Oh, how we like to laugh at celebrities and the crazy monikers they like to bestow upon their children. That Gwyneth Paltrow and her Apple, right?
Well, it might be time to stop throwing stones from the confines of our glass houses because it turns out that even those of us who haven’t quite gained A-List status have developed a taste for exotic names.
Baby Centre, who work with experts whose actual job it is to predict baby name trends, have published a list of the thirty most popular boys and girls’ names for 2016. And, let us tell you, things are getting weird.
While there are some stylish appearances from retro names like Adeline and Hetty, as well as cool Scandinavian and French monikers including Astrid and Angelique for the girls, we are cringing a little at names that have very clearly been lifted from our favourite TV shows.
While Marnie from Girls is still a fairly agreeable choice (even though the character is pretty annoying), would you ever really contemplate calling your daughter Khaleesi after the Game of Thrones favourite?
Shockingly, this is not the worst on the list. With names like Electra, Halo and Chanel also in the running, we feel pretty sorry for future generations of little girls.
In the boys’ camp, there seems to be a huge trend for names inspired by locations – Devon, London, Cairo and Aspen all made the cut. Showbiz influences appear in the shape of Kit (Harrington, another Game of Thrones star) and Ziggy (Stardust, after the late David Bowie).
Then, it gets outright bizarre. Excuse our cultural ignorance, but how on earth have old-fashioned German names like Otto and Herbert become so popular? And unless you’re very posh indeed and move in circles where Latin names are the norm, we’re pretty sure Atticus will raise an eyebrow. As might Stirling.
Before we post the full listings of the most popular boys and girls’ names of 2016, we would like to apologise to any parents or parents-to-be that have been offended by our humble opinion on these names. We’re sure your child can totally pull it off!
Top Girls’ Names for 2016
Emi
Nora
Astrid
Eden
Marni
Luna
Cleo
Queenie
Cicely
Beryl
Effie
Electra
Wren
Evangeline
Delphine
Virginia
Pixie
Adeline
Christa
Dottie
Gayatri
Halo
Khaleesi
London
Mallory
Safiyaa
Chanel
Angelique
Presley
Hetty
Top Boys’ Names for 2016
Hector
Atticus
Aspen
Otto
Devon
Nelson
Kit
Alberto
Cairo
Colton
Huxley
Lawson
Lochlan
Marshall
Miller
Percy
Ziggy
Stan
Niles
Monroe
Julien
Farrel
Benicio
Stirling
Ajay
Boston
Darwin
Lucian
Devon
Herbert
Credit: Image by Mario Testino for Vogue Paris