From Apple to Eve: Baby Naming Trends

Yesterday, word went out that the SSA names list for 2011 was up, and all mayhem broke loose...

Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it was certainly the talk of the town (and by the town I mean in Mommy land and the open forums).  Some women on the baby names boards panicked about their "unique" name being on the top 20 and scrambled to find alternate names for their one in a zillion bundle of joy.  Maybe my sarcasm is a bit snarky, but unless you name your child something outrageous (like Jason Lee who named his son Pilot Inspektor), it's likely your child will have the same name as someone else.  Some people are so intent on "sparing" their kids of having a popular name that they will read every book and scour every website until they find something they think is different and won't likely be replicated when they're child gets to Kindergarten.

As a child named Megan growing up in the 80's (meaning I had 6-10 other Megan/Meghan/Meaghan's in my class), I gotta say, it wasn't that bad.  Sure, if I heard someone yelling it in the hallway, I looked up (it was almost never anyone calling me), but it wasn't really any skin off my nose.  It didn't seem to be any more difficult for my teachers to use our first and last name to call on us, and most of our friends seemed to have nicknames for us, anyway.  As far as boys are concerned, I notice most of them tend to call each other by last name (my husband, at one point, worked with four or more Jonathans' at the same time...there was never any confusion).

Of course, this comes at a relevant time for me, personally, since the hubs and I are currently debating our choice of names.  Our little boy is due to arrive in 10-12 weeks (God willing and knock wood all goes well), and we're at a stalemate.  While finding a name for the nug could be annoying at times, at least we had 3-4 names we agreed on before she was born.  With this little guy, we're not much closer to settling on a name than we were when we found out we were expecting.  Every time we *think* we've got it, we start pondering other names and find ourselves back at square 1.  With so many new ones and so many great classics, it's really hard to decide!  Let's face it, unless you're living under a rock you've noticed a lot of new baby naming trends the last few years; from naming your child after a fruit (I probably wouldn't recommend this) to some of the more traditional fare, I've mapped a few of them out below...

Trend #1: The Aiden/Ayden names.  If you've been to a preschool or Mommy and Me class any time in the last two years, odds are you've come across at least a dozen kids named Aiden, Brayden, Jayden or the like.  While those names aren't my style, seeing so many cute little boys with those names makes it hard to resist using one of them!

Trend #2: The Dead presidents last names.  With names like Mason, Kennedy, Lincoln, Madison, Reagan and Carter making the rounds (amongst others), it's hard to deny this relatively new trend.  At first, when I thought about it, I found it a little off-putting (considering they're really all last names); however, I found the appeal when I first heard the name Lincoln on Fringe (a Fox TV show).  Since then, I've met a few baby boy Lincolns' (Linc for short), and I've gotta say, I'm kind of in love with it.  My ever so practical and traditional hubby would never have it, but if it were up to me, it'd probably be on my short list.

Trend #3: The movie/TV show names.  While pretty much every name in existence has been in a TV show or movie at some point, it seems that sometimes, names that weren't well known (or known at all) are catapulted up the SSA ladder when they featured on a popular TV show.  With shows like Lost on TV, the name Sawyer is being used for both girls and boys in abundance; and with the popularity of the Twilight movie series, Jacob is now the number one male name in America and Isabella is number 2 on the girl's list.  This isn't a new phenomenon, when Rachel and Ross named their baby Emma on Friends, use of that name also skyrocketed on the SSA list for a couple of years.  These names do seem to taper off after a little bit, but in the mean time, be prepared for a LOT of Jacob and Bella's on your child's preschool class roster.

Trend #4: The "out there" name/made up name.  This seems to be mostly a Hollywood trend (Zuma, Bronx, Apple, etc), but in recent months I've seen a few of these names that make you scratch your head and wonder what their parents were thinking.  Of course, most of us have heard the urban myth of "La-a" (Ladasha), but considering I've never met or heard of anyone ACTUALLY using that name, I'll leave that off the list. Last night on 16 and Pregnant, the young lady featured gave her child the name Tinleigh.  I've never heard or met anyone with that name before, and while it's hardly the worst one I've heard, I did wonder if they'll be calling them "Tin" for short.  In passing just recently, I've heard the names Cage (I think it might be spelled with a K...as if that makes it more awesome), Freedom, and Aslin (pretty sure this is a name from a sci-fi movie...).  While everyone has a right to name their kids as they see fit, when naming your child, it's probably best to remember that they have to really use that name...like, forever.

On the flip side, there are some more "out there" names that are received a little better.  For instance? Beyonce and Jay-Z's little girl, named Blue Ivy.  Sure, it's different, and it's a color to boot, but tastefully put together, you can make an "out there" name a home run in terms of chic style.

Trend #5: The Irish names.  I've always been a lover of Irish names (in fact, when I was pregnant with the nugget I was tossing around Rhiannon, but between the above mentioned practical husband and the pop star Rihanna that I'm not a fan of, it was quickly tossed out).  Knowing this one is a boy, I was so excited to start tossing around my favorite Irish boy names (which, thanks to a few newer TV shows, are becoming a popular trend now, too!), like Nolan, Declan, Lachlan and Colin.  While I've got the hubs on board for maaaaybe one or two of them, odds are, his name will likely lie with...

The Classics: Names like Michael, William, Benjamin, Elizabeth, and Emily will likely never go out of style.  Their popularity ebbs and flows (while Michael spent a decade or more as the number one name, it's now number 6, and William has moved up to number 2!), but being classics they will almost never move off of the top 20.  These names have remained on the list for a reason; they're beautiful, strong names that have survived generations of fads and "you-neek" name trends (Naveah, Trinity, Genesis and Serenity all broke the top 100 this year...).

While there's plenty more where that came from, with an infinite number of names out there, it should be easy to find some that suit your style.  I know it's a tough decision; unless you've known your whole life that you'd be naming your twins after Brendan and Brenda on 90210, I think a lot of parents (like myself) feel a weight to pick a name our kids can be proud of.  Just try to do them one favor, steer away from names like Banana and Orange.