A name trend requires a common thread: a style link that makes a whole group of names rise and fall together. It might be a shared suffix, or meaning, or linguistic origin. Occasionally it’s something more elusive—a theme you recognize but can’t easily define. That’s the case with a new […]
Let’s talk about a rare boy’s name. Really rare. A name that isn’t ranked in the current top 1000, or even the top 2000. A name rarer than Theophilus, or Dinero, or Supreme. A name like Brad. Among grown men, of course, Brad is hardly a curiosity. It was a […]
Even creative spelling has its rules—and those rules are changing. For generations, two letters have reigned supreme the realm of creative name spelling: Y and K. Parents replaced workaday vowels with Ys in names from Lynda to Paxtyn, and Cs with Ks in names like Karter and Khloe. The two […]
Another baby name barrier is falling—a big one. Even this age of creative, high-impact naming, baby names have generally remained single words. But not any more. American parents have started to create names out of phrases. Compound names like Mary Kate or Jon-Michael have always been common enough, as have […]
There’s nothing subtle about a name like Danger. Its meaning is spelled out right in front of you, with attitude to match. Meaning-first names, drawn straight from the dictionary or from history, are a growing element of contemporary, high-impact name style. They can be as fresh and bold—or as personal […]
The two biggest baby name stories of 2019 were more about substance than style. The top hitmakers—the late hip-hop artist Nipsey Hussle and the film The Hate U Give—made their marks across names as varied as Kross and Sekani, Ermias and Seven. In the process, they helped define a cultural […]
Name endings can define style eras. The names Marlene and Carlene sound like babies of the 1940s, while Marleigh and Carleigh have the touch of the new millennium. But for names ending in -i, the story is more complicated. It’s a tale of three different American eras. As you can […]
These are tough times for classic names. Even names that have stood as gold standards for timelessness are falling out of fashion: William, Katherine and Elizabeth have hit all-time popularity lows. Yet even in this naming climate, some traditional choices are thriving. Names like Amelia, Sebastian and Naomi have reached […]
Name trends can sneak up on you. They move bit by bit, shifting your expectations along the way. As time goes by, you might even forget that Penelope used to sound old-fashioned instead of trendy, or that you marveled at your first sighting of Jaxon-with-an-X. Here’s your reminder of how […]
It’s not just Carter and Cooper anymore. Check out some of the types of “doer” names that have appeared in the US baby name statistics in recent years: Fishing, hunting, camping: Angler, Camper, Caster, Tracker, Trapper Speed and sport: Catcher, Driver, Fielder, Racer, Sailor, Striker, Wheeler Rodeo and horses: Breaker, […]
Recent Comments