Nameberry Picks: Coolest celeb baby names of 2018
by Linda Rosenkrantz
2018 has been a very busy baby name year in the celebrisphere.
There were three new Kardashian kids with three typically distinctive names: Chicago, True and Stormi. And there were three new royals (or semi-royals)—William and Kate’s Louis Arthur Charles, Zara Tindall’s Lena Elizabeth and Pippa Middleton’s Arthur Michael William.
And there was no lack of creative outliers—looking at you Koala, Kulture Kiari, Beech, Titan, Leafer and Ezer.
But let’s move on to the ones we consider the best choices of 2018.
ALMA BAY—Zoe Kazan and Paul Dano
This may be our absolute favorite this year—such a perfect combination of an underused vintage beauty with a solid cultural history and soulful meaning, plus a lovely nature name that feels fresher than similar middles May, Fay and Ray.
An interesting combination: a cutting-edge surname name adopting the boys’ trending s-ending softened with the sweetest of old-fashioned flower names. Sister Hayley Duff went in a completely different direction (see below).
BETSY MACK and EMORY JOANN (twins)—Hillary Scott and Chris Tyrell
The Lady Antebellum singer and musician husband’s identical twin girls’ names moved as far as possible from the matchy-matchy. Cute Betsy is suddenly joining Betty as a revival possibility, while the gender-neutral Emory was chosen to honor Tyrell’s grandmother Emily—in fact all four names have family ties.
CLAUDE INDIANA EMMANUEL—Taylor and Natalie Hanson
Natalie gave a hint in her recent Nameberry blog, that the name of her sixth child—boy or girl—would be that of a main character name in a George Sand novel, and so it is. This latest Hanson, who will be known as Indy, joins siblings Jordan Ezra, Penelope Anne, River Samuel, Viggo Moriah and Wilhelmina Jane.
EAMON BRENNAN—Margaret Brennan
“Face the Nation” anchor Margaret Brennan chose this Irish classic—it’s a version of Edmond— which we see as a definite possible successor to Aidan. Eamon is already #132 on Nameberry. And like many other moms, Brennan used her surname as a middle.
The sweet Welsh name Gwendolyn—also spelled Gwendolen—joined those of her Van Der Beek sibs—Emilia, Annabel, Joshua and Olivia. Gwendolyn, now ranking at #379, was at its most popular in the 1950s. One notable namesake is Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks.
The second Duff sister on this list chose one of the most energetic and high-spirited of names, originally a diminutive of Louise, Lucinda or Lucy. It was used previously by designer Betsy Johnson and by Paul Simon and Edie Brickell. Though it’s been off the national list for over a century, it ranks at #429 on Nameberry. And in middle names, Gray is the new Blue.
Unlike Pete’s older kids, Bronx Mowgli and Saint Lazslo, Marvel— though it sounds like a made-up Marvel comics word name– is one with a legitimate history, and was actually on the pop list from the 1890s to 1941, reaching a high of #480. I think we could see some other little Marvels in the future.
MILES THEODORE—Chrissy Teigen and John Legend (shown)
This high-profile couple scored a hit with their first child, Luna Simone (helped a bit by Harry Potter) and have made another admirable choice with Miles Theodore. Both names have musical references—to singer Nina Simone and jazz great Miles Davis. Sleek Miles has been moving fast up the popularity list, now at #110, together with equally on-trend cousin Milo.
Minnie has gradually lost its tight ties to full-name Minerva and to Mickey’s girlfriend, standing in line to join cousins Millie, Mamie and Maisie. Maya Rudolph chose it to honor her late mother, singer Minnie Riperton. Theodora and Theodore (see above) are becoming popular middles for one and two-syllable firsts.
Grammy-winning singer Joy Williams chose this peppy flower name for her daughter. It entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2016 and is now in Nameberry’s Top 100. Interestingly, this is the same first-middle combo used by former First Daughter Jenna Bush Hager, who called her presidential grandfather Poppy..
The Breaking Bad star said that he and wife Lauren Parsekian chose this word name to honor the wonderful story of their love affair. Combining it with the feminissima spelling of traditional Annabel makes an interesting pairing.
Runners-up: Axel Strahl (Seth Meyers), Beckett Richard (Michael Phelps), Billy (John Stamos), Ennis Howard (Kirsten Dunst), Francisco (Lin–Manuel Miranda), Genevieve (Kate Upton), Giulietta (Jessica Chastain), Hart (Miranda Kerr), Ivey Joan (Jamie Lynn Spears), Philomena Clementine (Billy Corgan), Polly (Erika Christensen), Romeo Alejandro David (Alex Baldwin), Santiago Enrique (Eva Longoria), Sebastian Piers (America Ferrera), and Vida Amber Betty (Michael Buble),