Category: Trends and Predictions
X, y, and z are the trendiest middle letters in baby names today.
X appears in the middle most often in boys’ names: all the Alex, Max, and Jaxon variations.
Y stands in for just about any other vowel, as in Londyn and Myles, and also can help clarify pronunciation as in Layla.
And z can either act as a zesty s or give a classic name like Eliza or Ezra some subtle zip.
Here are some of the most popular names with x, y, or z in the middle today.
by Pamela Redmond Satran and Esmeralda Rocha
The most popular names on Nameberry for the first half of 2018 are led by the two names that held the top spots at the end of 2017, Olivia and Atticus.
In second place, though, things get really interesting. Amara, the multicultural girls’ name with roots in three continents, leapt onto the Top 10 for the full year 2018, and now is all the way up at Number 2 for girls.
Amara first entered the US Top 1000 at the turn of this century, and now is poised to break into the Top 200. It’s also on official popularity lists in England and Germany. If you think of it as a modern blend of Amanda and Mary, you can understand where it gets its star power.
On the boys’ side, the Number 2 name is Milo, up from sixth place in the year-end tally. Another multicultural choice, Milo was the name of an ancient Greek Olympic wrestler and is grandfather to also-stylish Miles. Like Amara, Milo stands around Number 200 of the official US list. It’s even more popular in England, Germany, and Sweden.
Overall, the top girls’ names for the first half of the year show a decided trend towards longer, more formal, vintage names. Florence, Cordelia, and Anastasia have replaced Ellie, Jade, and Khaleesi. Genevieve, Beatrice, and Freya are among the biggest risers while Zoe, Molly, and Mia were among the fastest-falling girls’ names.
On the boys’ side, Nameberry’s visitors are also loving sophisticated Continental names in 2018, but prefer short and punchy choices. Elio, Otis, Otto, and Atlas are new to the boys’ Top 100, and among the fastest risers are Lewis, Owen, Lachlan, and Caspian, taking over from Zachary, Xavier, and Nathaniel.
Nameberry’s most popular names list is based on number of views each name page received for the first half of 2018. It gauges interest in these baby names, though it is an indicator of future trends and official name popularity.
The 100 most popular names for boys and girls on Nameberry for 2018, so far, follow. Asterisks indicate names new to the list in 2018 versus 2017. And don’t forget to read all the way to the bottom of the post to enter our surprise contest!
By Mélissa Delahaye of Jolis Prénoms
With French baby names, two clear trends have emerged in baby naming: short, simple, two-syllable names and the return to vintage/ancient names. With a heavy preponderance of girl names ending with -a and the growing success of biblical names, there are many overlaps with U.S. trends. French parents are also largely returning to tradition when it comes to naming their children, and old-fashioned names are making their comeback. Name popularity goes in cycles and a growing number of French parents are exploring the branches of their family trees to find inspiration.
Here is a selection of classic names that are either on the rise or already big hits in France, but not as well used in the US:
By Esmeralda Rocha
We know how much the Nameberry community loves stats! So we thought you’d enjoy a bit of analysis as to how the US Top 100 compares with the Nameberry community’s Top 100.
First, a few basics:
In 2017, the US Top 100 and the Nameberry Top 100 shared about half of the names. In general, the less popular a name is in the US the less likely it is to appear in the Nameberry Top 100 (all of the USA Top 10 girls names and most of the USA Top 10 boys names are in the Nameberry lists). However, this is largely where the similarities end…If you compare the two lists, a few interesting trends emerge:
Of the names that appear in both charts, the Nameberry ranking is often the inverse of the Top 100 ranking. Names that were very popular in Nameberry were quite low in the Top 100 list, and vice versa:
Looking for a name that sounds worldly and sophisticated? You might want to try looking at a map or atlas. More parents than ever are picking finding baby name inspiration from mountains, countries and, especially, cities.
Here’s how popular city names have become: There are now more girls under the age of 18 named Madison in the U.S. than there are people living in the city of Madison, Wisconsin. That’s over 250,000 Madisons!
It’s never been clear, though, which cities have gotten the most love in the baby name arena — until now. Nameberry pored over baby name popularity data from the Social Security Administration to find the 51 city names that were given to the most babies in the year 2016, the most recent available.
Because many of these names are inherently unisex, we haven’t broken down the list by gender. But we did indicate names that were given almost exclusively to one gender by the color of the letters — pink is girls, blue is boys and orange is the truly unisex.
We had to make some tricky judgment calls on which names did or did not count — we excluded Petra, for instance, because it’s not a functioning city today, even though it was at one time. And we do realize that many parents who pick, say, Alexandria or Kobe, aren’t thinking of the cities. But if you think we missed something crucial, tell us in the comments! (Note: This blog was posted very briefly in April, before most of you got a chance to see it.)
