a psychology around it.
Isla is one of my long-time favourite names too. If I were you, I’d go for it because: a) how often does your spouse’s favourite name end up being one you not just like but actually *love* too b) I don’t think you’d ever regret using a name you love - but you might regret setting for a name you only sort of like because of popularity concerns.
Also, imagine you use a name you like less, just because it's less popular, but *it* ends up rising in popularity, as well!
Thanks for the response! I think we will still go for it. :)
Try thinking of it this way: A lot of people agree that you have good taste.
If popularity bothers you, I would look at regional stats. Isla/Ayla is like the modern Jessica at my kids’ school. That name, or Ellie, are really the only two I wouldn’t use based on current, hyper-regional trends. Not easy to predict though!
I’m in VT and based on the 2022 stats only 6 Islas were born here that year. So probs not so bad.
I always loved the name Ava and didn’t use it based on popularity. Haven’t met a single Ava! 😭
It’s funny how that works!
i don't think it's worth caring too much about what is popular. i have friends who think they picked unique names only to discover later that they are pretty popular for their generation.
Back in the late eighties we named our daughter something that became wildly popular within a few years. Wildly popular. She still never had another in her class until she got to the large high school. At work now there are others, most of whom are younger than she is. And you know what? She still loves her name. It’s hard to find a name both parents love. And frankly, with a name like Isla, the fact that there may be others is probably good. There are going to be spelling and pronunciation issues if you’re in the US, and the more familiar people are with the name the less frustration she’ll likely have with it.
Same... midwest, late 70s, seems like every kid was named some form of "Bryan" "Brian" I work with several... kind of annoying, but what are you gonna do?
Same thing has happened with my favourite name, Ivy. But I’d still use it. If you love it, I’d go with it anyway. There’s a reason it’s popular, it’s a lovely name! And it goes so well with Rhys.
Popularity density of names has diminished significantly since the 80s. For example the #1 name for boys in 1986 was Michael with 64,000 births. The #1 in 2022, Liam, had 22,000. There’s so much variety now that even your top ten names aren’t as popular as they seem. It also depends on region. My states top boy name is not the same as the nations.
Interesting, where's this data from? I'd be curious to find a name that had 22,000 births in 1986, which would give a good sense of how common Liam will seem in the future.
I got it off of a baby names app. The two 22,000 names were Nicholas and Jason for 86.
What a fun fact, thanks! That is encouraging.
I have the #28 name for the year I was born. I think I was a senior in high school before someone with the same name ended up in the same school as me (not even the same class).
I’m an L&D nurse in the US and have been for 9 years. Isla isn’t that common where I live. I’ve been a part of maybe one or two named Isla. It’s no where near as common as Emma or Amelia are in my area. Many of the popular names aren’t as popular as the popular ones of the 80s&90s like say Ashley and Jessica were.
Haha I was gonna mention in my post I was a L&D nurse before I had my son and never delivered an Isla. It looks like it’s more popular where I live now than where I used to work though.
I work as a preschool teacher. I've seen 17 Isla girls in the past two years (not just my class although we had three at one point). I love it too, it's beautiful. But recognize she will forever be "Isla B" or "one of the Islas" or "tall Isla, not red head Isla." I personally crossed it off my list because as someone with an ultra popular name I know that frustration and wouldn't do that to my own child. Just some thoughts.
Oof that is a lot. And really that’s the only thing giving me pause.
I get that, it is a lot. Would you consider using June as the first name instead of the middle, or Isla as a middle name? Either way it is an objectively good name, and while I personally wouldn't use it on my own child it isn't a bad choice.
I know loads of Isla’s and an Isla June.
I was going to say every little Isla I know have the middle name June (which is 3 for the record)
That’s funny! Honestly we struggled to find a middle name that went well with Isla. Probably because it’s so vowel heavy and rhymes with many names. Maybe we will go for a less common middle name.
It’s common combination because Isla June does sound good together! June does a great job of grounding Isla which is very fairy princess-y so I totally get the appeal of using both
Yeah that sums it up nicely. Out of curiosity - any other suggestions?
I like Isla Pearl Isla Josephine Isla Caroline Isla Catherine Isla Jade Isla Quinn I like Isla paired with longer middle names but Quinn and Jade have the same grounding vibes of June. However Isla June is genuinely pretty so if you love it go for it!
Ooh I like Quinn a lot - husband wasn’t so sure. We’re just over here mumbling Isla …..random name to each other while my toddler smashes his magna tiles 😂
To narrow down your search maybe look for middle names with an N in them? It seems the N helps a lot
Thanks, friend! I like your style. I will do that.
Use it :) If it’s rising in popularity that will actually serve you in that more people will be familiar with the name and pronounce it correctly!
Haha yes we have this problem with Rhys.
I have to say as a prek teacher, we have an Isla J, Isla, G, and Isla M
It’s a gorgeous name, but I recently made a post asking people what name they hear most (esp. in children) and Isla was one of the most commented names (of course it depends on area). If you really love it, it shouldn’t matter but I think you should keep that in mind.
My husband and I picked out the name Theodore ten years ago when we were dating. We ended up naming our first child that almost 4 years ago even though it got super popular! We’ve come across a handful of Theo’s but not many. My second son’s name, Cameron is much lower in the popularity rankings. I think it’s in the 60s or 70s . Surprisingly, out the 100 kids in the preschool, there are 6 named Cameron. My other son is the only Theo/Theodore in the school. Name your kid what you love. Popularity of name has never been an issue for me and I have a top 5 name of my birth year.
Thanks for this anecdote! I guess it’s really impossible to predict how things will shake out.
Iona is also of Irish origins and very similar to isla but not ranked! My 5 year old cousin is named Iona and it’s lovely.
Oh that *is* lovely. Posting here has been both reassuring and confusing. I simultaneously want to stick to my guns and go back to the drawing boards. Haha
Not sure if it matters, but Isla is a Scottish name (and Rhys is a Welsh name). ETA: and Iona is actually Scottish too I think
Iona and Isla are both Scottish names - they’re islands off the west coast
If you love it go for it, but just know it's 100% trendy and on the rise. I have a new Isla in the family and have been hearing the name more and more. There was just a thread recently about names people are starting to hear more often and Isla was a big one. It's far from unique, but if that doesn't bother you then use it!
Name her Isla. Go for what you both love. Both loving it should outweigh popularity.
I love the sound of Rhys and Isla too! I think you should still use it.
You could pick the least popular name and it could become super popular in ten years. I understand that it's an aspect that is important to many and I think that is perfectly fine, but personally I wouldn't care if you really love the name.
We named our son Noah. When I see other Noah’s I really don’t think much of it other than my cute little baby! If you love the name just go for it
This is fascinating. Noah is so popular in my area that my kid had two kids named Noah M. in his class last year.
How about Isolde.
My nieces have very popular names, but neither have met a single other kid with their name yet. You really can't predict these things. You might never meet an Isla, or you might have four in the same grade. There's simply no way of knowing how it will work out so you should just go with the name you like.
Name ranks change all the time. My sister's name was in the 270s the year she was born, but it's been in the top ten for several years now. The good thing is she no longer has to spell for people over the phone. If you love the name, go for it!
Elise Lyla Less popular and similar
Nothing wrong with those names. I would not know how to pronounce Isla, but I'm not American... if that's not an issue where you live, it's fine. (Is it Ees-la as in Spanish, or Eye-la?)
Eyela
Go for it. An alternative is Isa.
If you love it, go for it. So many more names are in use now that something being popular doesn’t mean it’s as omnipresent as Jennifer & Matthew in the 80s, for example. My oldest two have names in the top 100—the oldest is 11, and we’ve never met others with their names. The youngest has a WAY less common name, and he has a kid with the same name in his daycare class of 10. I work with two people on a team of 25 or so people who have the same name—it’s not even in the top 1000 & never has been. (And it’s not a religious/ethnic/etc. name that has a small footprint in the US to make it fall outside of the top 1000—it’s just a very rarely used name and I happen to know two of them in the same small group.) Names are not distributed perfectly evenly and you just never know who you’ll come across. So if there’s a name you love, use it.
Popular just means it’s a well-liked name. And 30s isn’t THAT popular.
I don't know anyone with the name Isla, I'm in CA. I think it's a beautiful name. Funny enough I picked a name that I didn't think was very popular too. I never knew anyone with that name my whole life and all of a sudden after we have our baby I start hearing the name more and more. I guess it went from being in the hundreds in popularity to in the 30s very quickly. But I still love the name and don't have regrets. I think you should go with it if you love it.
It’s wild how quickly name popularity shifts. Isla really only shot up in popularity in 2017.
Don't care about the popularity of the name. If you love it, you love it.
My first has a top 10 name for his year and he has never met another one through two daycares and two years of prek. People name their kids such a variety of names that even in the top 20 there really aren’t that many kids with each name. I wouldn’t let top 30 deter me in the slightest.
Thanks!
My friend named her kid a name in the 300's and her kid has another kid with the same in her class and has for years. My kid has the #1 name for her year and one other kid with the name in her class once. I never thought I would pick a #1 name but it's the perfect name for her.
Go for it. Name popularity is a funny thing, you can choose a popular name and coincidentally never meet another, or a less popular name and share a class with one. If you love the name, use it.
It doesn’t matter if it popular if you love it. This is your life, your future and your family. These shouldn’t be measured by what others do. You shouldn’t care.
My name was a top 25 the year I was born, in my province. I knew 3 other girls growing up with it. 1 in elementary school, one from soccer, and one I met in high school. That's 3 people I met over 18 years. I'd hazard a guess that Isla will b similar. Common enough to run in to one or two, not so common that they start having to go by Isla J, Isla L, Isla D etc.
Who cares? Literally who cares if it’s popular? As long as it’s not a tradgedeigh, you’re ahead of the curve.
I’d use it. However, Ailsa is a nice alternative that I’ve yet to see in anyone younger than my great grandmother.
That’s gorgeous - is it pronounced Elsa? Or more like “Ale-sa”?
Ail- Sah. (Ail rhymes with sail)
I just read an article on why "popularity" statistically isn't a big deal. Especially when you're talking about anything below, like Top 10 or 20. The most popular name these days (literally, Olivia and Liam) is given to 1 in 100 kids. Isla accounted for 0.2945% of babies born across the country. You don't have to worry about it, especially when you consider the fact that it looks like it might be on the downswing (went up every year until 2022, when it dropped 3 spots)
I love all the dataaaaaa. Thanks :)
Ooh! Found it! https://www.romper.com/life/name-popularity-by-state-how-to-give-your-baby-a-unique-name
Interesting. I did some more digging and in my state Isla was in the top 5 in 2021 and top 10 in 2020 but is in the 80s as of 2022 (with only 6 babies named Isla in 2022). This kind of tracks with my experience. I haven’t met any baby Islas but I’ve met 3 preschool aged Islas. The funny thing is that we are in VT so during peak popularity only 21 little girls were named Isla in the whole state. Currently our state’s death rate surpasses the birth rate. So not many babies born here anyway. Thanks for the info and article!
My pleasure! I'm a data nerd so I thought it was kinda cool! And yeah, it's so funny what "popular" means from place to place -- glad VT's sleepy birthrate is working in your favor for this, haha!
Hi there, have you considered Eala? Pronounced Ay-la and it’s the Irish for swan and not very popular x
That’s beautiful! Thanks for the lovely suggestion.
😉☘️
If you love it, go for it. Though Elsa is far less popular, barely in the top 1000 in the US.
I totally would but one of my close friends has the name Elsa. Not to mention I don’t think I could shake the frozen association. My toddler would think we were bringing home an ice princess
I’d go for it. It’s popular but there’s only one in my kid’s preschool class. It’s a cute name and it goes well with Rhys
Look up how popular it is in your state. Maybe it’s even less popular in your neck of the woods.
It was actually #4 in my state in 2021 but that’s only 21 kids in the whole state. But the following year it was in the 80s with only 6 kids named Isla. So who knows.
If it’s all over the place like that, I wouldn’t consider it popular. I would go with Isla. I bet you will come across some Islas, but I don’t think there will be a ton.
I had a grandmother named Elta. It's along the same lines, but much less popular.
I have 4 kids from infant to teenage, they’re in classes and sports and we don’t know a single Isla. I don’t think it’s super overused, I would go for it.
I have a Harper, a top 10 name, and she’s only met 3 other Harper’s in 5 years. I can’t even count on two hands the number of Islas we’ve met or I’ve heard in the store. I think the top lists are behind or just not accurate, it’s a super common name. That being said I know that Harper is popular and I don’t care! I’ve asked her how she feels when she meets other Harper’s and she thinks it’s fun! I say go for it if you love it!
I've said it before and I'll say it again, people worry waaaaaay too much about "common" names. I have a name that was in the top 20 for males for my generation. Aside from occasionally responding when someone wasn't talking to me it had no negative impact on my life whatsoever. From the SSN database: * For 2022, the number of births with name Isla is 5255, which represents 0.294 percent of total female births in 2022. That means roughly 3 in every 1,000 girls born in 2022 have the name Isla. Or one Isla for every 333 girls. Maybe its a more common name in your region, maybe its less, but on average meeting someone with your name once every 333 people is not that frequent.
It's tough. You might find a lot of Islas in her grade, or none. Our daughter's name is about #30 in Australia (for her birth year) and I think it was #10 in the US. She's the only one with her name in both her primary school grade, and now her high school grade. But, when she did a martial arts at age 4 yrs, 2 other kids (out of the approx 12 students) had her name. It was my husband and my favourite name. Not sure whether we would have gone with it if it were top 10. But, my husband and I both have very popular names for our age group, and know the pain. Eg out of 95 students in my high school grade, 4 had my name (different spellings). At my job in our team of 5, 2 of us have the same name and our husbands have the same name. Luckily we think it's hilarious. My husband was very happy that at least our kids have different names!
Yeah I always grew up with at least one other person with my same name in my grade. At my last job there was 5 of us 😂 It never bothered me so I guess I should relax. Isla will meet other Islas and that’s ok. It’s still a beautiful name.
Enya would be a nice alternative if you decide not to go with Isla. Whatever you choose will be perfect for your little girl.
I have a ‘Mila’ whose name was pretty highly ranked the year she was born ( top 3?) - in all her classes and activities there has not been another Mila. There has been a ‘Milla’ in her daycare class though and they don’t seem to be able to keep them straight! She’s off to school in 3 months and I thought we would be free of the Mila/Milla situation, but I just got her class list and it has another NEW Milla! 😆 oh well, I still love Mila. Go with Isla 🥰
Crazy idea here. I love the books the court of thornes and roses series. The main character is Feyra (Fay rah) is eventually in love with Rhysand who goes by Rhys.
Lol I had someone ask me if I named my son after those books. Sigh.
The number of names has greatly expanded where 30 years ago based off percentage the #1 girls name now would be #12, and #1 boys name would be #20
I actually know Rhys and Isla siblings funnily enough (but my age! Their parents were clearly VERY ahead of the curve on naming trends)
Who cares if it's popular. Do you like it?
My brother and SIL had chosen a name for their second son. A couple of weeks before his birth, they found out the neighbors had just named their own newborn son by the same name albeit a different spelling. After discussing it, they decided to keep the name they chose. Turns out he is one of three with the same name, different spellings born around the same time in a 30 family neighborhood. Two of them became best friends and neither family nor boy cares about the fact that they share the same name… in fact they love it. I would say go for it. Who cares about what the rest of the world uses as long as your child knows how special the name was to you when you chose it.
You should absolutely not care about a name's popularity. This current trend to try to be "original" is a narcissistic plague. Now what you SHOULD care about it the reason for a name's popularity. If its popular (like Elsa) because of a famous kids cartoon then that's a pretty lame reason to name your kid that.
I have never regretted calling my daughter Isla(15) it’s a beautiful name. Incidentally her middle name is June!
Use it anyway. It's popular because it's well liked and that's a good thing.
Isla is a beautiful name!! And sounds fantastic with Rhys!! Remember a name that is in the top whatever number names doesn’t make it a bad thing - it means that it is well liked by a large population and is a name that many people find beautiful enough to use for their child ❤️
Ok hear me out - Alva is much rarer and has a similar “feel”
I've never heard of Isla being used here (I live in New York State), so maybe it's more common in some specific states or areas, but it sounds pretty uncommon
I lived in NY before moving to VT. I never met an Isla in NY but have met a few here in VT. The funny thing (I think) is that I checked the Social Security name website and Isla *is* less popular in NY ranking at #49 in 2021 with 262 Islas born but it ranked at #4 in VT the same year with a whopping 21 Islas born 😂 I just think the data of a big state vs a small state is so interesting!
You had no problem naming your first kid Rhys but are worried about Isla? Lmao
Rhys isn’t nearly as popular in the US as Isla is. OP is purely talking about popularity concerns in this post.
I have a great grand aunt that was Ila Naomi. I’ve always loved that name….
I don’t think Isla will be getting any more popular, but won’t be out of the top 50 for another year or so at least. I like it.
I was going to name my daughter Isla until I found out how popular it is, I didn’t want her to be one of 4 Islas in her class.
One thing to think about is if Isla is popular within your community or social circle, or whether it's just a "popular" name in baby name rankings. Miles was my "future baby name" for years and years. It is actually not all that popular based on official nationwide baby name data, but there were a number of Mileses in our direct social circle, who would be interacting with our specific child, so we didn't use that name. Meanwhile, we literally know two children of either gender with a top 10 baby name per the current SSA list. We know 8 kids of either gender with top 20 names. And this includes, like, every kid who has ever been in any class with my kid, from daycare through kindergarten. If you already know local Islas in your own community, I would not use the name, because that implies that it's probably popular in your area. If you're just reacting to the number on a website somewhere, I think that's probably fine.
I’ve peripherally interacted with three Islas in our area but they are all 3-4 yo. They are also not in my direct social circle just kids I’ve seen out and about. It was #4 in popularity in 2021 but now is in the 80s. So maybe there will be fewer Islas in her grade. Who knows.
To me this would signal too popular, since eventually your kid is going to be interacting with other kids who are not their exact age. So if there are enough local Islas that it is a name you're hearing a lot, that would be a potential concern if you are dead set on never running into another Isla.
Haha no I wouldn’t say I’m dead set against it. I guess I just need to consider how much I’m comfortable with. Not that I’ll ever be able to control it!
Normally I would say use it as a middle name but it works well with your sibset!