A baby names consultant has revealed her predictions for 2024′s popular naming trends.
SJ. Strum, who is also a parenting vlogger, suggested Disney and Barbie-inspired names will be big news next year – with Bambi, Gus, Ken and Margot all predicted to be popular among new parents.
The baby names expert teamed up with greetings card company thortful to conduct an analysis on trending baby names, which are already beginning to take off on Google search.
Here’s what they found...
Disney names are on the rise
The analysis revealed searches for ‘Disney princess names’ have increased by 120% in the last 90 days.
“Disney Names are one of the most common requests we get at the baby name consultancy: Baby Name Envy,” said Strum.
And it’s no part in thanks to celebrities leading the trend, with influencer Molly Mae choosing Bambi for her baby daughter, and TV presenter Stacey Dooley choosing Minnie.
One of the names rising in popularity, according to Strum, is Aurora (from Sleeping Beauty) which means ‘dawn’.
“I predict it will hit the top 20 most popular girl names in 2024,” she suggested.
Strum also believes the name Eric is set to get a lot more popular after the release of the Little Mermaid.
“More subtle names from Disney are Gus, after one of Cinderella’s mice or Flynn from Tangled. For girls, Esmerelda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one to use quickly as the remake is rumoured to be released in 2024,” she added.
Barbie names will be ‘huge’ in 2024
Unsurprisingly, box office hit Barbie is predicted to inspire a lot of baby names in the year to come.
“BarbieCore names will be huge next year,” said Strum. “Think girly and playful like Mariposa meaning butterfly, Blossom which makes you think pink and I think we’ll see a few Skipper’s joining the playground.”
She added: “There were three boys called Ken last year, but Kenny is a more modern-sounding version.”
As for Margot (made popular, no doubt, by Margot Robbie), the name is already trending – up 30 places last year.
“If it repeats the same it will sit nicely in the top 20 names in the UK for girls – a huge revival for a name totally disused when Margot Robbie was born, given to just eight babies that year,” said Strum.
90s names will see a comeback
Just like the runway saw a resurgence of fashion from the nineties, 90s-inspired names are also back on the cards, according to Strum, who highlights how Meghan Trainor named her baby Barry Bruce recently.
Some of the most popular names for boys in the 1990s were Michael, Christopher, Matthew and Joshua, while for girls it was Jessica, Ashley, Emily and Sarah.
“Other names in this trend are Amy which had its first upward trend last year as did Claire and Sabrina, so we’re expecting them to make a big comeback in 2024,” said Strum.
She suggested Alanis and Winona will also be popular, as will Ian and Christopher. Well, you never know!