Due in 2022? Trends in baby names are tough to keep up with because they’re constantly changing. While some names fall to the bottom of the popularity list, others creep to the top of the list as a result of pop culture (think ‘Bridgerton‘ and ‘Star Wars’) and what’s going on the world.
But not everyone wants a super trendy name that will result in your kid having the same moniker as five other students in their preschool class. Nor do parents-to-be want outdated or boring names. The struggle of finding a unique baby name that’s not too completely crazy or too incredibly overdone is real.
If you don’t want a baby name that’s made it into the top ten most popular list but still want one that feels current, check out these baby name trends that will be big in 2022, according to the experts at Nameberry. Honestly, even if you aren’t expecting a baby it’s pretty interesting too look at the baby name list anyway!
Playful Names
Oddly enough, many of these are animal inspired. But all of them are adorable – who would have thought that Bear actually sounded like a viable and totally sweet name for a baby? And Birdie? Sign us up.
- Baby
- Bear
- Bee
- Birdie
- Buddy
- Coco
- Cricket
- Dovie
- Gigi
- Honey
- Lucky
- Lulu
- Moxie
- Ozzy
- Pixie
- Rocky
- Sonny
- Teddy
- Trixie
- Ziggy
‘Bridgerton’-Inspired Names
With the wildly popular show set to air its second season in 2022, Regency-era names are bound to rise in popularity. Here’s a list of what the folks from Nameberry foresee as the new Ava. They had us at Daphne and Kitty.
* Albion
* Benedict
* Cressida
* Edwina
* Eloise
* Euphemia
* Francesca
* Genevieve
* Daphne
* Hyacinth
* Kitty
* Marina
* Philippa
* Phoebe
* Portia
* Prudence
* Regé
* Rupert
* Simon
* Theo
Nature Inspired Names
Apparently, 2022 will be all about escapism. Makes sense – we’ve all been cooped up for way too long! And come to think of it, national parks hit record numbers this past number, indicating that we are all have a new appreciation for the great outdoors.
- Bali
- Banyan
- Bay
- Capri
- Coast
- Dune
- Forest
- Horizon
- Koa
- Lotus
- Meridian
- Ocean
- Palmer
- Prairie
- Reef
- Ridge
- Sequoia
- Taiga
- Woods
- Zephyr
Non-binary Baby Names
Now more than ever, people are engaging in conversations around gender fluidity, and this extends to the kind of names they are choosing for their children. How beautiful are Echo, Marlowe and Wren?
- Artemis
- Blair
- Echo
- Harlow
- Holland
- Honor
- Indigo
- Juniper
- Laurie
- Lou
- Lux
- Marlowe
- Nova
- Nyx
- Sasha
- Scout
- Shiloh
- Sunny
- Winter
- Wren
‘Spirit’ and ‘Soul’ Baby Names
Nameberry describes this category as one that “reflect parents’ hopes, dreams and aspirations for their children, born into a time of uncertainty and change.” And some of them have biblical roots, too. We weren’t sure where Alma fit in so we looked it up and the name is generally translated to mean that the child “feeds one’s soul” or “lifts the spirit”. Cool.
- Alma
- Brave
- Creed
- Dream
- Galilee
- Irie
- Jericho
- Kali
- Praise
- Promise
- Revere
- Righteous
- Rishi
- Saanvi
- Shine
- Soul
- True
- Veda
Names Ending in ‘S’
While these names haven’t typically been popular in the past, they are replacing ones that end in letters like ‘A’ or ‘R’ which have been more common in the past. We’ve always had a thing for the name Jules and this is the name of the main character from the show ‘Euphoria’.
- Ames
- Atlas
- Aurelius
- Banks
- Collins
- Emrys
- Eros
- Helios
- Hollis
- Idris
- Ignatius
- Jules
- Lois
- Osiris
- Ozias
- Rhodes
- Rivers
- Thaddeus
- Townes
- Wells
Retro Baby Names
What’s old is new again! Sure, trendy names are fun, but vintage names are the way to go if you want something that will stand up to the test of time.
- Betty
- Bobby
- Constance
- Etta
- Frank
- Goldie
- Gene
- Gus
- Hank
- Louie
- Mae
- Ned
- Nellie
- Polly
- Ralph
- Ray
- Sally
- Susie
- Victor
- Vincent
