I was attracted to Laura Wattenberg’s list of naming trends for 2015 I found on TheStir.Cafe Mom. Although many “predictions” are questionable, you’ll recognize many of the examples Wattenberg provides to justify hers. Few, if any of these trends are brand new–but it often helps to get a list like this to help you see the patterns which are emerging.
1. Androgyny
Names like Jaelyn, Addison, Dallas, which used to be exclusively boy names, have now crossed over to the unisex category (along with other names like Taylor, Alex, Jordan). (An interesting observation.)
2. New Endings
Names ending in “-tt” are very much on the rise, no doubt thanks to celebs Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, who named their daughter Wyatt. That’s not all, though. Expect to see more names like Emmett, Elliott, Scarlett, Charlotte around in 2015 (Nothing new here.)
3. 19th Century Americana
Names from the 1800s are back. Take Kailyn Lowry, for example, who named her her youngest son Lincoln. But it’s not just the 16th president who’s inspiring new names. Names like Rhett and Wyatt (again) will be far more popular. (Nothing new here, either.)
4. Mark It With an ‘X’
The Jolie-Pitts have ushered in a new trend, (just think Pax and Maddox, and little brother Knox). Earlier this year, Kristin Cavallari welcomed son Jaxon, further solidifying the trend. (The Jolie-Pitt “x-names” are old news. So are “x-names.”)
5. The ‘P’ Is Back
While “x” is coming back for boys, “p” is back for girls. “Not since the 1950s, and the days of the Peggys and Patricias, has the letter ‘P’ been so popular,” says Watternberg. But now? We’re welcoming it back. Could it be in part due to the Kardashian’s Penelope Disick? There’s no doubt about it. And another surprise name that’s becoming popular? Piper from Orange Is the New Black. (Nothing new about Piper, but the popularity of “p”-names for girls is a nice find.)
6. Get Us to the Greek
More Kardashian inspiration here–Greek names are on the rise. Names like Chloe (or Khloe, a la Ms. Kardashian), Penelope (once again, the ‘Dashians), Daphne, and Phoebe will be populating your daycares and classrooms soon. (Nothing new about the popularity of Chloe and Khloe. I recall reading a prediction that Greek names would be hot in December 2013.)
7. Say Hi to the ‘O’
When Eva Amurri gave birth to daughter Marlowe, she started a trend. The popularity of names that end in an “o” sound without actually ending in “o” (very important distinction here) are tops at the moment. Marlowe, Winslow, and Margot will be even more prominent next year. (This strikes me as a new observation.)
8. New Inventions
Where would we be without some completely new names? Parents are getting all the more inventive, Wattenberg notes. Instead of sticking with standard names like Trent, Levi, and Max, they’re inventing brand new long-form versions. Trenton, Leviathan, and Maxton are here, completely expanding your name list options. (Like many baby name experts, Wattenberg doesn’t see the need to inform readers that Leviathan is a ridiculous name for a baby boy and Maxton is awfully contrived.)
As you can see, there isn’t much that’s new in this list of predictions, but I’ve learned how difficult it can be to come up with new predictions every year. Reason, to make a prediction you need to extrapolate from recent baby naming data–which often leads to predicting that names that are “hot” this year are likely to be “hot” next year, too.
Bruce Lansky Baby Names in the News 