Here’s a list I compiled from the new SSA boys name data. These names didn’t quite make the top 1000 this year but definitely have potential in the future. What are your thoughts? Any surprises? What cultural influences do you notice? Which do you think are the most cutting-edge?
Specifically, I examined names that were given to between 130 and 201 boys. I’ve noted the change in number in parenthesis…first listed are the names that increased by more than 40 boys, then rising names that were very close to the top 1000, then the rest of what I thought were significantly rising names.
[name_m]Finnick[/name_m] (97)
[name_u]Remi[/name_u] (84)
Kyng (83)
Kiaan (81)
[name_m]Bowie[/name_m] (77)
[name_m]Shepard[/name_m] (74)
[name_m]Baker[/name_m] (72)
Kairo (72)
[name_m]Khari[/name_m] (63)
[name_f]Kace[/name_f] (60)
[name_m]Kain[/name_m] (55)
[name_m]Caspian[/name_m] (55)
[name_m]Cillian[/name_m] (54)
[name_u]Onyx[/name_u] (54)
[name_m]Mathis[/name_m] (54)
Kaisen (54)
[name_m]Bear[/name_m] (52)
[name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] (52)
Anas (51)
[name_m]Aksel[/name_m] (49)
[name_u]Elon[/name_u] (46)
[name_m]Phineas[/name_m] (45)
Malakhi (44)
[name_m]Forest[/name_m] (44)
[name_m]Eliam[/name_m] (44)
[name_u]Wallace[/name_u] (43)
[name_m]Bastian[/name_m] (43)
[name_u]Ash[/name_u] (41)
[name_m]Decker[/name_m] (16)
[name_m]Danilo[/name_m] (1)
[name_u]Lian[/name_u] (30)
Imran (8)
[name_m]Youssef[/name_m] (6)
[name_m]Finnian[/name_m] (22)
Jaxxon (12)
Zakai (38)
[name_m]Idris[/name_m] (37)
Adiel (37)
[name_u]Reign[/name_u] (37)
[name_m]Norman[/name_m] (34)
[name_m]Kaine[/name_m] (34)
[name_u]Steele[/name_u] (33)
[name_u]Everest[/name_u] (32)
[name_m]Veer[/name_m] (31)
[name_m]Osiris[/name_m] (31)
Ruger (29)
[name_f]Niam[/name_f] (29)
Aayan (28)
[name_m]Kilian[/name_m] (28)
[name_m]Caysen[/name_m] (28)
[name_m]Dov[/name_m] (28)
[name_u]Rio[/name_u] (29)
[name_m]Boaz[/name_m] (29)
Kyren (27)
[name_m]Jenson[/name_m] (25)
[name_m]Zephaniah[/name_m] (23)
[name_u]Cedar[/name_u] (23)
[name_m]Rome[/name_m] (23)
[name_f]Nova[/name_f] (23)
[name_m]Aries[/name_m] (22)
Please let me know if I made errors and especially if I missed any big upward-moving names that were given to fewer than 130 boys since I didn’t look at those!
I am seeing Arabic names - [name_m]Idris[/name_m], [name_m]Youssef[/name_m], Aayan, Malakhi, Imran & Anas - also Irish ones - [name_m]Kilian[/name_m], Cilian and [name_m]Idris[/name_m]. There are Hebrew names, one Norse and interestingly [name_m]Osiris[/name_m]. Three girl names, so giving babies names of opposite gender is a trend for boys too? I am seeing unique spellings. I will keep an eye on [name_m]Caspian[/name_m], [name_m]Finnian[/name_m], [name_m]Finnick[/name_m] and [name_m]Forest[/name_m] for next year.
I’m thinking [name_m]Finnick[/name_m], [name_m]Bowie[/name_m], [name_m]Shepard[/name_m], [name_m]Bear[/name_m], [name_m]Finnian[/name_m], [name_m]Norman[/name_m], and [name_u]Everest[/name_u] will gain some amount of popularity in the next coming years. [name_m]Bowie[/name_m] & [name_m]Bear[/name_m] I feel confident on. They are undiscovered gems that I feel like people will definitely come to see, especially with celebs using these names in recent years. [name_m]Norman[/name_m] and [name_u]Everest[/name_u], I feel a little lukewarm about. [name_m]Norman[/name_m] feels ripe for revival and [name_u]Everest[/name_u] feels chic and modern without sounding “trendy”. It’s a nice nature name that’s quite subdued in my opinion. However, I’m not sure if it’s just wishful thinking so I guess we’ll see.
Out of these, I personally like:
• [name_m]Bowie[/name_m]
• [name_m]Caspian[/name_m]
• [name_m]Cillian[/name_m]
• [name_m]Mathis[/name_m]
• [name_m]Bear[/name_m]
• [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m]
• [name_m]Phineas[/name_m]
• [name_m]Forest[/name_m]
• [name_m]Eliam[/name_m] - (interesting; have not heard of it before)
• [name_u]Wallace[/name_u]
• [name_m]Bastian[/name_m]
• [name_m]Finnian[/name_m]
• [name_m]Idris[/name_m]
• [name_m]Norman[/name_m]
• [name_u]Everest[/name_u]
I like these, but:
• [name_u]Remi[/name_u] (prefer for a girl, I think; in either case prefer the [name_u]Remy[/name_u] spelling)
• Kairo - (spelled [name_u]Cairo[/name_u])
• [name_m]Aksel[/name_m] - (spelled [name_m]Axel[/name_m])
• Malakhi - (spelled [name_m]Malachi[/name_m])
• [name_u]Cedar[/name_u] - (but it would be a GP; I knew a woman with this name oddly enough)
So basically a lot of unique spellings were here. Not a fan of that, but there are plenty of folks who like that, and K’s instead of C’s seems to be the order of the day. [name_m]Norman[/name_m] might have a comeback, but I’d imagine it’d go through the hipster parents first before becoming mainstream. [name_u]Everest[/name_u] or [name_u]Cedar[/name_u] seem like cool options for people who like outdoorsy names. [name_m]Finnian[/name_m] / [name_m]Bastian[/name_m] for people who dislike [name_u]Finn[/name_u]/[name_u]Finley[/name_u] and [name_m]Sebastian[/name_m]'s popularity, perhaps? [name_m]Caspian[/name_m] is around alot on NB (including my own list as a middle, currently), so it’s fashionable for now.
Also, [name_m]Bear[/name_m] could be the new cool animal middle name of choice to replace [name_m]Fox[/name_m]?
Most of these seem in line with what’s trendy, though some, like [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] and [name_f]Nova[/name_f] (for a boy) are surprising.
I love:
[name_m]Mathis[/name_m] {This is really popular in [name_f]France[/name_f], so maybe more US parents will start to use it?)
[name_m]Bastian[/name_m]
[name_m]Phineas[/name_m]
[name_m]Finnian[/name_m]
I also like:
[name_m]Caspian[/name_m]
[name_m]Bear[/name_m]
[name_m]Forest[/name_m]
[name_m]Idris[/name_m]
[name_u]Cedar[/name_u] {makes an interesting name}
I also been seeing [name_u]Everest[/name_u] & [name_u]Onyx[/name_u] a lot but I’m not a big fan go of those names.