Unless you’ve been living in a deep, dark hole for most of 2015, we’re guessing you’ve experienced your fair share of creative baby names this year. Whether it was just a few days ago with Kim + Kanye’s new son Saint or Zooey Deschanel’s daughter Elsie Otter, unique names are becoming the new normal for the next generation (try to wrap your head around that, why don’t ya).
Middle Names as First Names
Nameberry’s founder Pamela Redmond Satran tells us, “Middle names used to be virtual filler material between first names and surnames. In the days when many fewer names were in common use, one function they used to serve was distinguishing William A. Smith from William J. Smith. But today, first names AND surnames are more diverse, and parents are looking to invest in names with personal meaning. The middle name is the perfect place to use a more adventurous name that might symbolize a special place, something from nature or spirituality that is significant or to honor an ancestor or a hero whose name might be too imposing to put in first place.”
Middle Names on the Rise: Snow, Love, Moon, Rainbow, Ocean, Sky, Rein, Blue, Red, Day, Bay, Dove, Dream, Dune, Frost, Grove, Muse, Pike and Pine
Migratory Names
While somewhere like France or Thailand may have seemed like an entirely different world 100 years ago, it’s now only a plane ride away. And with the increase of globalization comes various cultural influences in different countries. To put that in baby name context, France is seeing a rise in popularity of British names like Emma and Jade. The Dutch are choosing names with French origins and Italians are going German. Nameberry writes, “You don’t have to be Irish to name your daughter Maeve or Italian to call your son Giovanni instead of John. A baby with the ethnically distinct surname-name of Cohen or Cruz is likely not to be Jewish or Spanish, while babies named Brooklyn are born more often in Montana and Iowa than in New York.”
Migratory Names on the Rise: Enzo, Fleur, Oliver and Ludovica
Old Man Names
Turns out that “everything old is new again” saying is also true for baby names. Nameberry reports a resurgence of older names that had, for the most part, been written off as totally outdated. Ten years ago, a baby with a name like Clyde, Ellis or Ernest may have seemed like an unusual pick but now it seems like enough time has passed that the names have a vintage charm to them.
Old Man Names on the Rise: Barney, Edwin, Floyd, Leopold, Morris, Murray, Montgomery, Ralph, Rudolph, Seymour and Stanley
French Names
Due to the Charlie Hebdo and more recent Paris attacks, France has maintained a strong presence in the media throughout most of 2015. And while most of the reasons the country has been prominent in the news are due to unfortunate events, the introduction and mainstay of French names could have a strong impact on baby names stateside. Pamela tells us that this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. She says, “One example is the events of 9/11 in New York, which spurred tourism in that city and may have contributed to the rise of a New York-centric name like Brooklyn.”
French Names on the Rise: Ines, Manon, Maelys, Lilou, Leonie, Timeo, Jules and Mathis
Directional Names
Simple, directional names like South, North and West have been getting increasingly popular in recent years, and it looks like it’s only going up for there — literally. Nameberry reports that now parents are taking this trend a step further by using the skies and even the planetary system as inspiration.
Directional Names on the Rise: Luna, Nova, Orion, Celeste, Phoenix, Skye, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Cloud, Andromeda, Io and Cassiopeia.
(Photos via Getty)
