Carla La Tella
Family & Pets

The rise of the gender-neutral baby name

Naming a baby is one of the most important decisions a parent can make.

However, while many might seek inspiration by trawling through a traditional list of boys and girls names, an increasing number are using gender-neutral names.

According to research by Nameberry and the NY Times there was an 88% increase in the use of unisex names between 1985 and 2015.

Now, US-based baby naming site Nameberry has revealed the most popular gender neutral monikers among new parents with Logan coming in at the top of the list.

While Charlie has long been a popular choice for both boys and girls, some of the names on the list such as Ryan have traditionally been considered male names.

Meanwhile, nature-inspired names were also on the increase, with River, Rowan and Eden making the top twenty.

The research comes after the most popular UK baby names so far for 2022 were revealed. Lily has knocked Olivia off the top spot for girls names for the first time in seven years.

It comes after BabyCentre released a list of the top 100 names for baby boys and girls in the UK for 2022 so far.

Although the top girls' names have shifted, firm favourites for boys' names have remained fairly stable, with Muhammad clinging onto number one.

While some trends remain strong, such as members of the Royaly Family inspiring parents, other high-profile events appear to have affected parents' decisions too.

For boys' names in particular, there was little change in the top spots, with Muhammad and Noah clinging to first and second place.

However Oliver, which had solidly occupied third place for several years, dropped down the list while Jack soared to take its place.

Freddie and Harry also fell out of the top 10 while Ethan and Oscar climbed up the ranks to occupy eighth and ninth place.

Sarah Redshaw, managing editor for BabyCentre, shed some light on why she thought new trends were appearing.

One trend that appears to have stuck around is parents taking inspiration from members of the royal family.

George has remained a firm favourite in the top 10 while Louie - a cute play on Louis, held firm in the top 30.

In the year of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, it seems many parents have been inspired, with the name Elizabeth climbing two places in the top 100.

It is also thought the increase in popularity of the name Lily is down to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who named their daughter Lilibet in 2021.

Princess Charlotte appears to have given lots of parents food for thought as the name climbed four places to number 30 this year, while its diminutive form Lottie also climbed the ranks to sit at 52.

Some classic 70s names appear to be dying out altogether including Kelly, Gail, Brenda and Susie for women - while Keith, Leslie, Glenn and Terry have been shunned by parents too.

Without further ado, here are the lists:

Top 100 girls names

1. Lily

2. Sophia

3. Olivia

4. Amelia

5. Ava

6. Isla

7. Freya

8. Aria

9. Ivy

10. Mia

11. Elsie

12. Emily

13. Ella

14. Grace

15. Isabella

16. Evie

17. Hannah

18. Luna

19. Maya

20. Daisy

21. Zoe

22. Millie

23. Rosie

24. Layla

25. Isabelle

26. Zara

27. Fatima

28. Harper

29. Nur

30. Charlotte

31. Esme

32. Florence

33. Maryam

34. Poppy

35. Sienna

36. Sophie

37. Aisha

38. Emilia

39. Willow

40. Emma

41. Evelyn

42. Eliana

43. Maisie

44. Alice

45. Chloe

46. Erin

47. Hallie

48. Mila

49. Phoebe

50. Lyla

51. Ada

52. Lottie

53. Ellie

54. Matilda

55. Molly

56. Ruby

57. Ayla

58. Sarah

59. Maddison

60. Aaliyah

61. Aurora

62. Maeve

63. Bella

64. Nova

65. Robyn

66. Arabella

67. Eva

68. Lucy

69. Eden

70. Gracie

71. Jessica

72. Amaya

73. Anna

74. Leah

75. Violet

76. Eleanor

77. Maria

78. Olive

79. Orla

80. Abigail

81. Eliza

82. Rose

83. Talia

84. Elizabeth

85. Gianna

86. Holly

87. Imogen

88. Nancy

89. Annabelle

90. Hazel

91. Margot

92. Raya

93. Bonnie

94. Nina

95. Nora

96. Penelope

97. Scarlett

98. Anaya

99. Delilah

100. Iris

Top 100 boys names:

1. Muhammad

2. Noah

3. Jack

4. Theo

5. Leo

6. Oliver

7. George

8. Ethan

9. Oscar

10. Arthur

11. Charlie

12. Freddie

13. Harry

14. Zayn

15. Alfie

16. Finley

17. Henry

18. Luca

19. Thomas

20. Aiden

21. Archie

22. Teddy

23. Lucas

24. Ryan

25. Kai

26. Liam

27. Jaxon

28. Louie

29. William

30. Jacob

31. Ali

32. Caleb

33. Isaac

34. Joshua

35. Jude

36. James

37. Jayden

38. Adam

39. Arlo

40. Daniel

41. Elijah

42. Max

43. Tommy

44. Ezra

45. Mason

46. Theodore

47. Roman

48. Dylan

49. Reuben

50. Albie

51. Alexander

52. Toby

53. Yusuf

54. Logan

55. Rory

56. Alex

57. Harrison

58. Kayden

59. Nathan

60. Ollie

61. Ayaan

62. Elliot

63. Ahmad

64. Kian

65. Samuel

66. Hudson

67. Jason

68. Myles

69. Rowan

70. Benjamin

71. Finn

72. Omar

73. Riley

74. Zachary

75. Brodie

76. Michael

77. Abdullah

78. Matthew

79. Sebastian

80. Hugo

81. Jesse

82. Junior

83. Oakley

84. Abdul

85. Eli

86. Grayson

87. Mateo

88. Reggie

89. Gabriel

90. Hunter

91. Levi

92. Ibrahim

93. Jasper

94. Syed

95. Zion

96. Luke

97. Seth

98. Aaron

99. Asher

100. Blake

Top gender unisex names:

1. Logan

2. Avery

3. Riley

4. Parker

5. Cameron

6. Ryan

7. River

8. Angel

9. Rowan

10. Jordan

11. Sawyer

12. Charlie

13. Quinn

14. Blake

15. Peyton

16. Hayden

17. Emery

18. Emerson

19. Amari

20. Eden

 

Image: Shutterstock

Tags:
Family & pets, children, baby names, babies, popular baby names