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What do you think baby name trends will be like during the 2030s/2040s?
In other words, what do you think the teenagers of today will name their children in the future? I can see names like April and Carmen becoming more popular (as a teenager, I’ve seen many people say they like those names). I can also see more obscure names, especially those derived from mythology, becoming more popular, such as Calypso and Freya. I could also see a rise in gender neutral names, like Grey, Emerson, and Parker. It’s hard to say what more common names will do. I think Emma and Olivia will eventually become less popular as they are getting kind of boring, but I can see Charlotte rising or staying where it is.Also, I think names that end in -ayden and -leigh will be considerably less popular because most of gen z already hates those names.Names I think will rise: Charlotte, Arthur, Owen, Delila, Lilith, Freya, wordy/nature names, Harry, Daisy, Christopher, Genesis, Luna, older sounding names (besides Susan, Karen, and Stacy), Theodore, Damien, Ariana, Heather (later), Cole (for a boy), Taylor, Walter, Axel
Names I think will fall: Kayla, Riley, Paisley, -leigh and -ayden names, Amber, Noah, Joshua, Kyle, Olivia, Emma, Logan, Jake, Brandon, James, Nova, Connor

This message was edited 6/29/2022, 2:13 PM

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Rise:
- I don't know why but I think double names will continue to rise (e.g. Amelia-Rose, Sophia-Grace, Scarlett-Rose, Anne-Marie, etc).
- Native American/Mexican names, you can see that some of them have entered top 1000 on the US chart (e.g. Yaretzi, Itzayana, Nayeli, Zyanya)
- Names from the culture outside of America, especially Japanese names. To add the diversity, I think some Arabic and Indian (not Native American) names will enter the chart too.
- Hypocorism or pet names from boys to girls, e.g. Jackie, Jamie, Frankie, Billie, Charlie)
- Pricey/precious word names: Legacy, Treasure, Blessing (?), Peridot (I have seen some people of the BtN community is interested with Peridot), Diamond (?)Fall:
- Karen, Khaleesi, Katniss, Nevaeh, Isla (?), Ava (?), Vanessa (?), Melanie (?), Stephanie (?), Mary, Temperance (?), Jezebel Question:
- If naming by heritage line is true, will the 1960s Black names (LaToya, LaQuisha, LaShay, etc.) rise again?

This message was edited 7/3/2022, 9:20 AM

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I predict mythological, literary, and operatic names rising. Things like hmmm Ariadne, Coraline, Tamino.
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I kinda hope Coraline doesn’t rise. I’ve never seen that movie, but doesn’t she have a terrible mom and go through a bunch of traumatic stuff? I don’t really mind Cora, I just think Coraline is too obvious of a reference.
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She has a terrible ummm... Huge arachnid creature posing as her mum! And she does go through terrible things but in the unbridled childhood resilience and cleverness way.
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Well, since the avant-garde who revive older names tend to look at names from their great-grandparents' generation, the top names of the 1940s will start being eligible for revival. So in the USA college-educated parents around 2040 may start to think names like Robert, Gary, Frank, Paul, Kenneth, Douglas, Roger, Raymond, Wayne, and Bruce for boys and Linda, Barbara, Patricia, Carol, Nancy, Sharon, Judith, Susan, Donna, Joyce, Janet, Gloria, Beverly, Virginia and Pamela for girls sound "Cool and retro" and will give them to babies.I do think names will continue to get more varied, UNLESS the culture changes in such a way that people become paranoid about being easily found on the internet, which might actually get some young parents to think having a very common name rather than a "unique" one is a good thing for their child's future safety.
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As a person whose name is very unique overall and who isn't a fan of how easy it is to look me up online, I definitely think about this. Unfortunately my partner and I both have very unique surnames, so unless we decide to just give our kids a generic one I think even a super common first name won't balance out the surname.I do hope Linda comes back, to be honest. I think it's lovely.
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I disagree about Susan and Barbara, they’re commonly memed, although not as much as Karen. I agree with the rest, though. I always liked the name Joy, but it was always too dated. So given that anecdote and the fact that the “retro appeal” thing tends to be a trend for many generations, I definitely agree with what you’re saying.
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I think it will be a mixed bag. 2030 is just 8 years from now, so even I would still be of child bearing age, and I'm not currently a teenager. Additionally, I suspect that quite a few current teens will never have children and that many of those who do will have more traditional values compared with those who choose childlessness. With that in mind, I expect to see a blend of styles with a slight bias toward tradition and the most popular names used at a lower frequency/ percentage than they are now.Here is what I see being popular: Myth with a traditional feel - Names that are tied to mythology but also may be honoring to a family member will probably rise especially Arthur and possibly Elaine. Later on, maybe around 2040, Bridget will start coming back too. Grandma/Grandpa names - I expect to see a resurgence in names like Helen, Sylvia, Betty, and Jean along with their male counter parts. I wouldn't be surprised if Theodore becomes the #1 or #2 baby name by then since it is already popular and I know so many Grandpa's and great-uncles with that name. Unusual religious name and counter-religious names - I expect we will see Old Testament type names continue to rise in popularity with names like Moses and Ira reaching the 200s. By a simultaneous rise in counter-religious names, I mean that names that flip a finger at religious tradition by honoring the villains will become more popular. The rising popularity of Delilah and Lilith makes me think that names like Lucifer, Damon/Daemon and Iblis will also become more common although probably not in the top 100. Surnames and place names - We already see a lot of these names, and I expect we will continue to do so. Surnames are often honoring, and they are generally perceived as unisex. Nature names - Again, we are already seeing a rise in nature names like Luna and Ivy and Everest, and this trend will probably continue with parents making increasingly obscure references to their favorite mountains and plants.

This message was edited 6/29/2022, 11:55 AM

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whoa there, Damon (and Daemon) have nada to do with "demon." Just sayin'!
I also don't think they'd come back as counterreligious names anyway. Damon had a little popularity not so long ago and I don't think it seems to be in a category with stuff like Lucifer, Loki, Azrael, or Osiris.
Well - I hope it would not be thought of that way ... sigh (I really like Damon)
Damian / Damien seems more likely, because it's associated with the horror genre - or maybe that is falling out of memory now.
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I can see both Damian and Damon. Even though Damon and demon aren’t etymologically related, I can see it being popular because it sounds like demon. It’ll definitely be less popular than Damien, though, maybe in the 300s or 200s, while Damien will mostly likely be somewhere in the 50-90 range. I’ve met a Damien, but never a Damon, and I think that’ll keep happening.
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I really like Damian for the meaning and sound. If it comes back it may be as a nod to the saint(s) rather than as a nod to an old horror film. Etymologically, I know Damon has nothing to do with demons, but some people might play off the sound similarity. I was thinking of Philip Pullman's Dark Materials with the Daemon familiars that he deliberately named in a play off of the word demon (although there isn't really anything demonic about them).
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I don't think Pullman intended it to play off the word demon! A daemon / daimon is not originally malignant. He may be a critic of Christianity, but he wasn't deliberately suggesting that what is defined as malignant (the Christian concept of a demon - the word usage is a distortion / malinterpretation of daimon), is actually good.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A6mon_(His_Dark_Materials)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimon
(I guess you know this already - links for the information of anyone who reads this)

This message was edited 6/29/2022, 5:43 PM

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Also, going along with what you’re saying, I think the name Genesis will be more popular. It’s very obscure and wordy sounding, but it is very traditional in a way because of its Christian associations. I could see it being used by more traditional parents, as well as more experimental, modern ones, making it popular. It’s already around #70 at the moment.

This message was edited 6/29/2022, 12:44 PM

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Dang, I keep forgetting it’s only 8 years from now. I agree with all of these, but especially the last one.
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Also, Bridget is currently on my PNL. I had no idea it was that unpopular. I thought it might be around #200, but it’s only around #700.
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I think people will go back to the roots, we'll once again see Daisies, Christophers, Georges and Gregs.
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I can see all of those except Greg, but who knows.
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I see the same thing happening here, with David once again becoming a super common name for everyone, not just the religious jews among whom David was always an extremely common name.
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