Posted on 11/22/2011 12:29:09 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Ive always been fascinated by name trends. Its interesting to see how certain names ebb and flow in popularity.
The name game is tough to win. If you hop on a trend, it could be cool for the first few years but, chances are, that name is going to feel dated when your child is reaching adulthood. Thats why Ive always passed over fads for classic names. However, when naming my son a classic name I inadvertently hopped aboard a Hollywood trend. A twofer! Rare!
If youre looking ahead to 2012 wondering what names are going to be all the rage, look no further. The creator of nameberry.com, Pamela Redmond Satran tells Huffington Post what the hottest trends for 2012 will be.
1. Combining Favorite Names. Most parents try to avoid super popular names. That can be tough when the great names surge up the list and your left between picking a name you love and having your daughter be one of four Avas in her class. The new trend, altering popular names slightly. As Satran says Number 1 girls name Isabella gives rise to stylistically-related choices Arabella and Annabelle; Olivia, the top name in Britain, spawns spelling variation Alivia; Emma and Emily promote brother name Emmett.
2. A slew of parents are looking to the animal kingdom to give their kids fearsome names. Bear, Fox, Wolf, Lynx and a range of names from Leo to Lionel that mean lion, and then there are the perhaps-even-fiercer names like Breaker, Ranger, and Wilder.
3. Sweet vintage names make a comeback. Especially names ending in ie. For example: Lottie and Hattie, Addie, Nettie and Nellie.
4. Modern hero surnames. Satran says Mariah Carey nailed it when she named her daughter Monroe, to honor her heroine, Marilyn Monroe. Other examples of surnames or heros in movies, life and literature used as first names: Landry (as in football coach Tom), Gatsby (as in fictional hero The Great), and Palin (yes, as in her).
5. 2012 will be the year of M names, Satran predicts. Examples: Maeve, Magdalena, Maisie, Marguerite, Marlo/Marlowe, May, Mila, Millie, and Minnie, and for boys, Magnus, Micah, Miller, Milo, Montgomery, Moses and MONICA!
I went to college with a girl who was born in 1964, and named Reagan (after Ronaldus Magnus), coming to age in the 80s. Perfect timing!
And the all time inner city girl name:
Female
Pronounced:
FeeMalee
You just can’t make this stuff up/S
We are naming our second son after Waylon Jennings. LOL!
Colt Jennings
It doesn’t mention Spider. I love the name Spider. If I ever have a kid, I’m gonna name him (or her) Spider.
At least we are not seeing "L-A" ( Ladasha ) in those lists.
Nope, not kidding. Friend of mine has the newspaper clipping...
.
Son born in the 60’s was named Michael - as were 6 others on his baseball team that year. IMO parents should consider a name that not only fits a child but that also will be appropriate when they are an adult. Since it’s the first word most often learn to write, they need to cut out the weird spellings.
“The creator of nameberry.com, Pamela Redmond Satran tells Huffington Post what the hottest trends for 2012 will be.”
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I’m glad my parents didn’t follow any “Hot Trends (gasp)” when they named me. Particualarly those from a preening know-nothing, deploying two names.
I’m gonna call her just plain Pam to piss her off.
Thinking of changing my son’s name to Entropy. The amount of energy he wastes doing useless crap is mind boggling.
As to your tagline, John Connally would fit also.
She forgot "Muhammad."
The girls name “Madison” zoomed to popularity after the Darryl Hannah character in the movie “Splash” had that name.
And she got that name in the movie because they were on Madison Avenue in New York, and Tom Hanks decided to call her that.
I wonder if he had named her 5th Avenue or Broadway in that movie, if those names would have caught on.
Do it with a 'y' (Spyder) so you can use the classic car as an excuse for your desire to come up with an unusual name.
Outside of Leo and Lionel (or Wolf if you are German), those sound like names for my dog. "Bear, let's go hunting!" "Woof!"
“And the all time inner city girl name:
Female
Pronounced:
FeeMalee”
I knew a guy who taught at an inner city school in Los Angeles. He had a girl in his class named Female Brown. She said that the hospital gave her that first name. You are right, you can’t make that s*#t up.
I started with Number 3 and Number 4. I didn’t think Number 1 or 2 would work out very well! ;-)
Second son of second son always Benjamin James.
I know several folks (including a couple of FReepers) who named their daughters Reagan and one who also has a son named Ron.
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