There are tons of different ways new parents go about choosing a name for their new bundle of joy. Between familial names, celeb influences and cultural references, it’s easily one of the most difficult decisions a parent will make. Tonic spoke to Linda Murray, editor of BabyCenter, about their wildly popular annual baby names survey.
When it comes to what decides a baby’s name, Murray said, “Pop culture is definitely influencing the list. Even thought parents say they are not swayed by Hollywood, they really are. As for family traditions, we don’t see as many juniors as we did a few years ago, but people still do look towards the names of grandparents and biblical names. People really do find inspiration anywhere — even the dictionary is an influence.” Another pop culture sector that’s had a hand in deciding baby names is sports. Murray said they’ve been seeing a lot more Apolos (after Olympian Apolo Anton Ohno), for instance.
One of the most notable things Murray noticed in the 2010 survey was that when parents chose to reference Hollywood in the name of their baby, they were seeking out celebs who are good influences. “You can definitely see parents gravitating towards positive role models,” says Murray. “People watching Glee are choosing names like Finn, Lynn and Leah. There’s also a huge Madmen trend right now. Betty is making a comeback from the show and from the rising popularity of Betty White. Roger has also risen on the list as well.”
There has also been a decline in names of celebs who’ve had a fall from grace. She said, “We do see decline in names like Britney. People in general don’t like to name their kids after well-known celebrities. We don’t see many Madonnas, Oprahs or Mariahs.” Murray also saw interesting declines and rises in the names of celebs going through feuds. Elin (as in the former wife of Tiger Woods) is escalating and Tiger is weakening in popularity. The same trend was noted for the name Sandra (as in Bullock) and Jesse (as in her cheating hubby, Jesse James).
With 2010 coming to a close, BabyCenter is making predictions for what we’re going to be seeing in 2011. Murray says, “Some of the predictions we have are for more unusual names. We’re seeing a lot of movement. There’s a lot of rising in the names Isla, Olive and Kellan. Kingston, the name of Gwen Stefani’s son, is also rapidly rising.”
When it comes to pregnant celebs, BabyCenter has an algorithm to make suggestions and predictions of what names they might choose. “If Mariah Carey has a girl, we predict Desiree or Destiny and Alonzo or Jesse for boys. Pink also has a baby on the way; for her baby we predict, Blaze, Ace, Hudson or Jameson.”
If you and your partner have a bun in the oven, Murray has a bit of advice. First and foremost, she says, think about the sound of the name. She says, “Say it with your name and your partner’s last name. Also, think about the initials, since you don’t want your child’s initials to spell ‘zit.’”
For more guidance, check out the 150,000 (and counting!) names on BabyCenter.
Photo by gabi_menashe via Flickr.