Oh Baby!

With each new generation comes new baby names that seem to stick around for years, but what exactly makes them popular? Over time we have seen parents influenced by everything from celebrities, to food, to nature. Parents seem to always be on the lookout for unique and interesting baby names.

Traditionally, and in a time long before social media, children were often named after their parents or other family members and had names that were specific to their culture or country, keeping those names popular over multiple generations and often concentrated in just one area. However as time went on and countries became far more multinational, these names became more widely used around the world and parents started looking for baby names that weren’t so common.

Parents are always influenced by the world around them; social media, influencers, celebrities, TV, movies, all these aspects of pop culture is what is driving baby name trends today. Think about whenever a royal baby is born? Shortly after we see an uptake in that name (for example George Charlotte, and Archie) and when a celebrity names their child something unique it won’t be long before that name trickles down into the rest of society.

This year alone we have seen names like Nigel, Gordon, Carol, and Susan almost become extinct, and newer more unique names such as Beau, Marley, Luna, and Elodie becoming far more common than their traditional counterparts. Nameberry has the names ‘Arlo’, ‘Ottelie’, and ‘Kai’ all trending, which are not coincidentally, also celebrity baby names.

So what’s the next big baby name trend? Will we see something ‘pandemic-inspired’ or will we go back to basics? While there will always be a place for more traditional names, we will most likely see more parents choosing interesting names and spellings for their children for many years to come.