Which do you think will be the next 'big' baby names?

[Ouchjuststoodonlego]

Just idle musings really and I wondered what everyone else thought.
I seem to be hearing Penelope a lot from friends that are expecting.

I know a young Julie, Dennis and Gordon!

Oh yes and Julie.

Fifties names, Slyvia, Gloria, Patricia, Kenneth, Roy, Gordon etc

Ivy, Evelyn, Arlo, Ronnie.

I think that Balonz is due a comeback

Sharon and tracey wont come back for a long time

The names that come back tend to reflect the name trends any the time. Ivy and Elsie are popular, because they are soft and vowel heavy, so fit in nicely. Gertrude, Bertha and Gladys won't be making a comeback on the coattails of other old lady names, because they don't sound attractive to most parents.

I can see Julie and Gordon making a comeback, but Sharon and Tracy seem incredibly dated to my ears. I can't imagine a comeback either, but in a few generations who knows? My grandmother is an Olive and thinks her name is a dreadful old lady name, and she is aghast at parents choosing the name Olive for their daughters. In 30-40 years time, maybe the same will be the case for those.

I've just reread my post. THEIR not there.
Oh the shame

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hamid’s new baby will definitely be setting trends.

Yes looking through a list of 1930s names you can tel which ones will work in 2020s. Not all can come back.Doris for example. It may not be any different from Dora or Lois but .... it's just something you feel in your bones!

Ada, Rosemary, Eloise, Scout, Maxwell, Ivy, Acacia
Theodore, Forest, Calvin, Bruce

People name babies after grandparents so 1930s and 1940s names are due to be revived. Barbara, Dorothy, Margaret, Gordon, Gerald, Lawrence, Nancy, Arthur, Linda. Contrasted with increasingly non-traditional names like Dove or Reth.

Mary is long overdue a revival. Also Anne.

I don’t think 50s/60s names. People often talk about the 100 year rule and I think that is broadly right.
The baby groups I was in pre-lockdown consisted of a Dorothy, Vera, Rita, Ada... so yes, broadly 20s names. I think some of these would have seemed crazy to me even 10 years a go eg a baby Dorothy.

We’re not up to 1950s names yet and won’t be for a looooong time. I’m also not convinced that some of the uglier names will ever come back. It’s not a rule that all names come back. Look at popular names in 1900, 1910, 1920.. some of come back, others are forgotten. I hope I never have a grandson Nigel or Gary.

My prediction is Carter for a boy, Avery for a girl.

1920s/1930s names for girls and Old Testament names for boys

Daphne
Dorothy
Margot
Audrey
Sylvia/Sylvie
Betty/Betsy
Hazel
Vera
Peggy
Jean(ie) and Joan(ie)
Irene (could be the new Isla/Ivy/Iris!)
Alma
Frida
Mabel
Agnes
Norah
Greta
Cora
Ada
Edith/Edie
Maggie
Olive
Ida
Mary

Also for girls: Aurora, Aurelia, Elodie, Delilah, Theodora

Josiah
Solomon
Isaiah
Asa
Asher
Ezekiel/Zeke
Micah
Jesse
Jonah
Nathaniel
Seth

Also for boys: Eric, Wilfred, Jago, Casper/Caspar, Rupert

I predict David, Paul, Christopher, Philip, Peter, Michael, possibly even Ian for boys.

I think Anne, Alice, Alison, Jean, Joan, Jane, Elizabeth, Sarah for girls.

I think Pamela, Barbara, and Valerie will be back.
For boys, Martin, Alan, John.

Would love to see names like Sara, Claire, Patricia, Louise, Martina, Daphne, Pamela, Brenda, Anne, Margaret, Yvonne, Maureen, Angela, Suzanne and Fiona make a comeback. And for boys names like Peter, John, Bobby, Andrew (though I think that one might die a death now), Gary, Francis, Toby, Philip and Christopher.

Just good, solid names.

Basically what @toastofthetown said - it’ll be 1920s/30s ‘Agatha Christie’ style names next. Harder, more substantial names for girls - DD’s toddler groups are full of interchangeable Eliana/Ariana/Alyssa/Aurora/Isla type names and they’re already sounding dated. I predict they’ll be replaced by little Dorothys, Hazels and Friedas soon. Margot, Mabel, Edith and Olive are already popping up a lot where I am. For some reason I can see Sylvia coming back in a big way. Lots of 1930s boarding school names!

Also lots more nature and word names for both girls and boys - more unusual nature names (Maple, Cedar, Aster, Zinnia, Clover) and aspirational ‘idea’ names like Pax, True and Ever that sound weird now but will become much more mainstream.

-o endings for both boys and girls will continue to be popular, with Arlo, Milo and Theo being joined by others like Otto and Jago, plus Cleo and Juno for girls. Also more solid, ‘Enid Blyton’ style boys names like Peter and Laurence/Laurie coming back into fashion.

And I agree with the German/Scandi name prediction, which also ties in with the ‘harder’ girls’ names idea.

Arlo is definitely one I’m seeing ‘emerge’ I reckon it will be a top 10 name soon

For girls Luna, Elodie, Eloise, Ottilie

I think some of you are living under rocks.

Arlo has been around for years.

Names ending in 'o' were very trendy 15-18 years ago when I was pregnant.

Names ending in 'o' are going to be less trendy.

Same with 'Luna' !!

Where have you been!?

Yes @TempsPerdu I agree, we have had a belly full of names ending in a, ia, elle, ella and I totally agree that names ending in consonants and harder names and names with a scandinavian / germanic feel are definitely NEXT UP.

I'm not called Karen, and I don't think that Karen will be used with all the mockery ''I want to see the Manager'' has given the name, but this is a perfect example of the type of sound that will sound appealing to young parents in the next decade.

I think,

I agree @SliAnCroix! It's interesting that many names being suggested as the next trend, are names which are popular now, and a look at the figures would show those names with a huge spike to the top of the charts (and some on the way back down!).

I guess this is why many first time parents give their child a name which they expect to be very rare without checking the data to see if it's popular or on a steep upward trajectory - because they didn't go school with anyone called Luna and Arlo - and then declare that the name became popular after they used it.

Honestly! Are people actually taking a good look at the names they’re suggesting?! They’re terrible. I cannot imagine anyone I know who is either having a baby or getting towards having a baby naming their child anything that’s been suggested. I would never name my child after a grandparent if it meant saddling them with a terrible name. I loved my Nan to pieces but she’d rise up from her grave and haunt me forever if I used her name for my DD.