As a new member I have noticed a lot of names that are pretty popular on Nameberry but not in the top 100 in the US currently.
Have any older members noticed a correlation between Nameberry and real life? [name_f]Do[/name_f] names that are popular here become popular in real life or do they end up being names that don’t make it pass the Nameberry website. I think it would be interesting to see some Statistics as someone who loves names but not planning on having any children for a few years.
I think Namberry favourites tend to be more popular in the UK than in the US (if trends happen there, then usually a few years later than in the UK and they seem to last longer). But then, people on Nameberry always look for names that are NOT to be found in the Top 1000 (usually in the US), so once they are, Berries look for names to replace those on their lists.
And the general Nameberry trend is vintage names and “whimsical names” (Wildrose & [name_f]Moon[/name_f] are the most recent favourites, [name_m]Fox[/name_m] is a longtime favourite), so while the former is slowly coming back in style (as a secondary “trend” behind [name_f]Kylee[/name_f], [name_u]Aiden[/name_u] and [name_f]Madyson[/name_f]), I think the latter will primarily stay a Nameberry trend.
I agree about NB favorites and the UK…[name_f]Matilda[/name_f], [name_f]Imogen[/name_f], [name_f]Esme[/name_f], [name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_m]George[/name_m] …just to name a few.
As for real life in the US…of the children I know 90% of them are Madisons, Isabellas, Carters, Jacobs, Landons, and Brianas…very popular, kind of unimaginative names [name_f]IMO[/name_f]. The few kids I know named [name_f]Hazel[/name_f], [name_f]Greta[/name_f], [name_m]Lysander[/name_m] etc I can almost guarantee they’re moms are on NB lol.
8 years ago when my cousin was pregnant with her daughter, she chose the name [name_f]Eliana[/name_f] from the popular on NB names…now [name_f]Eliana[/name_f] is only relatively popular in real life, but her nn [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] is ALL OVER the place! I don’t think there is any way to predict a name’s popularity because for every parent that loves [name_m]Asher[/name_m] there’s another that prefers [name_m]Archer[/name_m]…and for every [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] there’s a dozen Madysyn [name_f]Grayce[/name_f] lol.
I think that by definition Nameberry isn’t going to be a peddler of the top 10.
Many people name their kids just based on what they like, without a ton of angst or statistical analysis, lol. Which is perfectly fine and wonderful!
The top 100 is easy to find but people come on Nameberry to find names that are not always easy to find. They come to hear suggestions that they hadn’t considered before.
I do think you can see the names that jump from year to year having a showing on Nameberry. Moving either from not in the top 1000 at all and into the list, or moving up a lot. Those names tend to be some of the ones that get a lot of discussion on Nameberry. They are the coming trends rather than what’s currently popular.
The US is becoming more international, but there are large sections that are still pretty socked in and don’t take much influence from other countries, or do so much more slowly. So I agree that some of the trends seen in the UK, Australia, and other countries will probably influence the SSNL in the next 5 to 10 years.
I think that, sadly, your average parent probably isn’t going to be brave enough to try a good deal of what’s on Nameberry. Or, unless they’re already aware of the wild world of names and interested in it, many people are (consciously and unconsciously) influenced by the names their friends, family, and peer groups are into. Their friends have a couple of Madisons, so they go with [name_f]Madeline[/name_f]. Their friends have an [name_f]Emma[/name_f] and an [name_f]Emily[/name_f], so they go for [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]. (Maybe not that closely related, but you get the idea.) Names like [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f], [name_f]Branwen[/name_f], [name_u]Winter[/name_u], [name_f]Amethyst[/name_f], and [name_f]Freya[/name_f] don’t cross a lot of people’s radar unless someone in their immediate circle is courageous enough to break the mold a little.
I think part of the problem, especially were I live (small town, midwest US), is that people like the idea of the more whimsical names, however, when it comes to naming their child, would rather them have a familiar name ([name_u]Madison[/name_u], [name_u]Addison[/name_u], [name_u]Carter[/name_u], [name_u]Aiden[/name_u], etc…) and fit in, rather than be the only [name_f]Posy[/name_f] or [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] in the school/town. I commend the parents step outside the box when naming their children, but I also feel like some of the names that get tossed around on here would be pure torture for a child; even though being one of 4 [name_u]Madison[/name_u]'s in their class could be torturous as well.
I haven’t been on Nameberry long enough to know if it sets trends, but I can tell you that I notice quite a discrepancy between the Nameberry favourites and the names I see on a day to day basis. On the one hand I see a lot of top 10 conformity off Nameberry, but I also see a ton of names that I think are very bold - it takes guts to name your child Irelynn or Paizlee or Wyler. For better or worse, you have to admit that takes courage!
I will also say though, that a lot of the nameberry vs. real life names depend on your area.
I live in Los [name_f]Angeles[/name_f] and there are areas within LA where a lot of the nameberry favorites are proudly on display, and others where the top 20 reigns supreme.
At our church in Pasadena I know kids named [name_f]Florence[/name_f], [name_f]Vivienne[/name_f], [name_f]Ruth[/name_f], [name_f]Lola[/name_f], [name_m]Tobias[/name_m], [name_u]June[/name_u], [name_u]Micah[/name_u], [name_u]Rue[/name_u], [name_f]Mavis[/name_f], [name_m]Josiah[/name_m], etc.
But just 20 miles south (still in LA) I can’t turn around without finding an [name_f]Emily[/name_f]/[name_f]Emilie[/name_f]/[name_f]Emma[/name_f]; [name_f]Katie[/name_f]/[name_f]Cady[/name_f]/Katilyn/[name_f]Catelin[/name_f]; [name_m]Jacob[/name_m]; or [name_u]Aiden[/name_u]/[name_u]Aidan[/name_u] at a kids club I work in.
So nameberry names are being used, they are just represented in different communities than top names generally are.
It depends on your surroundings. S. [name_f]Florida[/name_f] is a international place so there’s a lot of name diversity here. The top names in 2014 were [name_u]Noah[/name_u] & [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], about 2,600 kids. But there were about 220,000 babies born last year. So [name_u]Noah[/name_u], [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], and the other “top” names really aren’t that popular.
I’ve noticed that most parents don’t do too much searching nor want to stray from the pack. People go with what they’re familiar with. [name_m]Just[/name_m] thinking of the parents amongst my family & friends, they all chose names that someone else had. My cousin chose the name of a celeb’s kid; my close friend chose the name of a child at her church; and another friend (a teacher) used a variant of the name of one of her students. I suggested [name_u]Avery[/name_u] to my close friend, which is similar to the name she chose ([name_u]Aiden[/name_u]). She liked it but since she didn’t know anyone named [name_u]Avery[/name_u], she wasn’t comfortable with it.
I’m in the UK where lots of Nameberry favourites are very popular and/or have been well-used in the past decade or more. For example NB favourites [name_f]Alice[/name_f]/[name_f]Daisy[/name_f]/[name_f]Imogen[/name_f]/[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]/[name_f]Freya[/name_f]/[name_f]Isla[/name_f]/[name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]/[name_f]Esme[/name_f] appear to be new on the US charts but I know many teenage girls and adults in the UK with these names.
Others like [name_f]Hazel[/name_f]/[name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]/[name_f]Maeve[/name_f]/[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]/[name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] etc are new here too and growing at a similar rate as they are in the US.
Nameberry is a really good cross section of whats trendy in the UK & US actually - there’s other trends in both countries which I don’t expect to ever mix thoroughly (UK: [name_f]Honey[/name_f], [name_f]Kitty[/name_f], [name_f]Evie[/name_f] & [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] etc. US: [name_f]Kinsey[/name_f], [name_f]Lilian[/name_f], [name_u]Paisley[/name_u] & [name_u]Madison[/name_u])