Forget about Liam and Emma – parents will look to ancient history, celebrity offspring and the Bible for inspiration on naming their baby in 2022.
Forget Liam and Emma – among the most popular baby nicknames in 2020.
A new generation of parents and parents-to-be are traveling back in time to take inspiration from the baby name, the New York Post reports.
“There has been a huge fad for Roman names and mythological names,” said Pamela Redmond, co-creator of Nameberry, a database and naming guide for expectant parents.
Other moms and dads take inspiration from their favorite TV shows and celebrity offspring, while still others take things to surprising extremes.
“I hope we’re heading into a more positive post-pandemic time, and I think the names will reflect people’s desire for change and novelty,” Ms. Redmond said. “Names are our symbol of hope.”
Take a look at what she forecasts to be the top five baby name trends in 2022.
Very, very, very old names
“Many (parents) present the ancient world as a source of new names (for them) which also have deep meaning,” Ms. Redmond said.
The Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, shines as the 36th most used name for American girls in 2020, up from 488th in 2000, according to the Social Security Administration.
Not far behind in the 2020 ranking – the most recent available – is the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, Athena (108); the Irish goddess and queen Maeve (173); and the Norse goddess of love, Freya (179).
For boys, the punished Greek titan Atlas (189), Atticus (300) linked to Athens, and the Greek hunter and solar constellation Orio (326) have grown in popularity over the past decade.
But parents only make so many historical connections to some of these names. Ophelia, booming and ranked 391 in 2020, has roots in Greek mythology and is the title of a 2016 Lumineers song. The name also belongs to the tragic and suicidal character of Shakespeare. Hamlet, but some have ignored this fact from the high school English class.
“A lot of parents choose the name without really knowing the story,” Ms. Redmond said.
Star power
Luna – the name of the five-year-old daughter of Chrissy Teigan and John Legend – is currently the 14th most popular female given name in America.
This name, which derives from the Roman goddess of the moon, has climbed 63 places on the list since the birth to fame in 2016.
Redmond expects similar pushes for Mae (daughter of Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma), Cosmo (son of Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost) and Thunder and Saint Leo (twins of Usain Bolt and Kasi Bennett).
Biblical but not basic
Parents opt for names from the holy book that are not Daniel and David.
Abel, who was ranked 352nd in 2000, is now the 181st most popular male given name – while his Old Testament brother (and killer) Cain is currently at 866th.
The name Saint, like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s son Saint West, 6, has meanwhile increased from 858 to 578 since 2018, when it was first recorded in the top 1000 names of ASS. Creed took a similar leap: he first reached the top 1000 in 2016 and is now ranked 796th.
Biblical places are also in fashion, Ms Redmond said, anticipating pushes for Jericho, Galilee, Nazareth and Canaan.
Badass names
Harley – who Redmond says is inspired by both the DC antihero Harley Quinn and the Harley-Davidson motorcycle brand – was the 291st most popular female given name last year, up from 485 in 2007.
Other macho names that come into play include Maverick (hello, Tom Cruise in Top Gun), Rowdy and Wilder. The latter ranks 431st after not even making the Top 1000 ten years ago.
Strong but virtuous names, such as Justice and True, are also gaining ground, according to Redmond.
Baby Names on TV
The hit Netflix 2020 show Bridgerton and its female protagonist are expected to make Daphne even more popular in the coming year. The name is currently ranked 415. Other names on the show, like Benedict, could see a boost as well.
On the darker side of things, the popular show Lucifer spawned a tendency to “name demons,” Redmond said.
The expert saw Lux, Jezebel and Lucifer himself become more fashionable. In the UK, Lucifer was a more popular name than Nigel and Trevor in 2020, according to the Standard.
But, giving your child the devil’s name comes with risks.
“At least if you name your baby Daphne you can always say, ‘Oh, I loved that before Bridgerton,” ”Redmond said. “But if you name your baby after a demon, there’s no doubt where it came from.”
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and is reprinted with permission
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