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Help[Opinions] The next big thing in naming trends?
There have been a couple of naming trends in the past few years that were seemingly ubiquitous. First, we saw a few names become popular and suddenly everyone is either using that name or a rhyme variation. For boys, think Aiden, Jaden, Caden, and infinitum. For girls, think Kaley, Haley, Bailey, I even knew a Shaylee and Maylie.
The next big trend was surnames as first names. For boys, we see Emerson, Beckham, Callahan, and so on. For girls, Collins, Sloane, and Greer made the charts.
Attached magazine recently posted an article about Mormon influencer baby naming trends. {This site’s resident celebrity, Dr. Cleveland Kent Evans has said in his book and in several articles that he has published, that the state of Utah is usually ahead of the trends when it comes to baby names.} The article says that “word names” are becoming popular. One influencer shared names she didn’t use for her daughter, such as Bubble, Cherry, and Tank (yes, you read that right. Tank for a girl.) Another popular influencer turned reality star has three children, named Indigo, Ocean, and her latest baby, “Ever True.”
I myself am a Mormon, and funnily enough my family all have fairly common names. My own name was in the top 100 when I was born, my husband and his family’s names are even more common, and my daughter has a top 10 name. It’s funny to me that this is a trend in the first place.
What are your thoughts on these names? With Dr. Evans stating that usually Utah is ahead of the curve, and a lot of Mormons living in Utah, do you think these “non” names of random words will become popular? Are there words that you think sound pretty but aren’t used as names? Have you heard any word names that you think should stay as just words? Would love your thoughts. I’ve linked the magazine article below.
“When Did Baby Names Start Getting So Weird?” https://www.attachedmag.com/article/when-did-baby-names-start-getting-so-weird
The next big trend was surnames as first names. For boys, we see Emerson, Beckham, Callahan, and so on. For girls, Collins, Sloane, and Greer made the charts.
Attached magazine recently posted an article about Mormon influencer baby naming trends. {This site’s resident celebrity, Dr. Cleveland Kent Evans has said in his book and in several articles that he has published, that the state of Utah is usually ahead of the trends when it comes to baby names.} The article says that “word names” are becoming popular. One influencer shared names she didn’t use for her daughter, such as Bubble, Cherry, and Tank (yes, you read that right. Tank for a girl.) Another popular influencer turned reality star has three children, named Indigo, Ocean, and her latest baby, “Ever True.”
I myself am a Mormon, and funnily enough my family all have fairly common names. My own name was in the top 100 when I was born, my husband and his family’s names are even more common, and my daughter has a top 10 name. It’s funny to me that this is a trend in the first place.
What are your thoughts on these names? With Dr. Evans stating that usually Utah is ahead of the curve, and a lot of Mormons living in Utah, do you think these “non” names of random words will become popular? Are there words that you think sound pretty but aren’t used as names? Have you heard any word names that you think should stay as just words? Would love your thoughts. I’ve linked the magazine article below.
“When Did Baby Names Start Getting So Weird?” https://www.attachedmag.com/article/when-did-baby-names-start-getting-so-weird
This message was edited 6/2/2025, 8:02 PM
Replies
I don't know enough about Mormons or the culture of Utah to answer the first question fully, but "random" words probably will remain popular for the next 10-20 years, then they will look dated and strange. I like Simmer but have never heard it being used before.
I think Dream, Love, Chastity, Purity, Love, Happy, Lucky, Treasure, Rebel, Pilot, Doctor and things like that might be too specific to "suit" just any child.
I think that color names, seasonal names, month names and nature names are generally okay, though. Specifically, I like: Winter, Summer, Autumn, April, June, Lily, Tiger, Tigerlily, Forest, Jade, Amber, Sky, Cloud, Sunny, Zephyr, and many others.
I think Dream, Love, Chastity, Purity, Love, Happy, Lucky, Treasure, Rebel, Pilot, Doctor and things like that might be too specific to "suit" just any child.
I think that color names, seasonal names, month names and nature names are generally okay, though. Specifically, I like: Winter, Summer, Autumn, April, June, Lily, Tiger, Tigerlily, Forest, Jade, Amber, Sky, Cloud, Sunny, Zephyr, and many others.
Ever since I was a child, I've always loved word names. The only options I've ever seriously considered as potential baby names have been word names. (Well...except one, as you can see from my post history).
I imagine I'm not unique in this, and now that more and more of people of my generation are having kids I can see word names being a big trend.
I imagine I'm not unique in this, and now that more and more of people of my generation are having kids I can see word names being a big trend.
I think we might see an increase in whimsical word names that aren’t nature related. I’ve seen TikToks recently of “baby names I love but won’t be using” and was surprised to see how many people included Poet, Poem, and Story! Got me thinking of some other words that could gain popularity:
Love
Wonder
Sonnet
Bright
Fable
Solace
Wish
Echo
Promise
Haze
Noble
Gleam
Quest
Glow
Morning
Roam
Peace
Doe
Season
Honor
Altar
Prosper
Hero
Siren
I could be way off base!!
Love
Wonder
Sonnet
Bright
Fable
Solace
Wish
Echo
Promise
Haze
Noble
Gleam
Quest
Glow
Morning
Roam
Peace
Doe
Season
Honor
Altar
Prosper
Hero
Siren
I could be way off base!!
So many of these perfectly walk the line between trendy and classy. I love them! Haze and Altar have to be the top ones of me in your list that I had never thought of as given names before. Love them.
These are lovely!
Nature name+Lynn for girls (Oaklynn, Lakelynn) U in middle names for boys (Crue, Truce) surnames as first names will get more and more common, as well as masculine names for girls (like James and Jackson)
The “-Lynn” trend is already going down, but it will be interesting to see how the rest of your predictions play out!
That's interesting, because I've really fallen in love with word names this past year or two as well. I definitely see the incline too and can see it blowing up more, for sure.
Love Taylor Frankie Paul. 🤭
Love Taylor Frankie Paul. 🤭
I was wondering if anyone else would know who I was referencing! I posted asking opinions about her kids’ names right after Ever was born and everyone hated the names but now it seems like the tide is turning?
Not big, but brand names have made an impact (Dior, Alaia, Cartier, Armani, Zara...). I've also noticed nature names, especially flower/plant names (Alder, Magnolia, Lavender, Juniper, Marigold...) getting boosts in popularity. In addition, many word names started to slightly decline since the start of the decade, for instance, Phoenix, Legend, Seven, Lyric or Harmony.
I think the next naming trends will be classic names (Felix, Daisy, Eloise, Margaret, Vincent) and biblical names (Jaziel, Anna, Miriam, Solomon, Eliam).
I think the next naming trends will be classic names (Felix, Daisy, Eloise, Margaret, Vincent) and biblical names (Jaziel, Anna, Miriam, Solomon, Eliam).
My husband, who hates word names, still has a soft spot for flower names. We strongly considered Magnolia and Juniper (does Juniper count as a flower?)
I 100% agree with Classic and Biblical names coming in hot. My daughter has a “classic” name and someone said, “I guess you’re going for the old fashioned names.” Haha, I guess?
I 100% agree with Classic and Biblical names coming in hot. My daughter has a “classic” name and someone said, “I guess you’re going for the old fashioned names.” Haha, I guess?
I like word names that sound like names. Cherry was a sex worker in a book I read. The character was great, but... not in a way I'd name a child after. I'm very hesitant about any kind of food names. On the other hand, I love Cedar, Grey, Timber, Arbour, Valour, Wreath, Briar, Ridge, Paisley, Ibis, Lore, Lyric, Journey, Fable, Selah, Aster, Calix, Starling, Sorrel and Solace to name a few. Overall, I don't hate this trend. It's a matter of keeping it classy.
This message was edited 6/3/2025, 1:57 AM
I also think of a book character there but I think of Cherry Valance in the book the Outsiders. Very cute but I’d prefer it as a name for something longer, maybe Charity or Charlize?
I also LOVE the name Cedar. I think of it as masculine.
Other names you’ve listed which are only list are Valour, Briar, Aster, and Sorrel. I have never seen Solace used as a name in English or thought of it but I like it. I’ve known a Briar, Paisley, and Sorrel in real life and think of them primarily as names before words. I do think all in your list are classy.
I also LOVE the name Cedar. I think of it as masculine.
Other names you’ve listed which are only list are Valour, Briar, Aster, and Sorrel. I have never seen Solace used as a name in English or thought of it but I like it. I’ve known a Briar, Paisley, and Sorrel in real life and think of them primarily as names before words. I do think all in your list are classy.
Thank you :D I also see Cedar working for a boy.
I'm relieved to see the Aidan/Braden/Cayden/Jayden/Hayden/Radon train has lost steam. Back when I worked in a bookstore a couple years ago, I heard parents calling enough of these to last a lifetime.
As for random words, or dictionary word names as I like to call them, there is a very fine line for me. Only a modest handful pass the test. I will admit that I actually do like Cherry quite a bit, though! It may seem a bit juvenile, like Candy, but I'm kind of drawn to names that invoke sugar or sweetness. They feel very 90's summer or high school nostalgic. I tend to think of the movie Clueless and its fashion vibe whenever I hear names like these. It may have something to do with my oldest cousin who is named Candy. She's a late Gen-Xer who I thought was the coolest person ever while growing up.
I think this article may be onto something. Items, dictionary, or random words are likely a sure bet.
I also see place/location names as maybe gaining a foothold again. There was a mini-surge in the 90's and early 2000's it seemed (Savannah, Paris, Sydney, Chelsea, Austin etc.), and there seems to be another one on the rise (London, Brooklyn, Cairo, Vienna, India etc.).
As for random words, or dictionary word names as I like to call them, there is a very fine line for me. Only a modest handful pass the test. I will admit that I actually do like Cherry quite a bit, though! It may seem a bit juvenile, like Candy, but I'm kind of drawn to names that invoke sugar or sweetness. They feel very 90's summer or high school nostalgic. I tend to think of the movie Clueless and its fashion vibe whenever I hear names like these. It may have something to do with my oldest cousin who is named Candy. She's a late Gen-Xer who I thought was the coolest person ever while growing up.
I think this article may be onto something. Items, dictionary, or random words are likely a sure bet.
I also see place/location names as maybe gaining a foothold again. There was a mini-surge in the 90's and early 2000's it seemed (Savannah, Paris, Sydney, Chelsea, Austin etc.), and there seems to be another one on the rise (London, Brooklyn, Cairo, Vienna, India etc.).
It seems like the place names are a bit more nuanced than the “big city” names of the 90s or 2000’s. Sometimes I wonder if a family has special ties to a place when they name their child after a location. With so many people able to live wherever they choose because of the onset of remote work, it could make sense we would see an increase in that trend.
I don't see the link for the magazine article.
Sorry, I’ve updated it.
I'm not a fan of word names. They sound ridiculous.
I think for me it depends. My husband had a rule when we named our baby: no word names at all. Even Rose, June, or Ruby he didn’t like. I think those are just fine, but when you pick a random noun, adverb, or adjective that isn’t a name at all, it comes off as strange.