Nameberry’s Most Popular Features of 2012

Nameberry’s Most Popular Features of 2012

Forget Katniss and Finn: Today we leave individual baby names behind and bring you the most popular features on Nameberry in 2012.

Sifting through nearly100 million page views on the site, these are our most-read blogs, our lists that attracted the highest number of viewers, our most commented-on forums, and the user lists that drew the most attention.

How many have you seen?

Top blogs

100 Best Cool Unusual Boys’ Names and Best Cool Unusual Girls’ Names

These 2010 blogs that detailed the best names given to 25 or fewer babies continue to rank highest on our site.  Our picks for boys include Amias, Barnabas, and Cashel; for girls, Fleur, Honora, and Verena.

Baby Names 2012: The 12 Hottest Trends

Our baby name trend predictions for 2012 made up the second most popular blog on the site.  Among the trends we nailed: Modern Hero Names like Lincoln and Landry; Same but Different Names such as Alivia and Arabella that put a new spin on overused favorites; and Fierce Names such as Wilder and Hawk.

Vintage Names: 100-year-old Names That Sound New Again

This oldie-but-goodie, in every sense of the phrase, continues to attract thousands of readers, with its predictions of which names popular a century ago sound right for our times.  Vintage names already stylish include Beatrice and Arthur, Oscar and Pearl.  Still in the wings are Betty and Ida, Albert and Martin.

Most Popular Lists

Nicknames for Girls

Our list of nickname-names for girls continues, surprisingly, to be the most popular on the site.  A few of the selections: Dot, Ellie, Maisie.

Cool Middle Names

Parents in search of cool middle names flock to this list of fresh, one-syllable choices for girls and boys, from Gray to Grove, Plum to True.

Cool Guy Names

Want a name that makes your son sound cool?  So do a lot of other parents, who look to this cool list for guidance.  Ideas include Beau and Dash, Mac and Wyatt.

Most Active Forums

Sibsets You Know

Started by Kyri Laina in April, this massive thread stretches to 187 pages and counting.  The reason for its popularity: It combines real-life sibset names (and ideas) with a name game.  Isn’t it time you joined the fun, and got some great sibling name ideas in the process?

Drop Your Favorite: BOYS! and Drop Your Favorite: GIRLS!

In these counterintuitive name games, players drop the names they like best from a long list, ending up with the least-liked of the bunch.  Besides being fun, this is a great way to see which names other people (thousands have posted in each thread) like most and least.

Most Visited User Lists

Beautiful but Rare Girls’ Names, by Aurra

This list details names above 500 on the U.S. popularity list that deserve more widespread use.  Among the selections: Chiara, Mabel, and Scout.

Old-Fashioned, Vintage, Retro, Classic, Eclectic, Unusual and Uncommon Names for Girls, by RuthShterna

We like all of those qualities in a name!  And so do a lot of other berries, judging by the number of visitors to this list, which includes such out-of-the-box ideas as Alienor, Birdie, and Timothea.  But we don’t think #1 Sophia belongs here…

Common Creole Girls’ Names, by Lola

One of the oldest and still best user lists on Nameberry, Lola’s selection of Creole names ranges from the familiar Charlotte and Josephine to the unusual Manette and Perrine.

Which were your personal favorite Nameberry features of the past year?

About the Author

Pamela Redmond

Pamela Redmond

Pamela Redmond is the cocreator and CEO of Nameberry and Baby Name DNA. The coauthor of ten groundbreaking books on names, Redmond is an internationally-recognized baby name expert, quoted and published widely in such media outlets as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Today Show, CNN, and the BBC. She has written about baby names for The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, and People.

Redmond is also a New York Times bestselling novelist whose books include Younger, the basis for the hit television show, and its sequel, Older. She has three new books in the works.