Boone and Zane: 12 new & weird baby name trends

Just when you thought you had heard of every baby name under  the sun and you were quite convinced we should just go back to Sarah and Jack (my own grandparents so I may be a little biased) there comes another trend in baby names. In fact 12. Yes 12 whole trends for baby names – one for every month of the year if you will.

Nameberry which claims to be the go-to site for “expert opinion, savvy advice and information on baby names” has just released their 12 hottest trends.

1. Modern Hero Names

These are simply names that honour modern day heroes. Think Mariah Carey and her daughter Monroe. Surname names can honour heroes from any field and include names like Landry (as in football coach Tom), Gatsby (as in fictional hero The Great), and Palin (yes, as in her).

2. Same but Different Names

For the parent who likes a popular name bur doesn’t want to be using the same name as everybody else. America’s most popular girl’s name Isabella becomes Arabella or Annabelle and Olivia, the top name in Britain becomes Alivia. Similarly  Emma and Emily become Emmett.

3. Fierce Names

Yes, there is a trend to name children so that they seem fearsome – scary even. Think Bear, Fox, Wolf, Lynx and the ultimate fierce names Breaker, Ranger, and Wilder. Sorry I do have to ask Wilder than what?

4. Go West

It’s not just about direction although some people are calling their kids North and East and Easton but it seems people are taking the “Go West” ideology of the Village People seriously naming babies West and Weston and Wesley, along with Western-sounding names so there will be a generation of Boone and Bo, Wyatt and Wylie, Cole and Colt, Zane and Shane, and even Maverick.

5. Now Vowel: A

A names have been trending upward for several years now, with more babies receiving A names than those of any other letter. What makes A names new are the adventurous choices parents are making these days in order to use a name with this primary letter: Fresh A names attracting attention on Nameberry include for girls, Acacia, Ada, Anais, Annelise, Anouk, Aria, Athena, Aurelia, and Azalea, and for boys, Alistair, Ambrose, Aragon, Archer, Arthur, Augustus, and Axel.

6. Consonant of the Moment: M

Over the past few decades, we’ve had J, K, and L names in the forefront, and with Baby Names 2012 it’s M’s moment. M names making their move include for girls, Maeve, Magdalena, Maisie, Marguerite, Marlo/Marlowe, May, Mila, Millie, and Minnie, and for boys, Magnus, Micah, Miller, Milo, Montgomery, and Moses.

7.Strongest, Bravest Trend: Adjective Names

Word names that are nouns (think River and Thorn) are a little passé. Now we are embracing adjectives so it’s all about True, Noble, Brave, Strong, Loyal, Loving, Sunny, Golden, Royal, Happy.  Yes that was a list of names not a description of someone with a name

8. Most Surprising Comeback Name: Betty

Betty was so hot for so long that it felt like one of those names that might never come back.  But it has. Me, I’m thinking of Veronica and Archie but that may just be showing my age and choice of comic material.

9. Coolest Middle Names: New Connectors

No more one-syllable middle names like Ann and Lee and Lynn, in their place are new one-syllable middle names like May and Wren and Bee.

10. Most Unlikely Baby Name Inspiration: TV’s Evil Grandpa

Arlo. Really that is all I can say. Named after the gun-toting, pot-dealing grandpa Arlo Givens on TV’s Justified this name is making a comeback.

11. Name Trend Ready To Jump The Shark: The -ley Names

As Nameberry says “We liked Hadley, name of Hemingway’s sympathetic first wife. And Huxley, Ridley, and Radley, as in Aldous, Scott, and Boo, were all intriguing. But the trend toward tacking an -ley onto the end of a wide range of first syllables and calling it a name — Brinley, Kinley, Finley, endlessly — became so pandemic so quickly that we are ready to declare it over, already.”

12. Sweetest Ending: Vintage Nicknames That End in -ie

Nicknames that end in ie — Lottie and Hattie, Addie and Nellie — were all the rage at the end of the 19th century and well it seems they are all the rage a in the 21st century too

If I were to have another child I think I’d buck the trend, What about you?