I ran across this article and thought it's pretty great (albeit long) and that parts of it were very true. I decided to pull some of my favorite snippets, including her list of "options" for naming a baby...then another gem I came across (hipster baby names!)...and last by not least, some of my personal baby name favorites! :)
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How to Name a Baby
This new phenomenon in my life has introduced several new experiences—things like “having your feelings hurt and losing self-confidence because your friend’s toddler doesn’t like you” and “learning that talking about the baby as a ‘toy’ or a ‘pod’ and commenting on ‘it not having a brain yet’ is less funny to the baby’s parents than it is to you.” But perhaps the most frequent new experience is finding myself in discussions about baby names, both in the form of talking to the impending parents and pressuring them to reveal the candidates, and talking to other friends about the eventual name choices behind the new parents’ back.
My curiosity rose to a whole new level the day I discovered an amazing website called The Baby Name Wizard, and especially their Voyager tool, which lets you plug in a few letters or a whole name and see a visual depiction of its corresponding popularity trends over time. The Voyager is delicious and rents permanent space in my Dark Playground. (Of course, as soon as it was the topic of this post, putting Voyager play time in the Dark Woods for the first time ever, the monkey suddenly wanted to do other things and kept clicking away from the page. But that’s a whole other topic.)
After many hours on The Baby Name Wizard (and the government’s official name database), here are my thoughts (focusing on the US unless otherwise stated)—
Parents choosing a name have a few options:
1) Go Timeless
Examples: John, James, William, David, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth
Benefits: You won’t embarrass yourself; You won’t pigeonhole the kid in any way, including generationally; It’s classy; There’s something cool about a common bond with centuries of previous humans
Drawbacks: It’s kind of boring.
These names are often biblical, or sometimes those of famous royalty, and they’re bigger than any one generation—William is not a typical old man’s name or young guy’s name—it’s just William. And they’re always popular.
But they’re less popular than they used to be. The Top 10 boys names in the 1880′s share six members with the Top 10 boys names in the 1950′s: John, William, James, Robert, Charles, and Thomas. But the Top 10 in 2012 only includes one name from that list—William.
2) Go Super Weird
Examples: Winter, Namaste, Jameliah, Stormy, Cameo, Grudzel
Benefits: No one will ever question your balls; If the kid is awesome, then it’s awesome.
Drawbacks: They’ll have to spell their name on the phone 2 trillion times throughout their life; They’ll have to watch people figuring out how to react every time they introduce themselves; They’ll get made fun of at school; It might hurt their chances of getting job interviews; If the kid isn’t awesome, the whole thing is awkward; If you were just in a phase and made a compulsive decision, that’s shitty cause the kid has to live with it forever.
Despite several drawbacks, it’s a nice chance to say, “P.S. We don’t give a shit about what other people think.” And again, if the kid’s awesome, a weird name just makes them even more awesome.
3) Go a Little Weird But Not Too Weird
Examples: Ashton, Wyatt, Luca, Brooklyn, Delaney, Alexia
Benefits: You’re being nonconformist but without most of the drawbacks in Category 2; If it’s a really good name people will be jealous and you’ll be all thrilled with yourself; It says “My parents are cool but not too annoying.”
Drawbacks: You might be a little too pleased with yourself for someone who still let the Top 200 names dictate their choice; There’s a chance a lot of other people feel the same way about that “unconventional” name and you inadvertently find yourself as part of a Name Fad.
This category is perfect for parents who are far too thrilled with themselves and are having far too special a child for a Timeless or Top 10 Name, but who also look down upon those who go for a Super Weird Name as annoying or unclassy. (In case you’re wondering, most of my friends went with Category 3.)
4) Just Dive Into the Current Honeymoon, Knowing You’re Picking a Popular Name
Examples: Anything from the current Top 20.
Benefits: Safe; Hip; Bonds your child with his/her whole generation in a broad sense.
Drawbacks: There will be three other kids in the class with the same name and they’ll be referred to along with their last name initial; Your child will one day have a Middle-Aged Name, and one later day, an Old Person Name.
So what’s hot right now?
So to be clear, Gunner and Gael are currently more common baby names than Phillip or Scott. And Lyric, Paisley, and Brooklynn with two n’s are all more common than Lindsay, Caitlin, and Erica. We’re still close enough in time to the red name fads that they seem really common, but they’re actually just fads. And they’re over.
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I think I ran across this list on Facebook and it cracked me up. I shared it with the caption "No judgment, but if you name your child Ludovica or Boaz, we're no longer friends." :)
Hipster baby names
The hipster baby name craze is alive and well. If you are looking for a baby name that is a little out of the ordinary and defies conformity, then we have a great selection of baby names for you.
Names like Brooklyn and Milo are being used so often these days that they might not be considered hipster names anymore.
Try these baby boy names on for size instead.
- Auden
- Byron
- Enoch
- Gulliver
- Ignatius
- Lennon
(Matt's comment on FB was epic: My favorite is Lennon, just because the person has to say, "No, two 'n's and an 'o', like the king of hippies, not like the Russian dictator.") - Murray
- Nico
- Orson
- Roman
- Salinger
- Zane
- Briseida
- Farrah
- Inez
- Liora
- Minnie
- Odette
- Pandora
I love the online music station "Pandora" as much as the next guy, but considering "Pandora's Box" will come to mind for EVERYONE, I feel it's a mean name and background to saddle on your child. - Romy
- Suzette
- Tessie
- Wren
- Zola
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I like names that are a little different, but not so different that people look at me funny. :) Some of my personal favorites:
- Xander
- Zane (I know it's on the "hipster list" but I liked it before it was hip)
- Liam
- Quinn
- Xavier
- Isabel
- Reagan
- Keira
- Zoey
- Kaylee
I like "normal" ones too, like Anthony, Michael, John (or Jack), Elizabeth, Kelly or Rebecca...but as in most things, I appreciate something a little special and different.
Enjoy and happy Tuesday!
~ Katie
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