If you’re on the lookout for a baby name, you might want to go back in time – because some of the most popular choices for infants this year are ancient. Really ancient.
Aurora and Atticus are both up there, the former meaning ‘goddess of the dawn’ (handy, when you’re likely to be up at the crack of it with a new baby).
Atticus is actually an old Roman nickname, meaning “man of Attica” – the area in Greece which surrounds Athens, dating back to Antiquity. They appear at number four and number three in the top five names, respectively.
And topping the list for girls is a name that is decidedly vintage: Posie, also sometimes smelled ‘posy’ – meaning a small bouquet of flowers.
Here are the top five, according to Nameberry:
Popular Girls’ Names:
1. Posie
2. Isla
3. Olivia
4. Aurora
5. Maeve.
Popular Boys’ Names:
1. Milo
2. Jasper
3. Atticus
4. Theodore
5. Asher.
So, what’s sparking this trip back in time? Perhaps in a year filled with political chaos, parents are choosing names that allow them to pretend it never even happened.
But there are still long-standing popular names on the list. Olivia has been a favourite with Nameberry visitors since 2001. Jack ranks number seven among boys’ names for 2019 – and other classics with staying power include Charlotte (number 10) and Oliver (number 14).
Read the full list of popular baby names here.