Exclusive: The *Other* Top Baby Name Trends 2024
You've seen our predictions. But which trends ~just barely~ missed the cut?
In general, I much prefer to look forward than back.
Don’t get me wrong — there’s something very satisfying about analyzing the previous year’s most popular names and identifying pop culture catalysts or correctly predicted trends.
But it’s more exhilarating to speculate on trends for the year ahead.
Every summer, the Nameberry team gets together to brainstorm name trends for the year to come. We share our hunches based on visitor data, celebrity baby names, and our own name nerd intuition. It’s wildly fun and only slightly unhinged (our brainstorm document was a whopping 11 pages long this year).
Last month, we released our official predictions for the Top Baby Name Trends for 2024, but as you may imagine, a number of trends had to be left on the cutting room floor.
In an exclusive for our Nameberry Newsletter subscribers, we’re sharing our 2024 name trends that got away.
Apricot Crush is the color of the year for 2024, described as “restorative, refreshing and energetic”. These trending names bring that same dynamism and connect to the hue of Apricot Crush with meanings related to warm tones like red, yellow, and orange.
It’s a long-held rule in baby naming: names catch on in Australia and the UK before making their way to the US. It doesn’t always prove true, but generally, our friends across the pond are cutting-edge namers!
Certain staples on the British and Aussie charts have yet to take off in the US, but 2024 will be their year. Expect to see more babies called Imogen, Sonny, and Lachlan on American soil.
One of the biggest trends for interiors in 2024 is Dopamine Decor — bright, colorful spaces that inspire joy. A similar phenomenon is occurring with baby names. We’re noticing more children with punchy color names like Emerald, Marigold, and Sapphire, as well as those connected to positive emotions (think Lively and Love).
These dopamine names also include those that are just plain fun to say — names with spiky consonants like Kiki, Renzo, and Xanthe are impossible to say without a smile.
Place names have been on-trend for decades now but in 2024, domestic choices like Boston, Aspen, and Phoenix will be usurped by a chicer subset: European city names. Classics from Italy like Florence, Rome, and Milan will continue to grow alongside quirkier choices like Oslo, Athens — even Cardiff!
Goodbye, Riley, and hello, Rooney! A new generation of last names as first names for girls has landed, and these choices are sleeker than ever. Girl parents in 2024 are looking for stylish, androgynous, and uncommon surnames for their daughters — bonus points if it shortens to a cute girly nickname, like Winslet/Winnie, Callaway/Callie, and Mercer/Mercy.
Readers, what name trends are *you* expecting to see more of in 2024?
More fun things
Names that mean you live in the Midwest, including Vivian and Lincoln 🎩
Curious about the baby names that rank higher than ever before? We have the full collection of names that peaked in 2022 📈
Our editorial team shared their newly discovered names, which just might be new to you, too! 🆕
Baby name changes are on the rise. See all of the celebrity parents who changed their babies’ names 🚼
The newest name in our database is pretty adorable 🌱