With 2009 name fads, from Marley to Miley, safely behind us, what do we see as the hottest trends in baby names for the year ahead  Here, nameberry’s top 15 predictions for 2010 baby names:

BIGGEST BIG PICTURE TREND: ECONOMICAL NAMES

In this era of tighter budgets and darker outlooks, 2010 baby names will be getting both shorter and more light-hearted.  We see a trend toward nickname names ahead.  For boys, these are economical one-syllable names: Bob, Joe, Gus, Hal, Hank, Max,.  Such short forms – in every sense of the phrase are stylish and getting more so in Europe, with Jack the number one name in England, Tom tops in France, Bas and Sem popular in the Netherlands.

For girls, the nickname trend adds an “ie” onto the end of every name: Gracie, Ellie, Evie, Maisie, Josie.  Trendlet: boys’ nicknames – Lou, Charlie, Sam, Frankie – for girls.

NEWEST RETRO TREND

We predict the revival of serious, no-frills names that haven’t been considered for babies in several generations: Adele, Alice, Dorothy, Edith, Evelyn, Florence, Lenore, Louise, and Marion for girls; Arthur, Frank, Harold, Harvey, Martin, Raymond, Victor, Vincent, Walter, Warren for boys.  Having trouble imagining such sober names on cute little kids?  We said the same thing about Moses and Matilda a handful of years ago.

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Just a few years ago, it might have been fair to say that Winter was the season least friendly to names, while now it seems to offer the newest choices for the adventurous baby namer.   Why?  Two reasons:  Nicole Richie choosing Winter as one of the middle names for her high-profile little girl Harlow, and January Jones, beauteous star of noteworthy new show Mad Men.

WINTER is the season name that’s seen the least amount of use over the years, yet one that holds the most potential for boys as well as girls.  Variations include WINTERS, WYNTER, and (please don’t) WINTR.  Translations of the seasonal name include the French Hiver (pronounced ee-vair), Italian INVERNO, and in Spanish, INVIERNO.   In Dutch and German, it’s still Winter and and in Swedish, the comical-sounding (to the English speaker’s ear) VINTER.

In mythology, winter was said to be caused by DEMETER in grief over the loss of her daughter PERSEPHONE, consigned forever to the underworld (but rising again as a baby name, with or without the pronunciation of the final long e).

DECEMBER, still a highly unusual month name yet certainly a usable one, means ten.  Other versions you may want to consider: DECIMA, name of the Roman goddess of childbirth; DECEMBRA, DECIMUS, or DECIO.  December’s flower is the narcissus or holly, suggesting the names NARCISSA (difficult at best) and HOLLY (already a bit worn at the edges).  December gem TURQUOISE can work as a name, as can AQUA or its Turkish equivalent FAIRUZA.   Red, however, seems more suitable as December’s color, which leads you to a whole spectrum of great names, from SCARLETT to CRIMSON to RUFUS and RORY.

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The biggest baby name news of 2009 was Emma’s rise to the number one spot for girls’ names, becoming only the ninth girls’ name in U.S. history to claim first place.

EMMA unseated EMILY, which slipped to number three, after a 12-year-reign.  ISABELLA moved up to number two, but if taken together with sister ISABEL and ISABELLE, would have been the number one name.

On the boys’ side, the name that would be number one if the Social Security Administration counted all spelling variations together was AIDEN (and AIDAN and AYDEN, et al), which taken together account for more boys than received longtime number one name JACOB.

The only new entry to the girls’ Top Ten was CHLOE, replacing Hannah.  The boys’ Top Ten remained the same.

The names making the fastest leaps up the popularity ladder showed a strong celebrity influence, especially for girls.  The Top Ten Fastest Movers for girls were:

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Saturday Night Live has been around for 34 years, and over its long run it has featured many of the funniest, most creative, offbeat comic talents in America–some of whom have gone on to become so iconic that we’ve almost forgotten they were ever regulars on the show.  As in Billy Crystal, Robert Downey Jr, Bill Murray, Dennis Miller, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Martin Short and Senator Al “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough” Franken.

The question is: did they apply their quirky creativity when it came to naming their babies?  The answer is: not so much.  For example, Billy Crystal named one of his daughters Jennifer, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Brad Hall have a Henry and a Charles, Dana Carvey a Thomas, Al Franken a Joe,  and Jim Belushi a Robert.

But there are some who did–to lesser and greater degrees–think outside the box, most recently Maya Rudolph with her choice of Lucille. Here are some others:

ALEXANDRA  –  Joe Piscopo

ALICE ZENOBIA  –  Tina Fey

AUBREY  –  Victoria Jackson

BELLA ZAHRA  –  Eddie Murphy

BELLE KINGSTON  –  Dan Ackroyd

BIRGEN  –  Phil Hartman

BRIA  –Eddie Murphy

BRIDEY  –  Chris Elliot

CARA MIA  –  Damon Wayans

ELLA OLIVIA  –  Ben Stiller

FRANCES  –  Ana Gasteyer

GITRID  –  Tracy Morgan

HARPER  –  David Spade

JAMISON –  Jim Belushi

KYLA  –  Damon Wayans

LILY ASTER  –  Gilbert Gottfried

LOLA SIMONE  –  Chris Rock

LUCILLE  –  Maya Rudolph (more…)

Guest blogger JILL BARNETT ponders the reinvented names that work magic on our lives….or do they?

I stood in front of the mirror backstage, proudly inspecting my makeup and blue and white gingham costume. Granted, I was in the midst of the most unfortunate awkward phase in the history of adolescence (my parents truly should have kept me indoors as a public service), but on that night, opening night of our middle school musical, The Wizard of Oz, I was too excited about my debut as Dorothy to notice that my skinny body and giant hair made me resemble a human Q-Tip. As I saw my gangly13-year-old reflection staring back at me, only one thing entered my mind: stardom!

I couldn’t deny that dress rehearsals hadn’t been pretty–the Stryofoam rainbow prop had a habit of crashing to the ground as I sang about troubles melting like lemon drops, and then there was that pesky issue of my ruby slippers shedding chunks of red glitter with every step I took, but in my mind, this elite middle school production of The Wizard of Oz (complete with an orchestra consisting of a pianist, a flatulent flautist, and a drummer who smelled like Velveeta cheese) was my launching pad to certain fame. Who cared that many of the Munchkins were taller than I was, that our Toto was missing in action, or that the stage crew had never gotten around to actually building a set? Not I! I was too busy daydreaming about seeing my name in lights.

WAIT! My name in lights? Jill Barnett in lights? I didn’t even like my given name for everyday use, and certainly had no desire to see it on the marquis of the Gershwin Theatre or to hear it read aloud upon the win of my first Tony Award. Nope, Jill Barnett simply wouldn’t do, and in my opinion, it had even less star quality than a name like Frances Ethel Gumm, who happened to be my favorite actress and singer.

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