Main character energy, soft sounds and the weather report are your inspo.
Every year baby name sites publish reports of the most popular baby names for the year. This year, Charlotte has once again claimed the top girls name for 2023 (after a few years of being beat by Olivia, now number four), and Oliver is still the most-loved name for baby boys, holding it’s top spot for over a decade now. They also publish baby name trend predictions, which is really, much more exciting and interesting for anyone wanting to be ahead of the curve in the name game, or just find something as unique as your newborn. Here, we’re pulling out the trends, explaining how they became a thing, and telling you why you name your son, Florence.
TREND: Girl Names for Boys
Names: Artemis, Blair, Carmen, Eden, Fern, Florence, Greer, Harlow, Hazel, Izzy, Jade, June, Juno, Morgan, Romy, Rose, Rue, Sunny, Willow, Winter.
The reason you’ll use them: Names have only ever gone from boys to girls. For generations, parents have given daughters masculine names as a way of empowering them. Until now. It’s the 2020s, Caitlin Moran has a book on how men want their own feminist revolution, there’s more women than men graduating with degrees and generally society is progressing away from dated gender stereotypes. So parents are claiming more traditionally feminine names for their sons. Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s second son is Riot Rose, Chrissy Teigan and John Legend’s is Wren… Feminine boy names give a softer, more sensitive appeal. There’s also a reclaiming of history part to this trend. Cleo, Carmen and Greer and the like were historically masculine names that have just been favoured by the girls so long we’ve forgotten where they started.
TREND: Female Icons
Names: Althea, Billie, Clover, Colette, Dahlia, Dorothea, Eleanora, Guinevere, Isadora, Kiara, Lavender, Lulu, Palmer, Pippa, Matilda, Mavis, Sinclair, Sloane, Tabitha, Tallulah, Winslow
The reason you’ll use them: When Barbie brought back cinema, there were reports saying we’d see more girls named Barbie, Midge and maybe Skipper, but for anyone who actually got the film will tell you, it’s deeper than that. If the movie is going to inspire your baby name it’s going to be less direct. Feminine can be feminist, so girly names like Tallulah, Lavender and Lulu feel more powerful than before. Individuality is embraced, so more androgynous names like Sinclair and Palmer feel endearing.
TREND: Atmospheric
Names: Aero, Aire, Apollo, Aura, Azure, Celestial, Cielo, Helios, Ice, Itzel, Keilani, Lumi, Rain, Soleil, Sky, Snow, Storm, Sunny, Zephyr.
The reason you’ll use them: Last year naturalistic names were all about light, but now the trend is opening sky-wide. Names that have a feeling to them, like a gust of wind, a sudden chill or a deep breath of fresh air. The names themselves are fresh, almost entirely modern, without historical baggage or traditional connotations. No one in the history books was named Ice or Lumi, these names are theirs to be defined. The thought behind these is that they’ll be chosen by Gen Z parents, Kylie Jenner (who was born the very last year of the Millennials) has Stormi and Aire, who are used to things moving quickly and understand existence is as transient as a Instagram Story, so if their little Aura decides to change their name in 18 years, they’ll accept that.
TREND: Baby Men and Women
Names: Agnes, Alfred, Antonia, Arthur, Betty, Carla, Cedric, Clyde, Constance, Dolores, Duncan, Georgina, Harold, Heath, Helen, Lars, Lionel, Lois, Marjorie, Martha, Mauricio, Maxine, Ray, Roland, Sidra, Stanley, Sylvia
The reason you’ll use them: TikTok had a field day with “You’re naming a person, not a baby” videos. On the surface it was some portrayed as practical advice: your baby will be a baby for a few years, but an adult for 80, so make sure you name them accordingly, but it was also being shady to parents who’ve chosen more unconventional “babyish” names like Ocean, Bambi or Ru. Those nonconformist bohemian names aren’t going anywhere (and no one messes with Lala Kent), but there is a shift to more serious, button-upped adult names. They might be easy to picture on a judge, but less so on a baby. So these are for parents looking forward to their babies growing into their name, not out of it.
TREND: Names ending in “ai”
Names: Azai, Azakai, Cai, Esai, Jakai, Kai, Kasai, Kenai, Khai, Lorelai, Makai, Malakai, Marsai, Mordecai, Ozai, Sai, Sakai, Sarai, Shai, Shakai, Sinai, Zai
The reason you’ll use them: Kai entered the 100 Most Popular Baby Names in 2019 and it’s been letting in more and more “ai” names ever since. Pop culture and celebrity have introduced ai names: Sai, Khai, Azakai, but there’s also vintage choices: Mordecai, Lorelai. Like the 4+2+i names of 2023, ai names travel well. They can be said, make sense and fit-in to many different languages and countries, so if the world is your parenting oyster, one of these might just be perfect.
TREND: Main Character Energy
Names: Anakin, Athena, Azriel, Bowie, Elton, Elvis, Enola, Esmeralda, Everest, Galilea, Jetson, Joni, Kenzo, Leonidas, MArceline, Marigold, Maximo, Namari, Neo, Ophelia, Ozzy, Persephone, Primrose, Raya, Sylvester, Thaddeus, Valentino, Ziggy
The reason you’ll use them: Big names you won’t forget. These options come from literal main characters in movies, novels and mythology as well as people in pop culture who have captured the zeitgeist. They are bold and dramatic with strong sounds but are also instantly recognisable, so people will love saying them. Something that will only add to your little one’s main character energy.
TREND: Gentle Parenting Names
Names: Alfie, Ansel, Amias, Asa, Casper, Clement, Cyril, Elio, Ellis, Faye, Fia, Florian, Hale, Ione, Ines, Isolde, Ivo, Koa, Liana, Luan, Oisin, Oona, Rafe, Rhea, Rhys, Sahil, Selah, Soraya, Valo, Willa
The reason you’ll use them: Like it or not, Gentle Parenting is the predominant discipline in parenting for today’s parent. We preach kindness above all, prioritise feelings over obedience and hope that (as promised) it will lead to children with a high emotional intelligence and better ability to regulate their feelings and, you know, live a better life. The knock-on effect is parents leaning into soft-sounding names. All vowels and fluid consonants: C, F, L and S, these names are soothing, mellow and set to rise. Even Disney’s new film is onboard, named for its main character, Elio.
