Many people think that naming your baby is going to be a piece of cake. But then when they sit down to do it, they realize just how difficult it is to come up with a “good” baby name. It’s true when they say that you never realize how many names (or people) you hate until you have to pick a baby name.
If you’re stumped in your search for the perfect name for your baby, Sophie Kihm, editor-in-chief of naming site Nameberry, has a list of some of the baby naming trends she’s seeing this year.
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Typically, ‘girl’ names given to boys are on the rise
In an article for Business Insider, Kihm shared that gender-swapping names is trendy yet again. In the past, names that we now associate with girls, like Leslie, Dana or Ashley, were actually common names for boys. That trend is starting to shift back, with names that people deem as feminine being bestowed on boys. Some names include:
- Willow
- Harlow
- Juniper
- Jade
- Robin
Names that end in "-ai" are popular
Names that end in the -ai sound are easy to pronounce, according to Kihm. These types of names have roots in a variety of languages, including African, Japanese, and some European languages. Here are a few of the most popular:
- Jakai
- Zakai
- Adlai
- Ozai
- Mordecai
Names that stem from a special interest are having a moment
Parents naming their kids after their favorite things, like television shows, movie characters, musicians, or book characters, isn’t anything new. It’s just that the names now are sometimes more recognizable for those reasons, which means it’s not as original of a concept as people may think. Some names include:
- Marceline
- Collins
- Lennon
- Ophelia
- Zeppelin
- Anakin
- Elton
- Jiraiya
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‘Old’-sounding names are still going strong
There is something about little kids with names that make them sound like senior citizens that has endless appeal. Giving your kiddo a name that they will grow into is always in style. Some of those vintage names include:
- Marjorie (made popular by the Taylor Swift song of the same name from her album "Evermore")
- Martha
- Dolores
- Lionel
- Arthur
- Harold
Names inspired by the sky and space are big
This year, it seems that parents are looking to the sky and beyond for baby name inspiration. Names inspired by the weather and the atmosphere seem to be a hit, including:
- Icelynn
- Nova
- Sky
- Stormy
- Kepler
- Lightning
- Zephyr
- Air
