Trends We Love But Won't Be Using
You've seen Nameberry's 2025 name trends, but which ones *just* missed the cut?
The top baby name trends of 2025 are finally here! Our Nameberry team spent months brainstorming, refining, and writing about name trends for the year ahead. Some of them may sound wild — the internet can’t seem to get behind Landscape Names like Trail and Creek — but trust me, we know baby names. Our Top 10 trends encapsulate hundreds of names that are set to soar in 2025.
There were so many wonderful trend ideas, but we could only include 10 in our final piece. As is tradition, today we’re sharing the trends that *just* missed the cut — an exclusive for our Nameberry Newsletter subscribers.
Inspired by our first rejected trend (and its social media phenomenon namesake), we’re calling this: Trends We Love But Won’t Be Using.
Names We Love But Won’t Be Using
If you’re on baby name TikTok (#nametok, iykyk) your For You Page is filled with videos of people sharing their lists of “names we love but won’t be using”.
Our team debated whether this was a name trend or a naming trend — ultimately we came down on the side of the latter.
We’ll have a lot more to say on this in the weeks ahead, but in the meantime, here are some of the potentially trend-sparking names we’ve noticed in multiple “names we love but won’t be using” videos:
Trad Names
Trad Names are the antithesis of 2025's Fast Fashion Names trend. They’re time-honored classics with deep roots. You might even call these names… demure.
But — importantly — Trad Names are influenced by social media trends and the baby name hivemind. Although they appeal to different types of parents, names like Esther and Leonard will be just as trendy as Emryn and Luxton in 2025.
Two-in-One Girl Names
Why settle for one name when you could get two very different vibes in one? Parents naming daughters are increasingly opting for long names that come with opposite energy nicknames.
It goes in both directions: from feminine formal name to boyish nickname (think Georgina, called Georgie) and unisex full form to girly diminutive (we’ve seen a lot of Millers nicknamed Millie out there).
brat Names
Summer 2024 was all about brat — messy party vibes, an aesthetic that’s aspirational but chaotic. Does that translate to baby names?
For some parents, yes! brat Names are on the cutting edge of cool. They include daring word names, badass nicknames, and plenty of harsh consonant sounds. And in true brat style, the parents who choose these names aren’t concerned with societal approval.
French New Wave
French names like Michelle, Julie, Danielle, and Andre hit their stride at the end of the 20th century. Now, a new wave of French names is breaking on American shores.
Some, like Camille and Mael, are currently popular names in France. Others (ahem, Sylvie) are decidedly dated in their home country. But all of these choices sound fresh and chicly French to American ears.
Baby Name Trends, According to You
More fun things
Whitney Leavitt is breaking a major namenerd rule ❌
This Berry’s grandma will share her opinions on your favorite names 👵🏼
The newest name in our database has definite Halloween vibes 😈
Sorry, we don’t accept bribes 😉