Does anyone try to predict name trends a decade in advance? I was thinking about this the other day after talking about names with my siblings. My almost-13-year-old sister tends to like trendy names–[name]Caden[/name], for example–and while I’m hoping when she gets to name her own children she’ll consult more than the current trends, it caused me to wonder what names will be trendy when she’s 23 and old enough to start a family.
My guess would be that [name]Caden[/name] and his trendy rhyming cousins will be a thing of the past, but what will have replaced them? I wondered about the occupational names, some of which are already popular: [name]Carter[/name], [name]Cooper[/name], [name]Mason[/name], etc. Could this become a megatrend? What else is on the horizon? Does anyone have predictions for 2023?
I don’t know about any other country outside Australia, but I think here there might be a rise in the use of unisex names or boy names for girls-[name]Charlie[/name] for example.
Several of the names I loved 10-20 yrs ago are now popular ([name]Oscar[/name], [name]Max[/name], [name]Freya[/name], [name]Eleanor[/name] et al). So I’m tempted to predict that any remaining ones on my faves list that are not already trendy, will be so in another 10-20 yrs. [name]Somer[/name] are definitely on their way ([name]Elodie[/name], [name]Tabitha[/name], [name]Anoushka[/name], [name]Burr[/name], [name]Caspar[/name]) but I hope to keep the odd one or two to myself! It’s my pet peeve, but maybe I should make it into a career or at least take up gambling (have the same kinda thing with clothes and interior decor… just outta interest)
I think it is impossible to predict all naming trends, there’s too many variables. That being said. I think one trend that is just starting and will continue is reviving 100 year old names, so names that hit their peak back in the 1920’s will become even more popular and trendy.
Names girls my age like (I’m 14) that aren’t popular today:
[name]Phoenix[/name], [name]Melodie[/name], [name]Axl[/name], [name]Harmony[/name], [name]Anastasia[/name], [name]Balthazar[/name] and [name]Benvolio[/name] (the fact we just finished [name]Romeo[/name] and [name]Juliet[/name] may account for the last to).
They also love names from Twilight, ([name]Leah[/name], [name]Bella[/name], [name]Jasper[/name] and [name]Alastair[/name]) and [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] ([name]Luna[/name], [name]Lily[/name], [name]James[/name], [name]Ginny[/name], [name]Remus[/name] and even [name]Bellatrix[/name]).
However I don’t think many 1920’s names will become popular [name]Dorothy[/name], [name]Florence[/name], [name]Eleanor[/name] and [name]Lawrence[/name] all big in the 1920’s were met with the suggestions that I want to torture my children. =(
It depends on what sounds become trendy over the next ten years. Names that were popular 100 years ago like [name]Emma[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] were old lady names a couple decades ago, now look at how wildly popular they are.
I do agree that names from [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] and the like will become much more popular, I think [name]Hermione[/name] for example will make it into the top popular names in the 2020’s.
So, bob=kate, we can use your personal list as a predictor? I agree that [name]Elodie[/name], at least, is definitely on its way, and the others certainly have potential. But I have my own few uncommon secret gems that I hope don’t rise too far, also.
scarlettrobin, I’d forgotten the hundred-year cycle in my meditation on the subject; thanks for the reminder. I agree, too, that sounds play a big part in trends.
And yes, nelliedellie, I’d look for more Twilight and [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] names in the next decade for sure. [name]Luna[/name] is already shooting up the charts, I think [name]Hermione[/name] will, too, and I’d be pleased if [name]Remus[/name] would rise a little! I think [name]Remus[/name] [name]John[/name] Lupin is one of the coolest names in the series.
[name]Dorothy[/name], [name]Florence[/name] and [name]Eleanor[/name] are already coming back. They may be more acceptable to your peers in another decade. Or perhaps it’ll be a different wave of names rising then.
It’s my pet peeve, but maybe I should make it into a career or at least take up gambling (have the same kinda thing with clothes and interior decor… just outta interest)