How (Not) to Choose the Next Big Baby Name
Our 5 top tips for predicting the future popularity of your favorite names.
When we revealed our most-viewed names around the globe last week, lots of readers were surprised to see quirky retro boy name Arlo make so many of the lists. Barely in the US Top 1000 a decade ago, it suddenly seems to be everywhere!
Arlo remains a super cool choice, but many parents would prefer for their perfect under-the-radar baby name to stay that way – at least until little Sylvie or Boaz is older. (Yep, those are on our watch list!)
So, how can you tell if your chosen name is set to be the Next Big Thing? 🔮
Crystal balls at the ready! Here are our five top tips for predicting the future popularity of your favorite name.
1. Check Nameberry Popularity
Nameberry has so many great tools for picking up on names poised to rise in a big way. Our internal popularity charts for boys and girls are updated monthly and let you see the names attracting the most attention in (almost) real time.
Make sure you also check out our list of the fastest-rising names on Nameberry. These are the names that have seen the biggest increase in views over the past year.
And if you ever see the 🔥 emoji (like here on Alba’s page), you know you’re onto something hot – these names saw more than double the average increase in views over the past year.
2. Look Just Below the Surface
The official Top 1000 baby names released by the SSA each year is useful for seeing which already well-used names are picking up in popularity, but that’s not where the data ends!
If you don’t fancy trawling through the raw figures, never fear! We also keep an up-to-date list of the next 1000 most popular names in the US, so you can check if your hidden gem is lurking just out of sight at #1001.
3. Compare International Lists (Especially UK)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that the British baby name data can give a sneak peek at names likely to catch on in the US as well.
Arthur, Charlie, Isla and Freya – all on the rise in the US – are currently in the Top 10 for England and Wales, and there are many other rising stars to be found just a little further down the list, like Oscar, Theo, Poppy and Phoebe.
If you prefer a visual representation, this is a brilliant site for seeing the year-on-year popularity change for any name used more than three times since 1996.
4. Wise Up on Current Trends
Most rising names are rising for a reason. And unless that reason is a popular TV series or high-profile celebrity birth (more on that later), it’s usually to do with sound and style.
At the start of each new year, we sum up the Top 10 name trends we think will most influence parents over the next twelve months. Check out our latest predictions below and proceed with caution if your favorite name ticks one (or more!) of these boxes.
5. Know Your Pop Culture
This one is the trickiest to predict – after all, we all know an Elsa born the year before Frozen came out, or an Archie named just before Meghan and Harry welcomed their son.
TV, film, literature, music and celebrity babies can all have a big influence on a name’s future popularity, so it’s worthwhile doing a bit of research.
You can find famous bearers – including recent celebrity babies and fictional characters – at the bottom all of our name pages (see Flynn for an example). We also keep an up-to-date tally of the most notable celebrity baby names, going back over a decade.
More Fun Stuff
🇳🇬 Yoruba names might just have the best meanings around!
❓ What happens when you ask a bunch of non-namenerds questions about names?
💪 How a viral joke lead to the Great Josh Fight of 2021.