Is Shiloh the new Sharon? Will Brooklyn replace Billy as a favorite boys’ name? Move over, Madison, Miley’s in town? Celebrities (and their offspring) are turning our naming traditions upside down. Or are they?



Actually, we still tend to favor traditional names, according to Laura Wattenberg, naming expert and author of The Baby Name Wizard. Emily and Jacob still top the government’s list of most popular baby names (see the full 2007 list here.) But we’ve definitely seen an influx of unusual and one-of-a-kind names in the last ten years or so, and Wattenberg says the changing media are responsible for the shift. “The Web, TV and radio expose us to so many more names now,” she says, adding that in the online world, everyone is your next-door neighbor. People care more than ever about being unique.



There was a time when parents looked to the Oval Office for ideas for names. That’s how we wound up with so many Teddys, Harrys, Johns and Georges. But thanks to globalization and our celebrity-obsessed culture, the options just keep multiplying. “Now we name kids like we name products,” Wattenberg says. “We want to present the best image, like a brand name.” If the usual unusual suspects don’t ring any chimes, many parents simply make up monikers for their little ones (think, Apple Martin.)



So why do names like Elizabeth and Andrew endure as top choices? For one thing, many parents want to honor someone or something. Rarely do we name a child after a celebrity. In fact, Wattenberg has noticed that style usually wins out over fame. How else to explain the rise of “Dylan” in the early 2000s? The parents of these little bohemians-to-be probably weren’t rocking out to Bob Dylan’s music as toddlers themselves. (Of course, they may be honoring the poet Dylan Thomas, from whom the folk rocker allegedly borrowed his last name.) Another case in point: Madonna is arguably the biggest celebrity to rise out of the 20^th century and you don’t meet too many of her namesakes.




So what’s hot now? “Girls names are more subject to the whims of fashion,” Wattenberg says. “But for a boy, anything that rhymes with Aiden (like Jayden) or uses the letter “X” (think, Maddox Jolie-Pitt).” Why? “Because ‘strong’ is the number one adjective used by parents to characterize name choice.” See your favorite name’s historical journey: Type it into the Name Voyager

 

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