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Baby name trends of 2012
The unusual naming trends for babies show no sign of ending. The Nameberry blog has this overview of baby name trends for 2012 that once again shows parents want something unique (like naming their kid Unique) or fashionable or fierce. Anything, it seems, but blend in.
Here are some of the trends Nameberry has found:
Heroes as last names. Mariah Carey naming her daughter Monroe wasn't a fluke. Babies are also getting named after Landry (as in football coach Tom), Gatsby (as in fictional hero The Great), and Palin.
Changing the spelling: "The No. 1 girls' name Isabella gives rise to stylistically-related choices Arabella and Annabelle," the blog notes. "Olivia, the top name in Britain, spawns spelling variation Alivia; Emma and Emily promote brother name Emmett."
Western-sounding names Boone and Bo, Wyatt and Wylie, Cole and Colt, Zane and Shane, and even Maverick.
Adjectives as names: True, Noble, Brave, Strong, Loyal, Loving, Sunny, Golden, Royal, Happy. One UK soccer star and his fashionista wife tried to beat this trend by naming their son Trendy.
Thank Betty White: Betty is back and rising in popularity.
Enough with the "ley" names: The blog calls for a cease fire on tacking an -ley onto the end of a wide range of first syllables and calling it a name -- Brinley, Kinley, Finley -- has "became so pandemic so quickly that we are ready to declare it over, already." (I would add the "aden" trend to that. As in Jaden, Kaden, etc.)
What I find fascinating is how the popular baby names change every decade. Look at this list of the popular baby names from the Social Security Adminstration and you see Jacob and Ethan are the two top boy names, and Isabella and Sophia are the two top girl names of 2010. Type in the year you were born for a decidedly different list (for mine it was Michael and John for boys, Lisa and Mary for girls)
But some of it goes over the top and New Zealand even banned weird baby names. The book Freakonomics has this theory where baby names come from: Once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder. Amber, Heather, and Stephanie started out as high-end names. For every high-end baby given those names, however, another five lower-income girls received those names within 10 years.
--Sharon Kennedy Wynne
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Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
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Freelance writer Courtney Cairns Pastor wasn’t so sure about having kids and how she would balance child-rearing with her journalism career. It turned out that her journalism training went to good use. As the mom to a funny, active toddler, she learned to handle him like she did her sources. Never ask yes or no questions (the answer will always be no), get him to be specific (are you crying because you’re wet or your tooth hurts?) and be prepared for anything because no two days are the same. When she’s not playing trucks, Courtney crams for her book club, trains for races and occasionally bursts into showtunes. E-mail her at 
Suzannah DiMarzio has it bad for the Mouse. Although she grew up outside of Boston, she took her degree in tourism management down to Orlando just to work at Disney and the travel industry. Of course, when she married her high school sweetheart, the reception was at Disney. She’s now a seasoned stay-at-home mom to two tweens and a toddler – and yes, that is as crazy as it sounds. Suzannah has her own blog, Comment Policy
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