Gender-neutral baby names will rule 2024 — top picks revealed
Oh, Cecelia!
From Waylon to Maddison, experts are sharing the baby names that parents are expected to christen their newborns with come 2024.
One moniker aficionado, Steph Coffield of Minnesota, predicts that “surnames as first names” — along with gender neutrality — will dominate US birth certificates in the new year.
“I’m seeing a lot of whimsical, gender-neutral surnames being given as first names,” Coffield told Yahoo and SWNS.
“The way things are going, with more acceptance of non-binary people, parents aren’t afraid to give boys softer more feminine names. We’re already there with girls being more masculine, and that will continue.”
The namer-in-chief added that parents may take a “more adventurous” approach with the names Fisher, Huxley and Ridley.
Though, she’s observed an inverse of that, too.
Very classic names like Harrison, Nathaniel and Vincent for boys and Annie, Cecelia and Margaret for girls are also anticipated by Coffield.
“I’m seeing this more and more — parents want a classic name, but one that’s out of the top 100,” she added.
“They want a name that feels familiar and that everyone has heard, but they don’t want their child to have five other kids in their class with the same name.”
As for the UK, YouTuber and baby name consultant SJ Strum is seeing something rather unique.
“I predict Elizabeth and its diminutives like Eliza, Elspeth and Betty will also see a spike after the death of [Queen Elizabeth II],” she said, adding that another trend of “quiet luxury” is emerging as well, with names like Ophelia and Anastasia rising.
“We love a timeless, traditional name in the UK, but modern parents want to move on to rarer choices as unique names still dominate what we’re after and why there’s such a boom in using a baby name consultant,” Strum noted.
She added that gender neutrality is also becoming more popular in the UK “as we move to raising our children as individuals.”
“River is rising for both boys and girls, Noa is trending for girls and Noah is our No. 1 boy name. Wren and Indie remain popular too,” she shared.
These are the names anticipated to be the most popular in 2024.
US girls’ names to be popular in 2024
- Collins
- Juniper
- Sloane
- Maddison
- Spencer
- Annie
- Margaret
US boys’ names to be popular in 2024
- Cameron
- Carter
- Colter
- Waylon
- Campbell
- Harrison
- Nathaniel
- Vincent
UK girls’ names to be popular in 2024
- Delilah
- Margot
- Maeve
- Nellie
- Indie
- Ophelia
- Nora
- Anastasia
- Cleo
- Harlow
UK boys’ names to be popular in 2024
- Otto
- Kit
- Enzo
- Beau
- Reuben
- Rupert
- Otis
- Ronnie
- Jude
- Lucas
