You’ve heard of them: Apple, Pirate, Petal Blossom, Archibald, Sparrow, Sundance, and the list goes on… With all of the unique names that moms and dads are coming up with for their babies lately it seems as though any name goes in today’s world. However, the experts at baby naming guide, Nameberry, would beg to differ.
Take a look at their list of names that are still considered “forbidden” and see if you agree:
- Cain
- Lucifer
- Jezebel
- Judas
- Mary
- Benedict
- Bridget
- Sambo
- Adolf
- Princess
- Cohen
- Dick
Now that it is a new year you might be wondering, what are the latest and greatest names that will be at the forefront of most popular names for 2012? Well, here are 12 baby naming trends to look out for this year:
Baby Naming Trends for 2012:
- POPULAR but CREATIVE: So the number 1 girls’ name Isabella gives rise to stylistically-related choices Arabella and Annabelle and Olivia, the top name in Britain, spawns spelling variation Alivia. Emma and Emily promote brother name Emmett.
- FIERCE: Names like Bear, Fox, Wolf, Falcon, Hawk, Lionel; and then there are the perhaps-even-fiercer names like Breaker, Ranger, and Wilder.
- “WEST”-ERN: West, Weston, and Wesley, along with Western-sounding names fit for a new generation of ‘lil cowboys: Wylie and Wyatt, Cole and Colt, Zane and Shane, and even Maverick.
- HEROIC: Monroe, Landry (as in football coach Tom), Gatsby (as in fictional hero The Great), and Palin (yes, as in her).
- VOWEL ‘A’: Fresh A names such as, Acacia, Ada, Anais, Annelise, Anouk, Aria, Athena, Aurelia, and Azalea for girls, and Alistair, Ambrose, Aragon, Archer, Arthur, Augustus, and Axel for boys.
- CONSONANT ‘M’: For girls, Maeve, Magdalena, Maisie, Marguerite, Marlo/Marlowe, May, Mila, Millie, and Minnie, and for boys, Magnus, Micah, Miller, Milo, and Montgomery.
- ADJECTIVES: True, Noble, Brave, Strong, Loyal, Loving, Sunny, Golden, Royal, Happy.
- COMEBACKS: Betty was so hot for so long that it felt like one of those names that might never come back, but we think Betty’s time has finally come.
- NEW CONNECTORS: Gone are the old one-syllable middle names like Ann and Lee and Lynn, and in their place are….new one-syllable names such as May and Wren and Bee.
- ARLO: today’s Arlo inspiration is more contemporary but even more unlikely: The gun-toting, pot-dealing grandpa Arlo Givens on television’s Justified.
- -LEY: we suspect a trend toward tacking an -ley onto the end of a wide range of first syllables and calling it a name — Brinley, Kinley, Finley, endlessly –
- VINTAGE –IE: Nicknames that end in ie – Lottie and Hattie, Addie and Nellie are up for a comeback.
