Choosing a baby name often takes far more head-wrangling than it does deciding on the nursery décor or picking an antenatal class. Jo Bounds, from Kidspot, has given us the low down on baby name trends…
The classics
The top four boys' names chosen by Australian mums and dads in 2010 are all classic - Jack, William, Oliver and Thomas. These Aussie names have spanned generations and are back in favour once again this year. The same goes for the girls, with the top ten chart of female baby names including Emily, Sophie, Charlotte and Chloe. Even though there are other big naming trends this year, it seems we just can't go past the classics.
Numerals as names
Posh Spice has ignited the trend for using numerals as names, by calling her baby girl Harper Seven. While baby name experts say the number seven hails from football shirt worn by Harper's dad, David Beckham, he says their love of the number extends far beyond that. "The main reason behind Seven was it symbolises spiritual perfection – the seven wonders of the world, the seven colours of the rainbow – and in many cultures it is a lucky number," says David. It’s a name that’s set to multiply in popularity with parents around the world.
Nanna names
Old-fashioned names are another big baby naming trend. Jennifer Connelly called her baby Agnes and Christina Appelgate's bub has been saddled with Sadie! Hazel and Mabel are two other nanna names picked up by modern mums, along with Harry, Frank and Archie for baby boys.
Surnames as first names
Cooper. Jackson. Harrison. A big trend is using a surname as a first name. It comes down to the fact that strong surnames make ultra-masculine first names for boys - and sound even more powerful when matched with a strong surname. A sub genre of the trend is to replace the middle consonants with an 'x', so Jackson becomes Jaxxon.
Royal names
While ‘Pippa’ (or Philippa) hasn’t rated highly as a girls’ name in previous years, it’s rocketed up in baby name search engines following the Royal wedding in 2011. Combine that with the fact William is still the second most popular boys' name, and we predict that the Prince could throw Jack off his throne as the most popular boys' name following the April nuptials.
Country and city names
While Posh called her son Brooklyn after finding out she was expecting her son while in New York, singer Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz have continued the trend by calling their baby Bronx, after another NYC area. Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani were on the island of Jamaica when they decided to use the capital city, Kingston, as their baby’s name. Alicia Keys has gone one step further and called her son Egypt!
Girl names with a V
Girl names with a V consonant make for a very strong sound that gives a certain sophistication and strength to a female name. New parents are steering away from wishy-washy long girls' names and leaning towards the easy-to-pronounce shorter monikers that have a bit of a punch to them. Expect to see Eva, Ivy, Olivia and Ava name tags on a kindergarten coat peg near you.
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