Why Unique Baby Names Are On The Rise

Long gone are the Michaels, Davids and Jennifers on the playground. Now, when I ask children what their names are, they may have to repeat themselves.

“Did you say, Tel-lu-la?” I ask. "Oh! what a beautiful name!"

This generation seems to be looking for the most meaningful and unique names for their children— maybe because we all want our kids to feel special. A nutritionist I know named her child Olive, which just makes me hungry. And about every other day, I meet someone named after a month or season. It’s all very sweet — until I can’t remember a name!

According to this New York Post article, research shows that giving your child a non-traditional name can limit their job opportunities, but I just can't imagine that to be true. Well, I guess people will find any reason to discriminate. And you're judged no matter what you do in this world, so why not go crazy with your name choice?

I picked the name Leo for my boy because I also thought it was different, and it was my father’s nickname. But after a year into preschool, I realized Leo is a pretty popular name for a boy! Not only are we surrounded by other Leos, but we also have little friends named Cleo and Theo.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a unique name. I enjoyed having a different name myself growing up and didn’t understand why anyone would want a name everyone else had. My parents took things a little too far and gave me the name Ilana Donna, never realizing that my middle and first name rhymed, but that’s another story. Yes, I got teased a bit, but I also enjoyed the attention!

Of course, while we all want original names for our kids, we want to make sure other kids can pronounce them. Or maybe it’s just the parents like myself that struggle? And we hope their names never turn into some sort of joke. But unique names seem to be the new norm these days!

These were the most popular names of 2019 according to this Parents.com piece:

• Names that start with the letter O like Owen, Ophelia and Oliver
• Names that aren’t gender-specific like Journey, Story and Robin
• Nature names like Colt, Magnolia, Bear and Jasper
• Names for boys that involve the letter X like Jaxson and Xander.
• "Game of Thrones"-inspired names for girls, like Emilia and Lianna
• Nicknames or shorter versions of names like Theo, Liam and of course, Leo

I’ve met many kids with these interesting names. But more than this, parents want to find names that are meaningful and speak to what they hope their kid's character will be. In the piece 21 Meaningful Baby Names, author Candace Alper lists some positive characteristics and the names associated with that meaning.

For example, if you want a brave child, how about the name Gallagher? Maybe not. If you want a helpful child, Cody is a nice pick. Or maybe something peaceful speaks to you, and it’s all you pray for when your child is a defiant toddler. In that case, how about Serena or Shiloh?

We all want our children to be special, and that definitely starts with a name. And in all honesty, I really do love all the new names I’m hearing from kids, I just have to make sure I'm listening well and pronouncing them right.