September 3rd 2023.
Goodbye Noah, hello Navy
Celebrities have been giving their children unusual names for years, from Apple and Peaches to Bambi and Venezuela. What was once a phenomenon restricted to the A-listers is now becoming increasingly popular amongst everyday parents.
Where Amelia, Lily, Oliver and Oscar have been dominating the top charts, change is in the air. Parents are now opting for rarer and more atypical alternatives, so playgrounds in five years’ time will be filled with more Apollos and Cosminas than you might expect.
Take the 603% increase in Barbie as a baby name as a testament to how people are craving fresh and fun alternatives.
Sophie Kihm from Nameberry explains: ‘Parents are looking for something that will set their children apart from the crowd, that will showcase their style, culture and hopes for their child. There is also a growing pressure to be unique and original, as many parents had the experience of being in a class with multiple other children sharing their name. They don’t want their children to go through the same experience.’
And the stats back it up. In 1996, there were 4,956 different baby girl names and 3,713 different baby boy names. But today, the numbers have risen to 7,329 and 6,201 respectively.
Kate Guest, one of those parents looking for a unique name, chose Calypso for her daughter. She explains: ‘We wanted something joyous, musical and happy that would make us smile to say it. It’s memorable too, I guess. We love the name and she does too, for now. If she wants to shorten it or even change it later, she can. It’s her name.’
Samantha Bevington, from Manchester, was keen to get away from the common names she used to hear as a teacher. She chose the name Nara, saying: ‘We wanted something a bit different, but not pretentious. We read about how the cherry blossom had appeared early that year in Japan and we were instantly transported back to our springtime adventure through Nara a few years before. The name felt just right.’
Playing into this, there is also the recent resurgence of previously ‘unfashionable’ names, like Gareth and Keith, as confirmation that change is in the air. Names like Joni, Dulcie, Florrie, Goldie, Gigi, and Marcie for girls, Alvie/Alvey, Lockie, Lennie, Artie, Gus, Herbie, Paddy, and Ozzy for boys, Luella, Millicent, Roland, and Saul, as well as Deborah, Patricia, Lisa, Cory, Shane, Byron, and Colin are becoming increasingly popular.
Word names are also on the rise, with Raine, Dusty, Storm, and Navy trending for girls, and Sunny, Zephyr, and Forest rising for boys. Pop culture is also introducing new names into the pool, such as Cataleya, Raya, Enola, and Zendaya for girls, and Kylian, Neo, and Bowie for boys.
It's clear that baby names won't be 'boring' for much longer. Parents are embracing their cultural identities, opting for Muslim, Hindu, and Scandinavian names, as well as names trending in the US. Alternative spellings are also being used to make names feel more unique.
So goodbye Noah, and hello Navy! It's clear that parents are now looking for something special that will reflect their hopes and dreams for their child. Unusual names are becoming increasingly popular, so it's safe to say that playgrounds in the future will be much more exciting!
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
