End of Summer Sale
Popular baby names are always good to know when you’re choosing your own — knowing your kid is going to be BFFing Oliver (the most popular baby name in Australia for over a decade now) and Isla, Amelia and Charlotte (the 3 top girls names in 2024) helps set the scene. But Australia is a land of creativity when it comes to naming our offspring, even the most popular name was given to just 0.6% of all babies last year. In naming our babies we project our aspirations, inspirations, history and passions, and we all want to do it in a unique way. We’re influenced by social media, pop culture, and the general global sensibility, which is exactly how baby naming sites predict the names we’ll be seeing a lot more of in the coming year. Here, we unpack the baby name trends expected to dominate birth certificates in 2025, and telling you why calling your kid after a Trolls character might be the coolest thing you could do.
TREND: Baby Names, Literally
Names: Albie, Aqua, Bambi, Bash, Bear, Blossom, Bunny, Cub, Cyan, Dolly, Georgie, Koala, Lilibet, Lottie, Louis, Lula, Nori, Posey, Rook, Scottie, Sonny, Teo, Xavi, Zelie
The reason you’ll use them: In recent years there was a real backlash to the cutesy, babyish names influencers and celebs were announcing they’d given their newborn, spurring the Clyde, Agnes, Heath, Lars, Martha and Sylvias (babies with grown up names) of 2024. However, as is often the case, the trend has flipped again, and we’re a full 360 back to the sweet stuff. This time though, it’s particularly lyrical, with single-syllable middle names rounding things out. Think Nara Smith’s daughter Whimsy Lou, Rihanna’s son Rio Rose, Brant Daugherty’s Aero Lore or even Hailey and Justin Bieber’s Jack Blues — yes, this is largely a celeb trend. There is something irresistibly cute about these sing-songy names, and they’re all things we inevitably call our kids “Bunny Boo”, “Lottie Lu”, “Baby Bear”... but with this trend, they aren’t just pet names, they’re the whole thing.
TREND: Landscape Names
Names: Acre, Branch, Cloud, Cove, Creek, Dune, Field, Marsh, Oak, Peak, Prairie, Reef, Shore, Slate, Tide, Trail, Vale, Valley
The reason you’ll use them: Names taken from nature are always popular, particularly in Aussie coastal towns, but in this iteration it’s less about flowers and more about landscapes. Interestingly, these often follow the format of traditional and common names, so much so they are almost only one-step removed: Dune is like June, Marsh is like Mitch, Field is like Fred, Cloud is like Clyde. This style of name was predicted to take off in 2019 after influencer Aspyn Ovard named her daughter Cove. But by the end of 2019, the similar sounding COVID became a thing and stopped the Cove climb to fame. Six years on, we’re ready for Cove and her soft, outdoorsy-sounding friends, even if they mostly sound like characters in a Trolls movie. These names are appealing to parents who want a name that’s recognisable (and people know how to spell), but unique and gender-neutral.
TREND: Fast Fashion Names
Names: Adael, Banxx, Blôss, Caylani, Eydan, Hollydai, Jexson, Kollyns, Kyren, Lakelyn, Mayli, Nikkox, Riven, Scottlyn, Sevyn, Shilo, Wrenlee, Zaria
The reason you’ll use them: You may have noticed new brands, particularly fashion brands, are increasingly full of creative spelling and pronunciation. Now, apply that to your baby name and the world’s your oyster. You can have a name that references your favourite movie, your cultural heritage and Grandma all in one. You can tick the box on the surname-first-name trend, gender-neutral name trend and nature-inspired name trend all in one. Why? Because these words don’t exist. At least not the way you’re spelling it. One of the benefits of a name like this (and the core reason a lot of brands do it) is that you'll be able to get them a namesake web address, social media handles and email without having to add numbers or underscores. @Eydan or sevyn@gmail.com is all yours. It doesn’t have to be quite as invented as Elon Musk’s X Æ AXII, but you do want varied spelling, married elements of different names, maybe a letter from the Latin or Scandinavian alphabets, see ø, å, à or ÿ. Just make sure your creation fits the bill of what’s legal in your state, as there are some surprising laws around what you can’t name your children.
TREND: Modern Country
Names: Abilene, Clover, Coy, Dottie, Elsie, Enoch Harlan, Hatcher, Hutch, Jetho, Lonnie, Lou, Lyle, Mable, Navarone, Opal, Polly, Santos, Tillie, Truett
The reason you’ll use them: Country as a music genre, style and vibe hit a high in 2024 that culture hasn't seen since Clint Eastwood was making Spaghetti Westerns. Beyonce mainstreamed Country with her album Cowboy Carter, Ganni Cowboy Boots were the most coveted (and replicated) fashion item, Yellow Stone is the family drama that replaced the Succession obsession. The follow through effect has been truly phenomenal, even The Wiggles kicked off 2025 with a country release! Baby names were bound to be bundled in the boom. Plus, there’s something poetic and grounding about these names. They feel rugged, humble, grounded and strong all at once. They are often last names as first names (like Carter) or place names from America’s mid west (like Dakota). Interestingly, along with the boom, the trend has expanded to some non-English background names that reference farming, ranches and outlaws.
TREND: Croc Names
Names: Clarence, Clyde, Enid, Ernest, Ethel, Francine, Gilbert, Golda, Harold, Helen, Hester, Howard, Ines, Isidore, Joan, Lars, Lois, Mildred, Millicent, Morris, Murray, Oswald, Pauline, Rita, Selma, Simeon, Sybil, Tyrone, Virgil
The reason you’ll use them: Think, so wrong it’s right. So bad it’s good. So ugly, it’s cute. Like Crocs — the foam, perforated clogs in unbelievably bright colours — which are now so basic, they’re cool. It takes a very stylish person, a real tastemaker, to spot a Croc Name. They are often vintage and in their most old-person-esq era before they boom. Know this is the list where you’ll find the next Oliver or Isla, but way before it’s boom. They are the names of kids in the trendiest suburbs. In a Fitzroy playground, “Enid, honey, it’s time for your seaweed snack!”. At the Dawes Point Arts Center, “Murray, do you want to enrol in Tap, or just Ballet this semester?”. In a Northbridge cafe, “Virgil, big feelings, hands to yourself. Selma, you too.” A trick to finding these names is to take them straight, no watering down Isidore to Isabelle, or modernizing Millicent to Millie or Amelia. Go all in. But when they ask what inspired their name, maybe don’t mention the shoe.
