Jordan

Jordan has a meaning that sounds like a piece of advice. It's Hebrew, and it means to flow down. Which, if you've ever tried to carry a wriggling toddler and a pram down a flight of steps, is exactly the kind of energy you'd like a small person to have. Go with it. Flow down. Don't fight the stairs.

There's a looseness to the name itself, too. Two syllables, a soft start and a firm finish, and no fiddly spelling to explain over the phone. It's a name that gets on with things.

Jordi, if you like

The nickname on offer is Jordi, which is a lovely one and gives the name a slightly sunnier, more Mediterranean lilt. Jordan on the register, Jordi at the beach. It's not a name that particularly needs shortening, though, and plenty of Jordans will go through life perfectly happy with the full two syllables.

The charts tell a story of a name that's very much at home in the English-speaking world. Jordan is number 82 in the United States and, in a pleasing coincidence, number 82 in Australia too. New Zealand has it at 90, Canada at 109, and England & Wales at 213. It dips a little further in Brazil, Argentina and France, but it's there, still flowing along nicely. It's the profile of a name that's confident without being crowded.

Very good at football, apparently

If you go looking for famous Jordans you'll trip over a lot of football boots. Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford, both English association football players, and Jordan Ayew, the Ghanaian-French footballer, between them make the name sound like a pretty solid starting line-up. For something a bit different, there's Jordan Peele, the American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Three footballers and a filmmaker: your Jordan can pick a side.

On a shortlist it has an interesting set of friends. Jordan sits nicely alongside Mateo, Thiago and Lucas, and it looks lovely next to Sofia or Camila. These are names with warmth and a bit of rhythm, and Jordan's easy, flowing sound fits right in. If your list has a slightly international, slightly sporty feel to it, Jordan is probably already on there.

The thing to consider is that Jordan is one of those names people tend to have opinions about, mostly because they know one. Everybody knows a Jordan. Whether that's a plus or a minus depends entirely on the Jordan in question, and you'll have to ask yourself that in private.

So, a name that flows, travels, and can almost certainly take a decent corner. Is it the one? Ah, that's the part nobody can help you with. You'll love it in the morning and doubt it by the evening, and somewhere in between you'll have added six more names to the list. Go with the flow. Or don't. That's rather the problem.