Which Hidden Names Are the Stars of the Future? 🌟
Tomorrow's top names could be hiding just out of sight
The top names of the 2020s so far include a surprising number of choices that were virtually unheard of just a generation ago.
True, some modern favorites – like Emma and Charlotte, Henry and William – are perennial classics. They might dip in and out of fashion over the decades, but they never go totally out of style (*preens*).
But I was stunned to discover just how rare some other mega-popular 2020s names were thirty years ago, when today’s grandparents were choosing their babies’ names!
Harper, Everly, Luna, Mila, Isla and Juniper are among the popular girl names given to fewer than 25 babies just a generation ago.
And on the boys’ side: Beckett, Crew, Finn, Declan, Luca and Aiden – yes, Aiden – were all super uncommon too.
Perhaps it’s little wonder that today’s baby name choices – even the ones we think of as pretty mainstream – so often get a “Huh?” from Grandma!
What’s funny is that the influence of contemporary style is so strong that, in hindsight, many of these feel almost like an inevitability.
I mean, of course Lilah and Lyla and Lilith were going to climb – that double L sound is everywhere!
Ophelia makes total sense in light of Top 10 girl names like Olivia, Amelia and Isabella.
And the K spelling spins – Kairo and Karter and Kaiden and Kash – how else would parents put a modern, edgy twist on their favorite popular names?
And yet if you look back at the extended baby names list from 1992, there are other promising candidates that just… never caught on.
Leda – meaning “happy”, the name of a beautiful queen in Greek myth – was given to the same number of girls as Lilah that year (12). But in 2021? Still only 14.
And the smart surname-turned-first-name Keir, relatively popular in the UK, was used the same number of times (15) as Karter in 1992. But still only 17 boys were given the name last year.
Nameberry’s newest hot-off-the-press name lists shine a light on the best hidden names of 2021. These are the coolest choices given to fewer than 50 babies – well below the Top 1000 threshold where even the most comprehensive official lists cut off.
And yet they all feel like they have serious potential! Could any of these be the stars of the future? 🤩
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