Hottest new baby names for 2010
I won’t tell you the baby names I grew sick of as a labor and delivery nurse, since your child’s moniker may be one of them… :)
But I was excited to read on the Parent Dish that the “Hottest Baby Names of 2010,” according to BabyNameWizard.com, are none of the above. Many are unusual but good.
Fastest-rising girl’s names
1. Tenley
2. Harper
3. Everleigh
4. Martina
5. Sookie
6. Navi
7. Charlotte
8. Eloise
9. Lorelai
10. Ursula
11. Briella
12. Kinley
13. Tinsley
14. Mhairi
15. Leighton
16. Maelle
17. Ever
18. Kinsley
19. Lux
20. Everly
[Photo above, via NameCandy.com, is of Adam Sandler and 4yo daughter Sadie Madison. 2yo sister’s name is Sunny Madeline.]
Fastest-rising boy’s names…
1. Castiel
2. Bentley
3. Eoin
4. Easton
5. Lucian
6. Aarav
7. Zion
8. St. John
9. Kaiden
10. Sterling
11. Callan
12. Leland
13. Harper
14. Mikah
15. Dashiell
16. Eliah
17. Dawson
18. Kayden
19. Lennon
20. Dorian
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
What if a St. John is canonized? Does he become St. St. John?
Speaking of, that was one name I didn’t understand. Is it a Catholic thing?
St. John was originally an English thing. Over there it’s prononced “Sinjin.”
St. John was originally an English thing. Over there it’s prononced “Sinjin.”
Sookie? Ursula? Are you serious? Tinsley? Ever? Lux?
These names are ridiculous — sorry.
Whatever happened to Mary, or Katherine, or Lucy or Jane?
Not plain, but feminine and simple. Half the names on these lists I’m not sure how to pronounce.
Castiel?!? Sounds like the Supernatural fans are both prolific and in mourning over the ending of the show. :)
I missed Sookie, though. I actually like that name. I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that it’s because True Blood is so popular. Although I wonder where the Taras, Lafayettes, Erics, Bills, Sams, Jasons, and Arlenes are.
I guess after “Navi”, would come “Armi” and “Air Force”?
Man, where do they come up with these names?
Please do note that these are not the most popular names, only the “fastest rising”. Ie, it may have been in 2000th place last year, and because thirty more people names their child that this year, it’s up to 1250th place. At least, I can think of about 1000 names I would want to name my children before choosing more than 4 of the girls’ names and 1 of the boys’, and I hope I’m not that out of touch.
Jill, I bet you got sick of my name, Melissa!
My in-laws shih tzu is nammed Sookie. That’s all I have to say about *that*!
Nope, Melissa wasn’t on my list. :) But I’m stopping there. No more hints!
My daughter just named her daughter Stella Anne. We love it! Her son is Jacoby.
I think Sookie and Lorelai are on the list because of the Gilmore Girls.
I would imagine Navi is because of Avatar, not the armed services.
Baby names have long been a passionate hobby of mine – it’s an interesting subject because people move in definite trends without deliberate influence from marketing, advertising, etc. Like, no one tries to convince the public to LIKE a certain name. But people rush towards the same names at the same time anyway. Pretty cool to watch. It’s one of the few areas where public opinion, while swayed by pop culture, is not INTENTIONALLY swayed by anyone – and yet it is still swayed in very definite patterns. Pretty cool.
I’ve always liked Ursula. My other fave girl names are Eleanor, Beatrice, and Hazel. I like August (Gus! so cute) and Henry, particularly, for boys.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Lux was a holdover from girls who came of age with The Virgin Suicides. It was never a Twilight-esque pop culture hit but it certainly had a cult following among artsy-minded, whimsical, ethereal-beauty-appreciative girls when I was in high school. Kind of a haunting book and movie.
Tinsley likely comes from a prominent NY socialite, Tinsley Mortimer. There was a website, Socialite Rank, that lifted her to a very quiet form of celebrity among certain types. I can see how that name might be rising quickly among the sort of people who follow that stuff, trickling down to more mainstream circles – she was kind of the “classy” socialite, I think – I didn’t really pay attention.
Harper is a pretty good intersection of a variety of trends, right now. It’s a proper-sounding surname, which is right on trend; and it’s a slightly uncommon literary-name tribute (Harper Lee). It’s also androgynous, which is a plus for girls’ names at this moment. Literary and musical tribute names are big – Miles (ie, Davis) is an up-and-comer for boys, and Dorian (ie, the musical mode) is on the list up there as a fast-riser.
I’ll stop now, haha. I really like this subject, though.
Alexandra, we just named our little boy Charles Henry. It was a tough call which name to give as his first name, but ultimately we went with Charles because I like Charlie. I do love the name Henry though!
My newbie niece is Harper. :)
“I would imagine Navi is because of Avatar, not the armed services.”
Posted by: Alexandra at July 19, 2010 4:44 PM
That was my thought, too. It’s kind of disappointing, though. I didn’t think the movie was that good.
I think the most amusing “I’m going to name my baby X” where X is something media related that I’ve seen recently was someone on the Fandom!Secrets LJ saying they planned to name their son “Roranicus” after a character in a recent Doctor Who episode. I would hope that’s going to be a middle name, but if not, his nickname will probably be Rory, so that’s all right.
I can honestly say that I don’t like even ONE name on either of those lists. The names are… just awful. Ugh. Then again, I’m a big fan of traditional, Biblical/saints names. :)
Me too, Alexandra – I started reading books and articles about baby names when I was in fifth grade. “Lux” made me think of “The Virgin Suicides” too.
I don’t like the vast majority of these names – in my mind, nickname-sounding names should be nicknames, not the name on the birth certificate.
Nausea rising. I hate these stupid yuppie names. In fact, since I teach seniors in college and this stupid trend started about 20 years ago, I have to call roll and ask how in the crap to pronounce these cutesy names that they will have to repeat every time they introduce themselves that will hold them back in their careers. Stupid parents. Get a dog if you want cute names!
Marauder, I agree about nickname-y names – I like names that can be shortened, but I like having options! I’ve always loved how versatile my own name is.
Keli Hu, I heard of people naming kids Renesmee, after the Twilight books. That’s one of the ones that made me do the biggest double-take.
I also have to add, EVER!? What the heck kind of name is that? My brain can’t comprehend it.
Interesting! Some names aren’t THAT bad…not that I would EVER use them. I am old fashioned to the extreme. My son’s name is Tommy and our next child will be Jack if a boy and Julianna if a girl. My step-brother’s wife picks unusual names. She named her newest daughter Hollis. I personally gagged when I heard it but I would NEVER tell her that! :-) To each his own I guess!
Lauren, I love Charlie for little boys, too! So cute. I like names that have “formal” full versions and adorable nickname versions, haha.
I think the “weirdest” name I have ever really liked – barring Ursula, which makes most people think of a vile sea witch – is Juniper (June for a nickname). I liked it when I was in maybe middle school. Unfortunately, the company I’ve worked with for the past few years has the word Juniper in the name of it, and while I adore my job, I wouldn’t really want my hypothetical child associated with it. Probably for the best.
There’s a certain name on that list that I HATE, HATE, HATE, and I’m tired of it being used, but since someone else mentioned it, I guess I’ll keep it to myself. Baby names have been a hobby of mine (all my life) too, Alexandra. :)
when my daughter was an infant I was changing her in a restaurant bathroom and a lady was like “oh, what a cute baby, what’s her name?” And I said “Nora” to which she replied “Oh, what a pretty name! I’m from California and no one would name their baby that there.” I was never quite sure what to think about that.
A good name for a son woud be Phil Durt.
He woulk always know he was wanted…. as long as he was clean.
We named our son Kaz Hoyet after his two grandfathers.
There is not another Kaz Hoyet on the planet. Probably never has been, never will be unless Kaz Hoyet decides to have a Kaz Hoyet Jr.
If it’s Ursula, Pamela, go ahead and rail against it – I won’t mind! I’ve heard awful reactions to it my whole life, haha. Aside from its sea-witch connotations, it also has that unfashionable back-of-the-throat-vowel-into-an-R sound (think Gertrude) – open, airy vowels are more “current” sounding, and pretty. But I always think that on a beautiful girl, Ursula could be quite striking and strong.
A man who runs a design blog I occasionally read has a daughter named Ursula (Lulu for a nickname) and I think it’s just adorable on her!
.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/at-press/our-press-father-of-invention-in-cookie-046311
apartmenttherapy.com/ny/at-email/look-putting-up-a-big-purple-martin-house-093138
apartmenttherapy.com/ny/at-email/how-to-build-a-simple-indoor-swing-for-winter-074054
apartmenttherapy.com/ny/at-email/look-making-a-desk-for-lulu-117480
I have so enjoyed watching her grow, over the years!
I’ll probably never get to use Ursula, though – it’s not my favorite girls’ name (I just like it) and Mr. Alexandra despises it. I simply wish I saw more Ursulas running around, haha.
Juniper was the name of the wood nymph girlfriend of Grover the Satyr in Percy Jackson series.
Harper could also be chosen because its a character name on Wizards of Waverly place (Disney show)
My 3 year old nephew’s name is Kolbe, after Saint Maximillian Kolbe.
My cousin just had a baby girl two weeks ago and her name is Lydia (named after her dad’s grandmother)
Posted by: Jill Stanek at July 19, 2010 2:25 PM
Catholics normally do pick a Saint name as either a first or middle (or both) name and I personally love the name St. John. You dont, however, call him Saint John. The name is usually pronounced Sin-jin.
I have wanted to name each of my three boys St. John but hubby opposed it – vehemently.
Sorry, I didn’t see that Lori posted a response to Jill.
I think “Lorelai” is a VERY cool name (and I’ve never even seen The Gilmore Girls!).
It’s the sound – and the etymology, don’t you know.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorelei
(It is also sometimes spelled Lorelay or Lorelai in German and is also pronounced the same)
I don’t think much of most of the other girls’ names on the list, though, which wound like nonsense syllables put together.
But I have a nostalgic fondness for Harper, after Harper Lee, who wrote one of my favorite novels of all time.
Are we out of the phoenetic spelling phase yet?
:)
Madeline, Madylynn, Matelynn, Maddeline, Matylinn.
Ashley,
I heart the name Darby.
I expected Bella, Alice, Edward and Jacob to be very high on that list. I would rather see that than ‘Sookie’-there’s some pretty disturbing stuff in True Blood. Stuff even the normal vampire fans wanted to throw up when viewing.
And Navi? Haha. Movie makers should be aware of the impact their movies make on people, so they can come up with better sounding names for the legions of fans to use as baby names.
If it’s Ursula, Pamela, go ahead and rail against it – I won’t mind! I’ve heard awful reactions to it my whole life, haha.Posted by: Alexandra at July 19, 2010 7:21 PM
_____________________________________
No…it’s not. And BTW, ALEXANDRA is what I always WISHED my mother had named me. :)
Lauren,
My youngest son’s middle name is Henry as well. Both of his grandparents have the middle name Henry.
Family started calling him ‘Hank’ as a baby and it has stuck.
Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Apostle of the Bible.
Wild stuff… we just had an Everleigh born here though a couple of weeks ago!
I’ve always liked traditional names that had both personal meaning and a good meaning behind them.
My kids are
Alison Marie
Joseph Nathaniel
Jonathan Thomas
Amber Elisabeth (Daddy picked that one. Too frou-frou for me).
Amanda Joan
Arielle Danae (can you figure out who picked THAT doozy? Again, not me!)
Patrick Lee
The really funny thing is that my two girlies with the frou-frou names are such TOMBOYS… nothing frilly about them. (Well, except Amber did ask for her .22 rifle to be pink… can’t go hunting looking like a boy I guess!)
The dumbst thing a parent can do is to name their child according to a fad.
In 15 years they’ll have names like everyone else.
When we named our daughter Mary Frances, we were told it was old fashioned.,,,,ha.
By the time she was in high school, everyone thought what a great and unique name she had.
Yep, they’re were 5 or 6 Alexis, Brittany, etc., etc., etc. ho hum, ho hum.
I say go againt the crowd.
I am so glad I am unique for not having any tattoo. Always better to swim upstream than be a conformist.
Thanks, Pamela! That is so sweet. I go by Alex among my friends, Ally among my family (and, now, professionally, since I work in my father’s industry and it just stuck – which isn’t bad, considering that there are relatively few women in my industry, and a lot more Alex’s than Ally’s), Sasha among a certain group of high school friends, several of whom grew up in Russia. Some people even call me Lexi. And of course Alexandra, when I just want to seem more formal or regal. I did have a baby doll named Pamela when I was a kid, though. ;)
Stephanie, a lot of the Twilight names are pretty popular (Isabella was the most popular girls’ name last year; Jasper was always a favorite name of mine but I’ve become wary lately) – these are just the fastest-rising. So for Navi to go from, like, absolutely not even a word to 1,200 on the list or something, is a bigger jump than for Isabella to go from 4 to 1, or whatever its trajectory was.
A woman I know had a baby in December and named her Mia Isabella. Beautiful names, but she was convinced that the name would be totally unique (I was not about to tell her otherwise, since she’d already settled on the name, and why be that jerk?) – and now both are in the top 10! The interesting part is, she had almost settled on Mallory instead, which really WOULD have been unique; it has a lot of the same traits as currently-stylish names (rhythm, vowel structure, etc) and would “sound” like part of this generation, but it is not ACTUALLY very popular. Probably at least in part because so many women having children now grew up with the Babysitter’s Club. This woman is slightly older and had no BSC associations with the name, and thus loved the sound of it where so many in my generation dismiss it; so her daughter probably would have been the only Mallory in any given class. I didn’t tell her that, but I did find it very interesting that, as is so often NOT the case, her initial instincts were for a less common name than the name she talked herself into. Hm.
Ashley wrote:
Ewwww. There’s nothing I hate more than annoying, narcissistic parents who pick the most ridiculous names, because heaven forbid their special snowflake have the same name as anyone else in the first-grade class. There’s a link between narcissistic parents and unusual names, so if you hear some comically absurd one, you know who the parents are.
:) Ashley, I never thought I’d see the day that I’d stand and applaud one of your comments, but you just hit a home run with that one, with me! I agree wholeheartedly!!
Posted by: Stephanie at July 19, 2010 9:59 PM
There’s some pretty disturbing stuff in Twilight, but it’s below the radar, which to my mind makes it worse. Passing over the worst of it, there’s still that labor scene at the end of Bella’s pregnancy, which is gruesome and blood-soaked enough to make hardened horror fans freak out. At least True Blood is honest about the dark stuff. The disturbing bits actually disturb. And it has a plot beyond the romance.
Hey Paladin. I have a random question for you. Are you on facebook? Because I recently friended someone who has “Paladin” in their name and they are a very, very traditional Catholic. Just wondering if that is you. God love you.
Hi, Bobby!
I’m on FB (joined very recently), but “paladin” isn’t part of my sign-in name; I’m there under my secret identity! :)
Okay, very good. Well, if you want to friend me, my name is Nicholas Scoville, but if you want to keep a secret identity, I completely understand. God love you.
:) I found at least seven “Nicholas Scovilles”! Tell you what: e-mail me (follow my link, click on “Paladin”, to my neglected blog; my e-mail address is there), and send me the link to your FB page?
(Sorry for the tangent, Jill et al.!)
Whoops! Never mind; found you! It was obvious, after checking the link! ;)
Oooh me!! Friend me on Facebook, Paladin! Carla Stream
It’s funny how naming philosophy can change as more kids are born. My oldest son is named Holden, and while I love the name, I’m not sure I would use it now. One thing is for sure, it’s not terribly common, although it has been rising in popularity.
“Ewwww. There’s nothing I hate more than annoying, narcissistic parents who pick the most ridiculous names, because heaven forbid their special snowflake have the same name as anyone else in the first-grade class. There’s a link between narcissistic parents and unusual names, so if you hear some comically absurd one, you know who the parents are.”
Yup, Ashley, you hit the nail on the head. Narcissism. I used to think the people doing this were largely movie stars, who are evidently narcissistic by nature, but more and more I’m seeing that they have lots of company.
The worst part is that the kids are the ones who are going to have to live with those names in later life.
Oh, I love names too.
I love family names–my son is Peter Sidney III and my daughter is Hannah Jane.
Jane is a fourth-generation middle name (mine, my mother’s, her mother’s–and before that her mother’s first name), and Hannah we loved because of the Bible story (and being a palindrome was a perk, and we loved the sound). If I did it over again her first name would be a family name, but I do like her name. I love my baby boy’s name!
More family names I want to use: John Ernest, George Alfred “Geordi”, Benjamin Mark, Rebecca May, Rhoda Lucy, Elizabeth Susan, Virginia, Rose, maybe Jesse, Vincent, and/or James.
I like obscure Biblical names for boys (like Hezekiah, Asa, Shem, and Silas–plus Daniel) and Biblical-inspired names for girls (like Pearl, Trinity, Eden, and Selah–plus Biblical names like Leah Martha, but there just aren’t as many).
Long list of future names I love:
Alfred, Asa, Benjamin, Daniel, Ernest, Gideon, George, Hezekiah, Judah, John, James, Jesse, Malachi, Mark, Nehemiah, Obadiah, Shem, Silas
Eden, Elizabeth, Eve, Faith, Leah, Lucy, Mary, Martha, May, Pearl, Rebecca, Rhoda, Rose, Selah, Susan, Trinity, Virginia
As for these “top risers”: some are nice (Dashiell, Zion, Dorian, Martina, Eloise); some already seem overdone to me (Charlotte, Kinley, Kinsley, Briella, Harper, Dawson); some are just awful (Sookie, Navi, Aarav, Kaiden/Kayden, Mikah); some are intriguing though not anything I would use (Ever, Lux, Eliah).
Paladin…friend me too! I am friends with both Bobby Bambino and Carla…but Sydney is not my real name. Its my alias…at least online.
If you contact them they can recommend me as a friend for you.
The WORST names I ever heard were twins. A boy and a girl. Their mom named them Armani and Chanel. UGH. But its so cheesy I can’t foresee that ever being a popular choice.
I squealed when I saw Castiel on the list! I LOVE Supernatural, but never thought to use that as a name before. I was kinda thinking of Ezekiel (Zeke) and Ella for a boy and girl, but now I’m not so sure . . . Definitely wouldn’t use Roranicus, but that was an awesome episode. :)
Ashley: I think that most times it has less to do with narcissism and more to do with not having to put up with 10 other gals in high school having the same name as you. You’re Ashley, didn’t you hate that too? My theory is that it skips generations; my parents had original names, my name’s boring, and I’ll probably give my kids original names.
:) Sheesh… this FB neophyte is getting a workout, here… but I found you, Sydney! (*bow!*)
Okay, just sent a request to Bobby…. but on FB I use my nickname, Lisa…. hunt me down from there, guys!
you can find a numerous of baby names in the below list… check it..
Baby Names and Meanings
I thought some of them were “cute” and others were just plain hideous. I really like the name Charlotte, but chose to incorporate only part of that name into my daughter’s name as ‘Charlotte’ was too common a name for me to name our daughter. I like traditional, unique names–but not hideous names.
My little child: Jashy, named after his dad’s grandfather. I would like to share these beautiful baby cards:
http://www.parentdish.com/2010/06/17/do-we-need-new-baby-name-etiquette/
Thanks.
My little child: Jashy, named after his dad’s grandfather. I would like to share these beautiful baby cards:
http://www.usernetsite.com/creativity/sweet-birth-announcement-cards.php
Thanks.
Boy, that Sadie looks a lot like Adam Sandler.
Boy, that Sadie looks a lot like Adam Sandler.
I am going to be a Grandmother for the first time this Nov. I was excited to find out I was having a grandson and a bit hesitant on when I first heard his name, Evan Leonidas. Yelp…Leonidas. My son had to remind me that this is the name of the Spartan King that lead the 300. Okay, strong name and Leo is good. LOL!
Congratulations Pat! My son’s best friend is named Leo. It is a cute name for a cute little boy…
And ya know what I’ve found? Even if you hate the name, you will love your little grandson so much the name will start to be precious to you. There were names my friends chose that made me GAG. But once I got to know and love these little children I found I didn’t hate the names anymore!