Baby Name Trends for Baby Boys or Baby Girls.
There’s a new baby coming into the family and everyone is buzzing about the choice of a baby girl name or a baby boy name. Some are lobbying for old-fashioned classics such as James and Anne. Others like popular baby names or the celebrity-inspired names such as Paris and Heath. Still others want to remember Aunt Flora or Uncle Henry. Let’s face it, there is a lot of hype when it comes to naming baby and most likely there will be someone, if not offended, then slightly miffed.
Some look for Irish baby boy names, Italian baby girl names or English names. In my Dad’s family with their Scandinavian origins, the practice was to use the initials of the grandparents to name the grandchild. Woe to the young mother or father who chose a different set of initials! And then there are some of us in the boomer generation who remember unusual names such as Moonbeam and Sweetpea, but certainly hope our children don’t opt for those now.
Here are some websites Ask Granny has chosen to help your family do their research when it comes to choosing top baby names and meanings. At Baby Name Wizard’s Name Voyager you can track a name from the 1880’s to the present and see the name’s ranking from one to one hundred. The name George was ranked number four in the 1880’s, number fifteen in the 1940’s but only one hundred sixty-four in 2010.
At Nameberry.com you’ll find a discussion of the fourteen hottest trends in baby names for girls and boys. For instance there is the trend of pairing a formal first name with a whimsical middle name. Thus you may meet Louise Bunny or Arthur Bee. Some choose a nickname to be used by the family first and then match it with the name which will be printed on the birth certificate. So Jo may formally be Josephine or Zee may be Zebedee. Androgynous names such as Sawyer or Paxton are popular as are day names such as Monday or season names such as Winter. Flower names are also hot—names such as Poppy or Azalea. You’ll find other interesting trends at Nameberry.com.
At Nametrends.net you’ll find another set of popular trends in baby naming. Biblical names, especially from the list of Apostles are trendy. Thus you’ll meet Simon and Thaddeus. Occupational names such as Hunter, Bridger and Tanner are in. Place names are also hot, names such as Dallas or Israel. There are name parts that are either in or out. Thus names beginning with Je are currently not in vogue, nor are names ending in ford. Name parts that are popular are those ending in ton, don and dan. Gem names are popular for girls—Jade, Coral and even Diamond.
An NPR blogsite discusses the positives and negatives in selecting baby names and opens up discussion about some of the “hot spots” that can arise in name selection. Should parents think of family members when choosing their favorite name? Should they consider the teasing that may accompany the selection of a unique name?
Well, baby is coming whether or not the name has been agreed upon. Go to Babyhold.com to research thousands of names. You can read about the origins of names and see their meanings. Do you want an unusual baby name perhaps with Chinese or Icelandic origin? You’ll find it here. There are also discussions about old-fashioned names, names with one or two syllables and virtually any other topic you can think of related to choosing the name for your soon-to-meet-the-world baby. Once baby is born that name will soon be part of his or her unique personality and you’ll wonder why there was so much fuss over the selection—that name just fits baby to a T!
