Is Felix the New Oscar?
Ever notice how some stylish names are the new versions of other names that got too hot too fast?
Felix, for instance, is the new Oscar, one of those poor names that flamed out almost before anybody noticed it was heating up. Parents who might have chosen Oscar a couple of years ago are now looking for something more surprising, more distinctive, something like….Felix.
Ironic, because Oscar itself was kind of the new Gus, which was the new Max, which was the new Sam, which took over for such earthy boys’ names as Joe and Jim and Tom. Emilia is the new Emma, which took over for Emily.
Edison is the new Addison, which a couple of years ago was the new Madison. And Madison was kind of the new Allison AND the new Madeline.
Arabella is the new Isabella, Ezra the new Elijah, Ada the new Ava. Jaxon is the new Jackson, which took over for Jack, a substitute for both Jake and Johnny.
Some of the new versions have a long lineage: Kate is the fresher version of Katelyn, which was for quite a while the new Kathleen, which was the new Katherine, which at some point way back when was undoubtedly the new Kate.
It can even be hard to see the connection between the original name and its newer substitute: Helen lies deep within Haley, for example, and Lee in Liam, John in Jonah, Mary in Mariah.
Anybody else see new names rising from the ashes of older favorites?