We are in crisis: The terrible baby-name trends of 2018 have a lot of people worried.

Remember when we used to mock those crazy, ridiculous names celebrities would give their babies? Like Apple, Dream, Blue Ivy and North West?

“Poor child” we would respond in unison.

Well, it would seem that this urge to go against traditional forenames has in fact become mainstream, with a trend emerging being dubbed “the terrible baby-naming epidemic of 2018” by GQ.

Yep, it seems more and more parents are choosing to name their babies the weird and wacky names that celebrities are notorious for picking. In 2018, being alternative is the new norm.

The trend was revealed by the Social Security baby name database, which disclosed which names were becoming more popular, and which ones were on the out.

For boys, Ledger, Ensley, Aaden, Kairo and Kace are all on the rise. Whilst Paisleigh, Ensley and Raylee were on the list for girls. Oh, and Melania was there too, which was, well, unexpected…

But this list suggests that it’s not just the names that are different this year. Nope, naming your child Destiny isn’t alternative enough. It needs to be: Destinee. The list of names that are rapidly on the rise is dominated by ones that end in the “ee” sound, but with several different spellings, of course. Names that end in “-eigh,” “-ee”, “y” and “i” were all on the list. This just makes it fun for your child when their name is constantly being spelled wrong, for the rest of their life. 

Sorry about that, Everlee, Jurnee, Oaklee and Kynlee!

And, if you’re thinking of choosing a name that ends in “n”, why not add two of them? The database showed that Oaklyn had risen up the ladder by 1,072 spots in 2018, and Oaklynn had increased by 749.

There’s no one under 60 with the name ‘Nigel’ anymore. We discuss why, on our podcast for imperfect parents.

These names are of course designed to stand out from some of the more traditional, common names such as Lucy, Kate, Ollie and Sam, because these are just so… typical.

In the U.K, a recent study revealed one in five mothers felt “namer’s remorse” after picking some of the more conventional names. According to The Guardian, Amelia, Anne, James and Daniel were amongst those most frequently regretted.

But nevertheless you can’t get rid of tradition that quickly, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge opting for one of these more orthodox names in April of this year, for their third child, Louis. Well, actually, he’s Prince Louis of Cambridge.

What do you think? Is this a baby naming crisis, or is it time for a change from tradition?