Mercy. Sharon. Brian. Kevin. How many times have you had to call these people in a group by their second name to avoid confusion? Should be several times and my oh! my! How annoying it is not to have the ability to stand out.
Millennials are shunning away from this tradition to popular culture for more unusual and unique names.
So just what is the current trend in naming kids and why? Baby naming apps in the Google Play Store are over a hundred, with many of them adopting several approaches to this names including religion, race and basically of course the uniqueness of the names. The number of downloads run up to 200,000, so basically you can guess how many kids names came from the internet.
The two best apps; Baby Name Genius – that analyzes the parent’s first name and the gender to suggest a baby name and Baby Names 2017 – which gives names Alphabetically so parents have to manually search through the list.
These apps when analyzed showed the following patterns that Millenials are using to find baby names;
Celebrity status of a name
Picking names from movie stars, celebrities, movies and current Novels. Example is a Classical fan parent naming their kid Adelle or Khloe thanks to keeping up with the Kardashians, Mila – after the actress Mila Kunis.
Going hybrid
A name like Susan is as old as time goes. This name is not bound to die anytime soon though. It just undergoes evolution. Suzzanne… mh! How cool and interesting is that? A little weird though but so 2017.
Other names undergo the same process and Voila, a new, unique look and more vibrant name is discovered.
Shortening names
The shorter a name is, the cooler and more unique it is. Taking an example of Brian, this has been shortened to Ryan and actually this looks cooler and modern.
The short names are more unique, hence being adopted.
Adopting names of stones
Amber, Crystal etc . Since people love putting meaning to things, some currently believe that if you give your child the name of a rare stone or gem, they will become leaders and important people in the society.
Double-barreled name
Adoption of double barreled names have been on the rise recently. A name like Mark Henry, Winnie-Faith are picked for the sake of uniqueness and more meaning to a person or parent.
Factors that promote this uniqueness and diversity in baby naming include the following:
- Individualism – Cultures have become more individualistic. Parents favour giving children names that stand out from the crowd.
- Wealth – Improving economic conditions are linked to the increase in demand for unique names. Wealthier people tend to be more self focused and prefer uniqueness over conformity.
- Peoples judgement on a name – Research shows that names that are much easier to pronounce are judged more positively and were correlated to higher positions at law firms. Example is you will have trust on a person by the name Ariel than Arabella.
The law is stepping in to stop millenials from going too crazy with the names
In the recent past, judges from different parts of the world have been forced to intervene and challenge parents’ name choices; names such as Nutella and Cyanide have been banned in France and the UK respectively. One parent from New Zealand gets the trophy for the most bizarre name, ‘Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii’. The child was put under court guardianship until the parent could pick a more traditional name.
The art of using technology to get baby names is straight up weird. Why would you as a mother who has carried a baby for 9 months entrust the power of naming your child on an app?
Every person has that name or several names they desire to name their kid at the back of their mind. Not just for ladies but also for men… Yes! Men too do think of baby names at their spare time.
Baby naming should be a wholesome process that a parent should go through step by step to avoid indecision at the last minute and picking a weird name.
