Felix
How popular do you think this will become, in the US? It's one of my favorite names but it seems to be rising pretty quickly here, and I totally think it has the potential to be the next Henry or Oliver or Max that seems to be the name of every other yuppie's child you meet. Popularity doesn't bother me too much but I would prefer to avoid names that reach the point of "Ugh, not another one!" Also just curious to hear what everybody thinks.
http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/87410
http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/87410
Replies
I hope it doesn't become popular because it's one of my favorites too! I am honestly surprised it isn't more popular, but pleasantly surprised haha... I don't think it'll reach the popularity of Henry (another one of my favorites unfortunately) or Oliver, but then again I never thought Oliver would get so popular... Let's keep our fingers crossed!
I LOVE the name Felix! It's a fave of mine and my DH's. We thought about using it for DS#2, as it sounds awesome with older brother Jasper, but we obviously went with a different name. I still love it though. It has gained in popularity over the last few years here in Australia, but still not ridiculously popular.
I think it will get more common, it just has the feel of some popular names. But I don't think it will get that common.
I dunno, according to the charts, it's pretty popular, but I've never seen it used IRL. I'd probably like it more rather than less, if it was more common.
I have a hard time taking it seriously because there was a guy in my middle/high school Latin class who said he wanted his Latin name to be Felix Felix Felix because it was listed with 3 different definitions, and he wanted it to convey all 3 meanings "happy lucky cat"...and he was a silly guy in general, so I tend to giggle when I hear Felix.
Also the 'lix' part sounds like 'licks', which I find mildly disturbing.
I have a hard time taking it seriously because there was a guy in my middle/high school Latin class who said he wanted his Latin name to be Felix Felix Felix because it was listed with 3 different definitions, and he wanted it to convey all 3 meanings "happy lucky cat"...and he was a silly guy in general, so I tend to giggle when I hear Felix.
Also the 'lix' part sounds like 'licks', which I find mildly disturbing.
Aww, but a happy lucky cat is such a good thing to be!
Going off of the graph, it rose 146 places in a decade. Since it's rising faster now than it used to be, let's say in 5 years it could be at 101. That's well below Henry's and Oliver's popularity, but above Max's (just plain Max, don't know about longer forms). I think you could safely name a kid Felix in the next few years without it being too popular at the time, but if it keeps rising, it might bug you see a lot of younger kids with the name. (It could plateau though.) People will probably like the x ending.
I kind of like Felix. Something about it appeals to me, but it seems to go on and off of my lists.
I kind of like Felix. Something about it appeals to me, but it seems to go on and off of my lists.
This message was edited 3/15/2018, 7:16 AM
I'm not sure if I can see it ever making the top 100. Maybe peaking around ~150?
But like, I don't know how much "ugh not another one" would be; name popularity is sooo diluted now (in 1990, 46,000 girls were named Jessica which was #1 that year, in 2016 only 19,400 girls were named Emma, also #1) and I think some names feel like a lot if they're in the top 10 or if they have a lot of spellings. Felix does not have a lot of spellings. I don't see it talked about much; I'm thinking it never gets past like... 3,000 births per year, tops? Around where Ashton and Emmett and Brody currently are. And I think I'm being generous at 3k.
But like, I don't know how much "ugh not another one" would be; name popularity is sooo diluted now (in 1990, 46,000 girls were named Jessica which was #1 that year, in 2016 only 19,400 girls were named Emma, also #1) and I think some names feel like a lot if they're in the top 10 or if they have a lot of spellings. Felix does not have a lot of spellings. I don't see it talked about much; I'm thinking it never gets past like... 3,000 births per year, tops? Around where Ashton and Emmett and Brody currently are. And I think I'm being generous at 3k.
This message was edited 3/15/2018, 7:02 AM
I guess "ugh not another one" is subjective and certainly something I (or anyone who's interested in names) will notice more than the general population. The thing is if it does continue to rise I suspect it will be disproportionately popular in my state (Minnesota). Seems very Twin Cities yuppie to me. You usually seem to know what you're talking about wrt popularity trends and stuff though so thank you!
True, region definitely plays into it and looks like you're right that it's more popular in Minnesota (and in midwestern states in general, the south doesn't seem to care for it. New England doesn't either.)
Here's the births for 2016 with the 10 states closest in population to Minnesota.
MN: 42
WI: 42
CO: 35
AL: 12
MD: 17
MO: 27
SC: 7
TN: 21
LA: 10
KY: 12
IN: 38
Here's something wild: Felix does not appear in Delaware's data at all ever.
Here's the births for 2016 with the 10 states closest in population to Minnesota.
MN: 42
WI: 42
CO: 35
AL: 12
MD: 17
MO: 27
SC: 7
TN: 21
LA: 10
KY: 12
IN: 38
Here's something wild: Felix does not appear in Delaware's data at all ever.
I love it. I don't see it becoming too popular. In fact, I have yet to meet a child named Felix. The only one I know in real life is my 60 year old neighbor. And I'd love to see it on a little boy!