So “trendy” is a word that gets tossed around a lot on this forum and often with a negative connotation. But it seems so many people have different ideas of what names are trendy or why. Many names that I have seen described as trendy are names that I have seen used for 25+ years. So what do you think makes a name trendy and why does that have to be a bad thing?
Enh, I don’t completely understand it either. It seems to be names that people consider trashy or “a fad” or “ghetto.” It actually isn’t a bad thing, really. Names are names. Maybe someone who throws around the term trendy a lot could explain, because I’m confused too
Big examples of “trendy” names are
- [name_f]Kayley[/name_f]
- [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f]
- [name_f]Braelyn[/name_f]
- [name_u]Hayden[/name_u]
- [name_u]Aiden[/name_u]
- Boy-leaning unisex names on girls such as [name_u]Ryan[/name_u] or [name_u]Tyler[/name_u]
- ANY creative spelling of traditional Anglo names such as Elyzabeth for [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] or [name_f]Sofie[/name_f] for [name_f]Sophie[/name_f]
I tend to define it as names that don’t/didn’t have any staying power, or names that fell out of favour for a while, but are suddenly back in full swing usage. For example, that’s why you might find [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] described as trendy right now, even though it’s been a well established name for a long time. It wasn’t as popular mid-20th century, but now it’s back and ranked highly. Everyone has their own take what makes for a trendy name. I think the vitriol mostly stems from people getting sick of hearing popular names over and over. [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is a cute name, but it gets old after you hear it on every other kid you meet.
@evelinrose: I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way. “Names are names.” This is basically how I feel. They are basically just groupings of sounds that we happen to like or dislike. I guess things that are “trendy” like your examples just don’t bother me. They might not be something I would use but that doesn’t make them bad or the people who use them ignorant, trashy, ghetto, uneducated, or whatever other labels get thrown around.
@sansavesper: Thanks for your input. I do understand why people don’t necessarily like “popular” names. I have a name that isn’t too popular but had 2 cousins marry people with my same name (albeit different spelling). It gets a little crazy when we all get together. But I also don’t think it means it is a bad name or a reason not to use a name you may love.
I avoid trendy names because one of my goals in naming future children is for them to have a name that is “timeless.” Obviously I can’t be 100% timeless, but I can get close. This isn’t important to everyone, so I won’t judge the parents of [name_f]Brynlee[/name_f] and [name_u]Jayden[/name_u], but it is important to me, rendering those names unusable.
@ziggy2112: Thank you. I can understand that point of view. I like that you say it is basically your preference and goal personally without judgement for others who choose differently. PS I also love [name_f]Bryony[/name_f] from your signature and [name_f]Bryony[/name_f] [name_f]Greer[/name_f] sounds beautiful.
To my mind, the defining feature of “trendy names” is their datedness; trendy names are dated names, ones that you hear or see and can generally tell the age of the bearer. There will always be exceptions but in general someone named [name_f]Deborah[/name_f]/[name_f]Debra[/name_f]/[name_f]Debbie[/name_f], for example, will be about 50 years old. That’s not to say [name_f]Deborah[/name_f] isn’t a classy biblical name, but it does happen to be dated since it was “trendy” for a certain period of time. The same will be true of names like [name_f]Kylie[/name_f] and [name_f]Kinsley[/name_f] — one day people will hear them and know that the woman in question was born circa 2015. “Trendy” simply refers to statistical trends in popularity and such, the rest is a value judgment.
The actress [name_f]Lillian[/name_f] [name_f]Gish[/name_f] is quoted as saying, “I’ve never been in style, so I can’t go out of style.” I like names like that. 
I agree that the reason to avoid “trendy” names is because they’re tied to a specific time. And also because there are just so many other names that don’t have the same drawbacks and are essentially being neglected!
I wouldn’t say I judge people who choose to name their kids, say, [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] or [name_m]Jaxon[/name_m], exactly, but I do feel a flicker of disappointment that they didn’t choose something more interesting. Whenever possible, I like to be able to give people genuine compliments, and it’s harder to do that when they’ve chosen something very ordinary or trendy.
I agree with everyone else; “trendy”, for me, is tied to a specific year. It’s when a name skyrockets in popularity and all of the sudden, every second baby boy is named [name_u]Aidan[/name_u]. I don’t know any Aidans over the age of seven, so that name reminds me of young kids.
Trendy is very much someone’s opinion, I think. For example, [name_f]Neveah[/name_f] isn’t trendy for me because I’ve never met someone with the name. For other berries, it is the very definition of trendy.
I don’t think trendy = popular or vice versa. I wouldn’t call [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] “trendy” even though I hear it frequently, but I would say that [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] or [name_u]Jayden[/name_u] fit the bill even though [name_m]Ive[/name_m] never met one.
For me, it’s about the style/make-up of a name as much as the name itself. [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is a new coinage based on a creative respelling; [name_f]Brynlee[/name_f] has that -lee ending which is popular for girls at the moment along with -lynn, both of which are being used to create new names; [name_u]Jayden[/name_u] is one of the many 2-syllable ends-in-n names popular for boys and is also one of a group of rhyming names inspired by [name_u]Aidan[/name_u]. There also seems to be much more appetite for unusual spellings and slight variations on established names at the moment, all of which I do see as part of a trend towards being more individual with naming. People increasingly want their child’s name to differentiate them from others, even if only by spelling or a single sound, and there’s a common bank of techniques many are using to achieve this.
As for whether it’s a bad thing, not necessarily, but you’re right that these types of names aren’t popular on here. “Trendy” in my experience is usually used to mean a name that is very “now”, in the sense that it fits in with a particular style and pattern of names which are popular now and haven’t been to the same extent before so will be quite linked to this period of time in the future. But popular names that are also traditional and long-established, like [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] and [name_f]Emma[/name_f], don’t fit that bill.
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Thanks everyone for this discussion. It is nice to get some different opinions about this. I actually do agree about a name being trendy if it is very modern seeming or “now.” I guess I just don’t see it as a bad thing necessarily. I think that is because for me, my name styles and preferences are based solely on sound, not popularity, history or meaning. So a lot of boy names I like are surname/occupation names but I don’t like them because they are those kinds of names but for their sounds if that makes sense. But those names are definitely considered trendy now. I also don’t have problems with trendy names like Brittlyn or [name_m]Brinlee[/name_m] even though they are not my style. While they are modern they have sounds that are very similar to established names. [name_f]Brittany[/name_f], [name_f]Kaitlin[/name_f], or [name_f]Hailey[/name_f].
I have a few names that many people hear consider trendy that I am always surprised by since I think trendy for can somewhat be defined as “current” or “now” names. People often say [name_m]Braden[/name_m] is trendy because it rhymes with the [name_u]Aidan[/name_u], [name_u]Jayden[/name_u], [name_m]Kaden[/name_m] names. But for me nearly all the Bradens I know are in their twenties. So that name doesn’t feel very now to me. I would actually put [name_m]Braden[/name_m] in a group with [name_m]Brandon[/name_m] given the ages of people I know with those names. I also heard [name_m]Colton[/name_m] described as trendy and all the people I know with it are 20+ as well. So I guess these names could be considered “used to be trendy” names. But I think they are perfectly useable names now too.
Last thought (sorry this is so long). I think in places like this we often discuss names without connecting them to people. Which isn’t a bad thing but ultimately I feel once you really know a person with a name, all labels of trendy, old fashioned, or whatever else we call names on here, get thrown out the window. And even if it is a name you don’t like or wouldn’t use yourself, you can love the person or people who named the person.
To me a trendy name is usually a formerly rare name that has rocketed in popularity. Often it’s the name of a celebrity or celebrity baby, or the name of a character from a popular film/TV show. [name_u]Jayden[/name_u] is a good example in my opinion. It was a very rare name before a number of celebrities in the late 90s-2000s used it for their sons and then its popularity skyrocketed. [name_f]Ava[/name_f] and [name_f]Mia[/name_f] for me are other examples.
Sometimes trendy names aren’t necessarily very popular though. Invented names like [name_f]Braelyn[/name_f] and non-traditional spellings like [name_m]Jaycob[/name_m] and [name_f]Madilyn[/name_f] all feel very typical of this era to me so I would call them trendy too. From a British perspective nickname-names like [name_u]Ollie[/name_u] and [name_u]Joey[/name_u] and hyphenated names like [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]-[name_f]Mae[/name_f] also fall into this category.
To me the issue with these names is that they are likely to decline in popularity, giving us a large number of people of a certain age with those names, which will make them seem tied to this era in the future. A lot of the names that feel “dated” now are former trendy names.
I should add that your perspective on a name will depend on your nationality and culture. A name that’s trendy in one country can be deeply traditional in another.