A baby name expert has revealed the names that are likely to trend in 2025 – and the predictions could prove surprising.
Parents around the world will be preparing to welcome their newborn Generation Beta babies in 2025, which comes with the often difficult task of deciding on a nickname.
However, JoJo Maman Bebe’s Colleen Slagen predicted that many will opt for traditional names, ushering in the resurgence of old-school names.
For girls, timeless options like Eloise and Dorothy will be on the rise, according to The Express.
Colleen added: “Keep an eye out for Margot in 2025 as people look for feminine, classic names that sound like Margot, Eloise and Vivian.”
For children, the expert predicted that Arthur, Archie, Dylan and Howard could become popular.
Colleen also believes that more parents will select traditionally masculine names for their daughters, such as Drew, Noah and Dylan.
In addition to more tradition, Colleen said shorter names will also be in fashion.
Traditional names will make a comeback in 2025, expert predicted (pictured: file image)
For example, Cal, Mack, Vann and Case for boys and Navy, Indy, Drew and Reya for girls.
He added that ending a short name with an ‘o’ for a boy and an ‘a’ for girls could also be an emerging trend.
“Short names may seem snappy, but a final vowel softens them, which appeals to many people,” Colleen said.
This comes after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published its latest analysis of baby names in the UK in December, and one of the most interesting features of the data is the continued rise of unique, gender-independent nicknames .
Each year the ONS publishes the ranking and count of the top names for girls and boys, as well as changes in the ranking since the previous year.
A look at the names with the lowest count or frequency of occurrence highlighted some of the more unusual choices in 2023, after it was revealed that Muhammad was crowned the most popular name for baby boys in England and Wales.
Baby name expert Colleen Slagen of JoJo Maman Bebe added that short names may also be on the rise this year (pictured: file image)
Meanwhile, Zoe emerged as one of the least common boy’s names in the country, with a total of three little boys given what has historically been a girl’s name.
Likewise, in 2023, three baby boys were named Xayvion, Zimchikachim, Woodie, Tyga and Trim.
Other rare male names included Jupiter, Jack-Junior and Jin, and nine babies each received these nicknames.
ONS data also revealed that nine Peyton children were registered that year.
There were multiple cases where everyday words, such as Blessing and Wisdom, became baby names.
Among the slightly less conventional choices were Hershy – a variation of Hershey that has multiple meanings and origins – and King-David, a hyphenated name given to eight boys born in England and Wales last year.
Six boys each were named Beckham, presumably after former English soccer superstar David Beckham, and Lazer.
Meanwhile, seven babies received the rather confusing ‘Dad’ as their identity.
When it comes to girl names, Zenayda was one of the most unusual: three babies were given what could at first be misinterpreted as a pun on the name of American actress Zendaya.
However, according to American parenting website The Bump, Zenayda or Zenaida is a girl’s name of French and Greek origin that means “the life of Zeus” or “born of Zeus.”
Like Zenayda, there were three registrations each for Zoella, Honor, Gift, Fox and Deja, in a continuing trend of turning words used to describe feelings into quirky, individualistic names.
Dan, Skai, Teal, Winner and Awesome also appeared three times each on the ONS girls’ names list for 2023.
Other unconventional choices included the hyphenated names Skylah-Rae and Skylar-Mae, which appeared five times each, as well as Kit and Lamar.
Names apparently inspired by luxury fashion brands such as Dolce and Dior appeared nine times each in the ONS’s extensive database, while seven newborn girls were given the names Onyx and Rebel respectively.
The list of baby names in 2023 also revealed that Olivia remains the most popular girl’s name, retaining the top spot on the list for the eighth year in a row.
Analysts have spotted a rise in parents choosing names like Margot and Cillian, in a trend believed to be inspired by the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, which saw fans flocking to cinemas to see Margot Robbie in Barbie and Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer.
The ONS also noted a “continuing increase” in parents opting for reality TV Kardashian-Jenner family names like Reign, Saint and Stormi in favor of traditional royal nicknames.
There was also an increase in hyphenated girls’ names.
Elsewhere in the celebrity world, ONS data showed that Hollywood still has a huge influence over Brits’ naming habits.
With the releases of blockbusters Oppenheimer and Barbie last summer, Robbie in particular saw a huge boost for its namesakes in England and Wales, almost doubling between February and July 2023.
Cillian also saw a rise from just 12 names in April to 31 in October, three months after the release of Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb epic.
Musicians also have a proven track record of influencing the names of our nation’s children.
In 2022, it was the year of Rita and Dua in certain parts of the UK.
This time, nine-time Grammy winner Billie Eilish got her biggest breakthrough in years, after writing the title song for Margot Robbie’s Barbie movie, a major U.S. tour and collaboration with Apple Films, and a starring role. in his first television project. .
Although the name choices of A-list celebrities like Kim Kardashian rank relatively low on the frequency scale, their popularity appears to continue to grow.