Baby naming is the kind of business where you write your "year in review" articles in May. It takes a while for national statistics bureaus to receive the full year's birth records, tabulate name frequencies, and put it all together for public consumption. By the time we really learn about 2005's top names the year will be far behind us.
In fact, it was just six months ago that I looked at at the people and events that sparked 2004's fast-rising names. But this year I'm going out on a limb. I've scanned the media horizon for fresh names that hit the sweet spot of style and celebrity. Here, for the first time anywhere, are advance predictions of the brand-new hot American names of 2005. Hold onto your seats, it's baby naming without a net!
Top picks:
Ciara (Current popularity rank: #330 among U.S. girls' names) - This name has been modestly common for 20 years now, but a breakthrough year for the R&B star Ciara should push it higher.
Danica (Unranked) - IndyCar racing's rookie of the year was *gasp* a woman and *double gasp* good looking and *triple gasp* had a catchy, gently unusual name.
Close contenders:
Amerie (Unranked) - An upstart R&B name to give Ciara a run for its money.
Dane (#468) - This has been a big year for comedian Dane Cook, whose name currently trails Shane, Zane and Lane.
Evangeline (Unranked) - "Lost" tv star Evangeline Lilly makes this romantic leap beyond Madeline more accessible.
Lincoln (#549) - In my column on presidential names, I tapped Lincoln as my dark-horse candidate. A main character on tv's "Prison Break" could spark an overdue surge.
Meredith (#331) - Too familiar to be a hot naming sensation, but still fashionable...the high-profile Meredith on "Grey's Anatomy" should give it a boost.
Preston (#152) - Another Grey's Anatomist and the middle name of the most publicized baby of the year, Sean Preston Federline.
Rex (#947) - The "Desperate Housewives" husband Rex might not have been a great role model, and did meet an untimely end. But his demise has only made him a bigger topic of conversation.
Sania (Unranked) - Tennis player Sania Mirza is a hot topic in India, and Indian name fashions leap to the U.S. in a hurry.
Long shots--names that don't quite fit the style zeitgeist, but have cultural momentum:
Clive (Unranked) - Oscar-nominated actor Clive Owen
Carl (#369) - Back-flipping NASCAR driver Carl Edwards
Fantasia (Unranked) - American Idol singer Fantasia Barrino
Matilde (Unranked) - Heroine of the telenovela "Amor Real"
Obie (Unranked) - Crooner Obie Bermùdez (and rapper Obie Trice)
And, finally, the wild card:
Katrina (#281) - A month before that devastating storm hit, I wrote a piece on hurricanes' historical influence on baby names. Unlikely as it may seem, the name Katrina could very well rise in popularity in the wake of its namesake storm.
And come next May, you can call me on it.
Comments
just thinking that now that Ben and Jen have produced a violet it may be another hot-rising name...ive always thought the name had a lot of potentialalso you once wrote that the name Laci rose because of the Laci Peterson case do you think the same could be true of the name Natalee/Natalee the name of the girl who went missing in Aruba or is her name allready too familiar??thanks for the awesome info-i love this site!~Ellie
Interesting you named Meredith as too familiar but a possibility for 2006. My 3 yr old is named Meredith. In the desert southwest of the USA, this has never been a common name. However, many people I know in their 20's and 30's who were raised on the east coast knew many Merediths growing up.You may be right about Matilda, too. I already know one Matilda born in 2005. I won't be surprised to hear this name more often in the future and had considered it myself.Love your website and book. They're eerily accurate!
I don't think Katrina will rise in popularity too much, because it wasn't like any other hurricane the US had before... Katrina was particularly destructive, and I bet everyone in the USA knows or has heard of someone who was affected by it. So a lot of people may be reluctant to use the name, as it may feel disrespectful to the victims. Just my opinion.
Love it! What a risk-taker. I think it's great that you included some non "color neutral" names in the list. I look forward to May.
One bad thing about the name Evangeline is the most common nickname is Vangie, which I think sounds ugly.
I'm 27 weeks pregnant and have been planning to use Violet forever. It's my favorite girls name ever. I'm so mad, it's going to get really popular now.
I'm surprised that your list is made up exclusively of names with some tie to popular culture. I realize that's an important influence on naming trends, but I've always been impressed with the way you analyze popular sounds and styles without reference to someone famous with that name. Aren't you brave enough to go out on a limb and predict a new popular name based only on its sounds?
To the poster who was surprised that the list was so pop-culture heavy: that's a good point, and it makes me realize that I didn't explain what I was up to very clearly. This was explicitly a media-driven list, an attempt to do a predictive version of 2004's "pop culture name triggers" post.It's not that I'm trying to rival People Magazine, but just that sudden shifts in a name's fortune tend to trace back to media events. (Three quarters of last year's "most changed" names had pop culture triggers.) So overall Eva (a sound-driven hit) may rise more in 2005 than Evangeline, but in Eva's case it's a continuation of a half dozen years' trajectory.But while I'm at it, I'll propose Ada as a candidate to follow in Eva's tracks for 2005!
My grandma, who is almost 90, is named Ada, and I think she was disappointed not to have a grandchild named after her... but perhaps she will be pleased to know if Ada begins to make a comeback.
Ada was on our shortlist for our daughter this year, but we ended up choosing Simone.Recently I started thinking it would be cool to set up a baby name futures market, where people could make (or lose) money by trying to predict name popularity. I wonder how well it would work at identifying trends...
It's interesting how names shift slightly by changing a sound or letter. I just met a woman who is planning on naming her soon-arriving daughter Ayla. She picked it because of Clan of the Cave Bear but I couldn't help but notice it's just one letter off from the oh-so-popular Kayla.
Very interesting list... Ada is definitely on my short list for girls names. I am interested to see what happens with the name Katrina. I agree with Psyche that this particular name might buck the trend of storm names being popular... I think the monumental damage of Katrina might cause parents to think twice about the name. I grew up in New Orleans, and most of my family still lives there... I would consider it an insult to two of my aunts to choose a name for my child that represents a storm that destroyed everything they have ever owned.
I had a baby in April that we named Adelaide, but we call her Ada (NOT Addie). Her name was actually Clementine for the first five days but we got hassled by everyone over that name. You can't believe how rude your own family can be about baby names!
That's horrible about your family. I wonder if either Clementine or Adelaide will become popular. I seem to be hearing both of them more and more.Has the reaction to Adelaide (Ada) been better than to Cementine?
What are the thought on "Cash" becoming a rising name is 2006? I have always been a fan and Cash has been banked as a name for our child. However, With all the Johnny Cash hype I an leary.
The question about Katrina is interesting. Since Katrina hit late in the year, it's possible that even if very few parents chose the name in September - December, it might still show an uptick in popularity. Assuming that the name's popularity was similar to last year, parents should have chosen the name in relatively equal numbers to last year from January - July. In August, some parents might have noticed the name on the news as an upcoming hurricane, and thought it sounded fresh and unusual and chosen it. In the days approaching the storm, babies may have been named Katrina as a way to commemorate the events surrounding the birth. In the aftermath of the storm, some parents may have chosen the name BECAUSE of the dramatic events ("We survived the storm AND labor!"). I know that I wasn't super attuned to world events during the birth of my children; I was focused on getting through everything! I suspect that babies born in mid-September through December were less likely to be named Katrina, but the previous months may have been enough to push the name's popularity upward. The telling statistic will be for babies born in 2006.
We named our daughter Ada this spring. We love the name and the response has been favorable, but we haven't met any other Adas yet.I liked the simplicity of the name and thought it sounded sweet without being cloying.
In 1976, looking for a German first name to go with our last name, I settled on "Gretl." That spelling is the way Gretl in the Sound of Music is spelled. If I had twins, it was going to be Gretl and Liesl.Once you get past all the "where's Hansel" JOKES(?) I still like the name. And few people forget her name. Although an unbelievable number call her "Gretchen."
In 1976, looking for a German first name to go with our last name, I settled on "Gretl." That spelling is the way Gretl in the Sound of Music is spelled. If I had twins, it was going to be Gretl and Liesl.Once you get past all the "where's Hansel" JOKES(?) I still like the name. And few people forget her name. Although an unbelievable number call her "Gretchen."
To the woman that changed her daughter's name from Clementine:
Can you tell me why people gave you a hard time? I really like that name and plan on using it but I don't want to have my daughter troubled by her name.
Antoinette,
I feel your pain. I fell in love with the name Ava in 1992 when I married a man whose last name rhymes with Rachael, forcing me to give up that old favorite. I named my first born Ava in 2000, and now look what's happened. But while the popularity of the name annoys me, she likes having a popular name. So it all works out where it's important.
I also named my duaughter Ava and so many ppl say gosh that is such an old name but when they hear her middle name heads really turn her full name is Ava Alexandrea Jewel, when ppl hear I put Jewel in there they are stunned, but I don't care I really love that name she is named after my grandmother. We actually call her Ava Jewel. Ppl have even heard me say her name and ask if that is my grandmother...lol I think it is hilarious.
I adopted a dog that was rescued after Katrina... and I named her "Lady Katrina"!!! :-)
We just named our son Lincoln! He will probably and hopefully be the only Lincoln in his classes.
Our child which is due in November was conceived in New Orleans during the recovery effort from Hurricane Katrina. My wife and I don't want to choose the name of Katrina for our little girl but do want her to know her orgin. My wife and I are not from New Orleans and want a name that is special for the area. Any ideas?
Chris, This may sound silly but I like the name Mardi for a girl! It would go with N.O. due to Mardi Graus or however you spell it!
My name is Katrina. Frankly, despite the damage the hurricane caused, I still love my name. To not name your child because of a storm that was named Katrina by chance and turned out to be all powerful is stupid. It's a powerful name.
To Jamie above - I agree that Mardi sounds cute and reminds me of Mardi Gras, joyful and exotic. But just a couple of little things to consider as well; firstly, in England, 'mardy' is a slang word which means miserable or grumpy. Also, as you probably know, it is the French word for Tuesday. But these are small points, and for an American girl I say why not?
My name is Mardi! I didn't like it when i was a kid because it was not common but when you grow up you really appreciate having a not so common name..and i often get compliments on my name! I read somewhere that it's a form of Martha so it's actually aramaic in origin.
can i just say, the most popular nickname for evangeline is probabally evie not vangie, because evangeline lilly, who has obviously popularised this name recently, has this nickname. I think evie is the most obvious to be honest , i'd never even have thought of vangie!
Interesting commentary. We named our daughter, born in Fall 2006, Ada after my grandmother and great-grandmother's middle names. Their middle names were Adeline, so my husband suggested Ada as a similiar shortened name. I love it. It's really funny to see other people using the name because I had never even heard of it until my husband suggested it. And here I thought it was so unusual!
I'm guessing Adeline increases in popularity as well. It was also my mother's given name, so I've always liked it. My best friend used it for her daughter's middle name out of the blue ... yet another old name increasing in popularity. Hmmmm... any takers on Ruth?
My name is Meredith. I do not know too many but I do see a slight comeback with the name!
For those looking for a New Orleans based name for a girl - Nola is becoming increasingly popular. It is the acronym used for New Orleans, Louisiana.
my mother's name is Evangeline and she is called Vangie. She was born in the early 20's and my grandfather loved the poem. I have only met one other Vangie in my whole life. It is kind of a romantic name..evangeline!
I wonder why Evelina isn't a more popular name right now. It certainly ticks all the right boxes.
I like both Adelaide and Clementine myself...it is so hard picking a nmae that you really like knowing that soooo many people will hate it and tell you about it and everyone says that you should pick what you like but I still find it hard not to care...
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