Choosing your baby name is both immensely fun and immensely tricky. How do you choose a name for a teeny tiny person that you haven’t met yet? And choose one that will see them through their whole life rather than just those cute baby years. It’s a huge task.
Molly was easy, we loved the name from the start. Poor Alice had no name for two days as we just couldn’t decide.
For all of you expecting a baby this year, firstly congratulations, and secondly are you having fun name choosing? In order to help you we are bringing you the top predictions for baby names in 2017. Some weird, some wonderful and a whole heap of inspiration to get you thinking. The overall theme seems to be strength. In fact it’s even been said that ‘God’ and ‘Saviour’ may become popular names this year. Without further ado….
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Astrological
It seems there is a sudden astrological shift with names inspired by our planets and constellations. I rather like this trend especially for the more unusual names such as Orion or Ara.
Literary
The literary names are still going strong and if you are a book worm like me then its perfect. In fact Lisa chose daughter Lyra’s name after reading the Phillip Pulman novels and falling in love with the name. This year it is about strong characters or the surnames of literary greats such as Bronte or Austen.
Mythical
Edd did try to convince me that a Greek God name would be an excellent choice when we thought Alice was a boy. Thor was actually one of his suggestions. Seems he was ahead of his time as the likes of Atlas and Zeus are set to be big along with Pandora and Persephone for girls.
Feminist
It seems people are harking after names that evoke a feeling of strength. Those from momentous historical times such as Ada or Eleanor have that traditional feel that I love.
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Animal
The animal names are still set to be big in 2017. Again it’s about, you guessed it, powerful animals like Lynx or Hawk as well as Fox and Bear still be popular contenders.
Water
Watery names are definitely on the rise in popularity but rather than River or Rain think of other watery areas like Marina or Harbor. Then there are the names of rivers or oceans so Hudson could be a good choice.
Downton
Despite the series coming to an end the names from Downton Abbey are still extremely popular. These are definitely my kind of names. Edith, Cora or Marigold could all be super cute.
O
Finally it’s all about ‘O’ again this year but rather than names ending in O (think Milo or Cleo) it’s names starting with O. So many choices from the ever popular Oscar to more unusual Oakley or Oona.
So there you have the top predicted baby name trends for 2017. What do you think and will any of you be using any of these for your little ones?
*Source: Nameberry
I’m sorry to be a spoilsport but I think you should credit your source for his article as I’ve read almost the exact same thing elsewhere this week
Hi Claire. Thank you for your comment. The names were found from a variety of sources but in the main seem to come from ‘Nameberry’. Thanks. Lottie x
I’m sorry rock my family you have lost a viewer today. The articles just haven’t been engaging for months. So sorry as loved you in the beginning.
Hi Jill. I’m so sorry that you feel this way about the blog. We try to create a mixture of content from discussion posts to a bit of fun and frivolity, such as this one, and are always looking to cover new topics that we think might appeal to our readers. I hope you may check back at some point in the future to see what has been going on over at RMF. Have a great New Year. Lottie x
I think this is a bit harsh. Personally I have loved the content over the last few months. Despite this article not being that relevant to me currently, I still enjoyed it for what it was!
Hi Jill, if you have time please could you provide us with more info on what articles you do/don’t find engaging – it would be appreciated. Thanks x
Hi, I’m sure Jill has her own thoughts, but for someone who’s still a regular reader but has some similar feelings I though I’d chip in too! I’ve always enjoyed the personal slant/stories on the blog but this seems to have been lost a bit. As someone mentioned earlier there are lots of websites with lists of trending baby names, but this (as with other articles) misses the opportunity to make the article personal and so much more engaging. It’s a shame not to have the currently pregnant member of the team discussing her thoughts/choices/decision making process, or a different slant such as how family or friends reacted to a ‘trendy’ name choice, naming regret (apparently very common!), or just some info from the team members about why they came to their personal decisions. I’ve really enjoyed some of the guest posts (particularly Kate’s) which share really interesting and personal experiences. X
Hi Jess. You might like a post I wrote a while back about how we came to choose Leo’s name. I’ll be talking a bit more about this when I come back in February and how we went about settling on Tayo for our newest member 🙂 http://rockmyfamily.wpengine.com/choosing-a-name/ x
Thanks Becky, I’ll look forward to reading it! Your posts on miscarriage and pregnancy after loss were some of the most sincere and honest things I’ve read on this blog and much appreciated during my similar experience. Hope you enjoy the rest of your mat leave xx
I would agree with Jill though I will still keep looking back as occasionally there are some fascinating articles. It seems to be all about shopping really at the moment – though obvs not today. Or things you can read elsewhere. This is a pretty bland article. Seems RMF has lost its mojo a bit. I’m looking forward to reading some corkers like the old days soon! X
Morning Victoria. Thank you so much for your comment and we really do appreciate the feedback. So sorry that you don’t like todays post but we have got some great features planned in for you. In terms of the shopping posts we try our best to normally only do one a week although appreciate there may have been a few more recently with all the Christmas fun. Lottie x
Morning! Come on people, yes name trend articles are by their nature a bit samey but where else would you find Feminist names listed for inspo? You just left off Sylvia (Pankhurst, Plath…) ?
Also what shiny shiny lifestyle blog would post about how to look after your lady garden post labour? Look back a couple of posts for a cracker of a post that I would have found so helpful in the painful aftermath of forceps delivery.
You have made me chuckle Lucy!! I actually think we should have used your title of ‘How to look after your lady garden post labour’!! Great post title. Also, apologies we missed off the lovely Sylvia. It is noted 🙂 xxx
I think an article is needed on this… I’ve not felt the same up there since what felt like giant salad forks were inserted to yank Zach out
Also, mythical names so need thinking through. Persephone sounds beautiful but I couldn’t name my little girl after someone’s beloved daughter who gets kidnapped and raped by the god of death… that’s an archaeologist speaking though.
Ah yes, perhaps that’s not the best. x
I don’t mind a baby name post, but why do they all come out now? The actual ONS stats are released in about August normally and would make a much more interesting post.
My little girl is also called Lyra, which is an awesome name! We named her after the character for her strength, but also because we have many connections to Oxford. It was personal not trendy…
I had a huge list of names that I liked. My favourite was Ada. I tried to convince Andrew who is an electronics engineer with Ada Lovelace being considered one of the first programmers to no avail. We went with his choice Ophelia in the end but at the moment she probably thinks she’s called pudding! We found boy names much easier and came up with a list of two. As Scout and Guide leaders we associate names with certain kids (or parents!) so found it hard. My colleagues came up with 3 great names: Eleanor, Freya and Andrea however they’re Andrews ex girlfriends!
Haha, Claire i realised the other day that my son responds to “Bug!” And “Sausage” much more readily than he responds to “Keanu”! Oooops x
Ooh some friends of mine named their baby after Ada Lovelace! Such an inspirational person to be named after. Ophelia is beautiful though 🙂
Choosing names can be so difficult! I am very traditional when it comes to names and do like the sound of Ada (nothing to do with working as an IT engineer of course). Sometimes I think it would be easier if we found out whether we are having a boy or a girl and only have to come up with one. Maybe I need to look at names that work for both! Not being fussy or anything but I’m also after a name which works well in English and Czech which I thought we’ve nailed with Anna but feeling quite lost this time around.
On a separate note I haven’t read that much over Christmas but thought that actually in the run up the quality of posts has been pretty good. I do enjoy the odd shopping one too even if it’s just a quick scroll to see if there’s anything I like the look of but I’ve especially enjoyed the women’s health series and the reader stories even if they are sometimes hard to read it definitely gives me a different perspective on issues which aren’t often talked about.
I’ve read a lot of baby name articles lately and this one is by far my favourite. I love RMF for my coffee break pitstop to just clear my head mainly because of the huge variety of content. whilst not everything is entirely relatable to at the time I often find myself going back to old articles when they do become relevant. I do, however, miss the little updates on Mabel, I know there probably isn’t enough to write a post each month now that she is up a bit but with a 14month old I would love to follow along someone else’s parentening journey again. Anyway, keep up the good work girlies!! Xx
I love looking at the names list each year and then choosing ones that are not on there! I have 3 little ones 6, 2 and 10m. No plans for anymore for a good few years!
I chuckle politely when I hear people say that they have chosen ‘x’ name as it’s different and unique. When if they took time to look at the list they realise it’s in the top 5 of last year! Hehe!
That’s one of the reasons my husband liked Ophelia! As district commissioner I’ve got access to the rainbow waiting list so I can see name trends over the last 5 years – an abundance of Evie, Emily, etc there was 1 Ophelia on there but Andrew wasn’t for budging! My parents thought Claire wasn’t common but it’s one of the names of the 1980s and there was at least 6 in my school year. Looks like little miss O is going to be in the same predicament. Hopefully this means more people will be able to spell it!
I’m pregnant now and really struggling with girls names. I really like Evie, but I think it’s got too trendy and so I don’t think we can use it!
Oh I like Evie too. It’s super cute. I don’t know any other Evie’s if that helps. How abut Edie or Darcey for a girl? Quite similar xx
I don’t know any Evies either, but it was number 15 in the 2015 ONS girls names list. So I think probably a bit too popular for us! Edie would always make me think of Ab Fab I think. We just can’t find anything we love – but we have got four months.
You’ll get there. If you like traditional names maybe go through all the family names if you haven’t already. Great aunts, distant cousins, nicknames, that sort of thing. There may be a little gem hiding in there. xx
Our little is Silvia, but we call her Silvie. Like you I loved Evie but also felt it was very popular. We don’t know anyone else with her name!
Ooh I quite like some of these boy ones which is great as I used the only boy name my hubby and I liked for our son! I’ve been a bit worried about what to do if we had another boy – to the point where I suggest we call him Phoenix Keanu as already-existing son is Keanu Phoenix but my hubby told me that was too confusing. ?
Name choosing is really hard but FUN. And I’ve never come across someone who regrets what they have named their child – I think once you decide on a name and baby comes, you can’t imagine them being called anything else!
Happy new year you lovely RMF lot!xx
Happy New Year to you too. I think your alternative but same name is an excellent idea! x
The ONS top 100 was one of my go-to references for names NOT to choose when we named our girls!
We’ve got no more babies on the horizon (Mr H is planning on making an appointment for the snip soon just to be 100% sure!) but we did have one last April, who is called Theresa (Tess) – despite rather than because of the unfortunate literary connection.
In fact, we seem to have made a bit of a habit of tragic female literary characters – Our big girl is called Juliet!
FWIW, I’ve followed the RMW/RMS/RMF journey for a while (I think I picked up RMW when I was getting married in 2010, which can’t be right, surely?!) and there will be times when the posts feel less relevant to me – but then I skip them and dip back in later on in the week. Like I would any blog written by one person rather than a group of contributors. The only suggestions I would have is that the sponsored posts happen at weekends if possible (so not in place of a proper blog post), and there are a few subjects you haven’t touched on here – stepfamilies being a big one, but also maybe post-baby contraception including some of the LARCs and the more permanent options both for men and women, if you can get a ‘guest speaker’ in?
We did this with the ONS stats too. Glad we’re not alone! We also graphed the trend of our chosen name. #geek.
Interesting thought about a contraception post. I research Sexual and Reproductive Health for a living so am always excited when someone seems interested. I find it incredible how many people rely on the pill…
Mel, I suspect that’s partly just because it’s so well known, and GPs find it easy. I was put on the pill at uni, and no GP ever suggested coming off it. I found researching other options tricky, I think it would be so interesting to have a post on this!
Love the name Tess. Interestingly one of my posts for the coming weeks is post baby contraception so excellent suggestion and I will definitely add in the more permanent options. My friend booked her husband in and the poor guy knew nothing about it!! Not quite sure I could do that personally. please keep the suggestions coming x
I was gutted that I couldn’t go back on the patch as I’m breastfeeding! First time on the pill in my entire life and I’ll definitely be going back after weaning. So much easier to remember to change a patch once a week than a daily pill!
For something longer term, you could look at the Mirena coil? They’ll put it in 6mo after you give birth, it lasts for 5 years, low dose hormones, doesn’t affect breastfeeding.
I’m a bit evangelical about it, I’m on my 4th!
I’m a bit squeamish about coils but I’ll def have a look at them now I can’t have the patch
So many options which is kind of the post I had planned as I don’t really know what I should be using (and it’s been 5 years!!) x
I don’t understand what is wrong with this article?! I’m pregnant at the moment and already panicking that if we have another boy we’ve already used our favourite name. Always enjoy reading inspiration especially in the comments to see how others made their name decisions!
Thanks Anna. We were exactly the same when we had Alice as we’d used our trump card on Molly. Even after we chose it I struggled for a while, as if I’d kind of just settled, but now I can’t imagine her being anything else x
I’m currently 25 weeks pregnant and we are finding it very difficult picking names that we love and are traditional yet original! I love this post, thanks RMF 🙂
Thanks so much Sophie. I’m thinking you need to channel Downton Abbey on the name front. They are my faves xx
I liked the article and tbh haven’t seen any of these names repeated in other parenting sites.i do love the personal touch and reading more about your various bloggers, however, some of the comments do get very judgemental which is such a shame. I for one miss Cara’s posts
I agree about some of the comments becoming quite judgemental. It never used to be like that or so I thought anyway. I too miss Cara, is she still writing for you RMF? I was looking forward to reading more posts from her although the comments with her posts were probably the most judgemental…
I agree, the comments on here can be very judgemental and nothing seems to get done about it, it’s a shame. Used to love RMS and RMF but posts seem to have become very diluted of late. I miss Cara on here and Miranda on RMS too.
I really like this post (and pretty much all posts from previous months too). Keep doing what you’re doing RMF, you’re great.
Choosing a name can be such a minefield. A friend and his partner recently named their baby after his mother and had already announced the choice to friends and family when his mum told them that she didn’t like her own name and wouldn’t they prefer to call the baby something else!?
Thanks so much Rebecca. Big smiles all round. Oh, that is so funny about the name. What did your friends do in the end? x
They stuck with it, as they loved the name anyway and didn’t want to change it!
I also read this article on Nameberry so yes I think a credit was needed. I do enjoy this blog but find it loses its variety at times. Several shopping articles in the same week does get boring. I prefer the real life stories, and would prefer a couple of detailed opinions from the RMF/RMS team rather than just a sentence or two from everyone in some articles. Hope this feedback helps
I find it quite frustrating that it is always RMF that’s gets the criticism and negativity, you never see this on RMS or RMW. At the moment names aren’t relevant to me but I still enjoyed the post. Obviously it became more shopping centred with christmas. I agree the personal stories are the ones I enjoy the most but with a small team I’m sure it can be difficult to keep the stories coming!
Thanks Chloe. We are definitely trying to keep the ‘real’ stories coming and have plenty more planned for you lovely readers. Happy New Year! xxx
You’re totally right – parenting is such a critical area..
Yes! And i felt so sad when Lisa said she was nervous about blogging over here.
Although RMS got a little stick for shopping overkill in comments recently so it’s not unique to RMF.
I imagine it’s difficult for parents to choose a name that is unique but not too ‘out there’. No babies for me yet, but this topic is on my mind for the future (fingers crossed).
I’m a secondary school teacher so a lot of names I have already ruled out! However I have noticed a lot of the old fashioned names are coming back in. The ones I can think of at my school are: Martha, Maureen, Debora, Doreen, Sidney. And boys: Kevin, Jeffrey, Francis, Ronnie. There are so many more like that. Though I imagine they are named after family members rather than to follow trends.
Maybe I have given some RMF readers some new inspiration….
As someone who has read this blog from the start, I’d firstly like to say that I love the work you all do on here and RMS. I check the blog most days and it tends to be 50/50 on whether I fully read the article or not, depending on the subject. But surely that’s the same with any blog? And when I see a post that isn’t relevant or not something I’m that interested in, it doesn’t prompt an online strop!
That said, the articles I do love most are those where people share their own personal stories and the nursery tours. And all shopping inspiration is welcome – whether I convert lusting to purchasing or not!
I am also the parent of a tragic literary hero – Juliet! I got her name inspiration from a book (not the original play!) and now, whenever I read I always keep an eye out for interesting names to go on the list of future baby names I keep on my phone. Just in case!
Happy new year! X
Was it Juno and Juliet by any chance? I loved that character.
Loved the name Juno! And I have a list on my phone too Jennifer although I’ve had to remove two as two friends who have given birth in the last week have called their boys those names. Sob!
Hector and Juno sound amazing together!! And keeps the classical theme…! Just saying… ?
Happy New Year RMF.
I love the blog but obviously find some posts more relevant than others.
Might be an unusual one for a family blog but think an article on “what not to say to people suffering from infertility” would be a good one. As someone who’s pregnant from ivf, I am more selfishly interested in this than others but found some of the comments from well meaning friends quite hurtful. Unfortunately, people just don’t have a clue unless they’ve been through it so an article along these lines might be quite helpful!
I agree! My own experience of the months after miscarriage and the well meaning yet incredibly insensitive comments from friends blew me away – although I’ve prob been guilty of them myself too. It’d be really interesting to address this.
Louisa, v sorry to hear about your miscarriage – I’ve “only” experienced very early ones but it was a v dark time. And it’s exactly as you say – the comments are well intentioned but totally miss the mark. After our first ivf cycle failed, I was asked on more than one occasion pretty much immediately afterwards whether we’d thought of adoption – as if it’s just a case of going to the supermarket and picking up a baby!! I could go on but will be here all night….
Hi Louisa. So sorry to hear about your loss. A while back I wrote a post about my miscarraige and I talked a little about friends and families well meaning but sometimes ‘unhelpful’ comments on the situation. You might like to read it; maybe there is some comfort to be found there in not feeling alone about that side of things; not only in my post but in the thoughts and comments of the readers and how they felt xx http://rockmyfamily.wpengine.com/a-missed-miscarriage/ xx
Thanks Becky ?
I couldn’t agree more. I’ve struggled to conceive for two years and have been told I will need IVF. To be frank I have been so saddened by the responses/”helpful comments” of the vast majority of my friends. They were always well meaning but invariably made things worse. Teaching sensitivity and empathy shouldn’t be required, but it sadly is.
Really enjoyed this, I love baby names even though we’re happily a four person family (for now!)
Funnily enough my husband really seriously suggested Thor (I like Arthur as a compromise)
I still cultivate a baby name list now, is that mad?! Xxx
Interesting reading some of these comments.
I loved RMF as I felt it said/covered things other family blogs didn’t and often wasn’t afraid of controversial topics. I have to say I was really disappointed to hear that Cara stopped writing for you as I really enjoyed her posts and the discussions which followed. But, ultimately she was overly criticised by readers who totally missed her sense of humour and style. I felt the comments could be considered bullying and forced Cara to quit. I don’t blame her for that at all but I very much feel that posts since then have been ‘safe’, probably in a bid to gain the interest of those who were ‘upset’ by Cara’s honesty.
Ultimately, I’d love to see RMF regain its mojo and not be afraid to cause a debate. There’s far more readers who love a bit of controversy and can take it in good humour than those who can’t!
I’ve been reading name lists recently and even watched a show yesterday by the comedian Dave Gorman where he devoted half the show to choosing baby names (you should check it out, it was very funny!), anyway I thought your list was very unique to others I have read recently, so definitely don’t agree with some of the earlier comments. I also see RMF as a bit like a magazine, I dip in and out and some posts are bang on and inspire me to comment, whereas others are not me so I move on. You’re never going to please everyone, right?!
Ps. We’re debating the name Buzz. But are we cool enough?!
Thanks so much for your comment Natalie and love that you see us as a magazine. That dipping in and out is exactly what we hope you will do. Also, yes you can do Buzz. It’s ace xx
Buzz is an awesome name! It’s top of the list should we ever have another boy – we’ve got a two-year-old Ted (who was incidentally called Noah for the first two days!) and really struggled with boys’ names.
I left the first comment and I didn’t mean to kick anything off, but I just felt that if I had written the article that had been used as the basis for this post I’d be pretty miffed that my research/work hadn’t been credited by someone else using it. I’ve followed the blogs since charlottes wedding report on you and your wedding and I think this is only the second time I’ve felt compelled to write something that might have sounded negative. I’m sorry! Keep up the good work! I’m off to see if there really was a how to look after your lady garden following birth post!!
Thanks for your comment and don’t be sorry. You are right it should be credited and it has now been added. And yes, there was a post on that last week! Enjoy. x
I really enjoyed this article as a little bit of light fun, especially seeing as my chosen names have fallen under some of these categories.
I think literary characters can provide wonderful inspiration for names which, you can explain the meaning of to your child when they are older. My little girl has the middle name Scout and if I had a boy it would have been Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird fan here!)
I found no inspiration what so ever in the traditional naming books, and a list like this would have helped me to steer clear of names so that my little one didn’t end up being one of a million (insert generic name here). As it happened we only agreed on 3 girls names, maybe I’d have to revisit this article if we were ever to have another child.
I love the blogs across the whole RM family and even though I have been married for a few years now, I still look back to the RMW pages for the beauty of the posts xx
So glad you liked it Chloe and definitely one to bookmark for the future. I too hated the name books, even though I like traditional names, and found it so tough especially second time round. I am loving your name choice of Scout. It’s such a fabulous name. As is Atticus. I think my husband had that as one of his choices if we’d had a boy xx
Cara’a left? What, when, why ? Also what happened to Miranda on RMS, she just seemed to disappear?