Move over Jason and Jennifer, Jayceon and Royalty are officially the trendiest baby names of 2017.
According to a new trend report from Nameberry published earlier this month, the days of naming a child starting with the letters “Ad” or ending with letters “ley” are over.
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Looking at popular baby names in 2016 and comparing them to those that were common in 2006, the report notes which names have “exploded” over the last decade and which ones continue to trend.
“Juniper and Jayceon, according to our research, may well prove as emblematic of these times as Jennifer and Jason were of the 1970s,” the report notes. “The 40 names that have increased the most in usage over the past 10 years… may sound fresh and stylish now, but are likely to become the Brittany and Brian of the future.”
Nameberry co-creator and author Pamela Redmond Satran says she was most surprised by the huge bounce of the name Kylo.
The list
Satran says there are 200 names for each sex that have been in the top spots for decades, including William, James and Elizabeth.
“One thing parents can take away from the current list is that names near the top of the list are relatively stable. Among the top 10, you don’t see huge leaps up or down in a year or even in a decade,” she says.
Here are the 10 most popular names for girls and boys, according to Nameberry. Check out the full list here.
For girls:
1. Royalty — 58x (as popular now as in 2006)
2. Adalynn — 31x
3. Paislee — 31x
4. Isla — 27x
5. Adaline — 26x
6. Nova — 22x
7. Addilyn — 21x
8. Leighton — 20x
9. Bristol — 20x
10. Lennon — 19x
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For boys:
1. Jayceon— 31x (as popular now as it was in 2006)
2. Brantley — 28x
3. Knox — 26x
4. Bentley — 24x
5. Thiago — 23x
6. Iker — 20x
7. Zayn — 19x
8. Hendrix — 18x
9. Legend — 17x
10. Finnley — 17x
The celebrity factor
Not surprisingly, celebrities acted as popular baby namesakes.
Lennon and Monroe were very popular for girls, as was Harper — researchers believe this is because of the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
For boys, Hendrix and Knox (after Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s son) were all popular names.
In 2016, BabyCenter also found that popular TV shows provided a host of trending names. From Stranger Things, the names Nancy, Dustin and Lucas soared; Walking Dead inspired the rise of Carol, Hershel and Walker; and American Horror Story: Hotel popularized Iris and Donovan.
The Nameberry report also notes names with a touch of royalty (besides the name Royalty) like Major, King, Kingston and Kingsley were all up in the last year.
How to choose baby names
If you’re having a hard time narrowing down the perfect name for your little one, name therapist and author Duana Taha says you have to think long term.
“Names are for your whole life,” she tells Global News. “Don’t think about the tiny bundle you are naming — think about the 10-, 20- and 50-year-old wearing the same name.”
She adds that parents these days are more concerned about popularity — although that isn’t always a bad thing.
“We live online in a much more public way, so everything about us that can be different helps to distinguish us,” she says. “Everyone wants something that is personalized, unique and helps people show off they’re well-read and thoughtful.”
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And with so much choice and input, both online and offline, Taha adds it really depends on how you and your loved ones feel about a name.
“If you try to please everyone, you will please nobody,” she says. “Choose a name you think your child will love, and a name you and your partner love saying. You’re going to say it 100 times a day.”
arti.patel@globalnews.ca