Baby Name Trends - The Hottest Name Trends of 2022

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Playful Names

Had your fill of bad news stories? You’re not alone! After two years of turbulence, the new parents of 2022 will be drawn to light, bright, playful baby names with a strong element of fun, which makes Playful Names the leader among our predicted baby name trends for the year ahead. Fashion-forward celebrity parents have already started to skip the formal name 

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Playful Names

entirely, opting to put sweet, whimsical terms of endearment like Buddy, Honey, Lucky and even Baby straight onto the birth certificate. Also in this category you’ll find fun word names like Pixie, Moxie and Cricket, as well as super cute, high-energy nicknames like Coco, Lulu, Teddy and Ziggy.

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Escapist Nature Names

Nature names for babies are branching out! The coolest nature-inspired options for 2022 will be all about escapism. After a long period of closure and confinement, we’re all dreaming about the perfect getaway – whatever that looks like for you. We expect to see beachy baby names get a boost, especially in the wake of the hit HBO series The White Lotus, set in an 

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Escapist Nature Names

idyllic Hawaiian island resort. As our horizons finally begin to broaden once again, other trending nature names for 2022 will evoke wild, rugged, expansive landscapes – think Prairie, Dune, Ridge and Sequoia.

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Bridgerton-Inspired Names

The biggest Netflix original series of all time, Bridgerton, turned our ideas about Regency England, and its vintage names, upside down. The Bridgerton-inspired baby name trend for surprising antique names is sure to heat up when the show returns for a second season in 2022! We’ve already seen Bridgerton names from Daphne to Hyacinth rising 

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Bridgerton-Inspired Names

rapidly up the Nameberry charts – reflecting a big increase in attention from our visitors. Regency-era baby names like Euphemia have also seen a jump in views, prompted by a renewed interest in all things lacy and lavish, including baby names. Uncommon character names we expect to climb include Albion, Benedict, Cressida and Marina, while on-trend 

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Bridgerton-Inspired Names

actor names including Phoebe, Regé and Rupert (from season two) are also likely to benefit from the Bridgerton boom.

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Nonbinary Names for Boys

With society’s increasing openness to gender fluidity as a concept and an identity, it’s no surprise that we’re starting to see it manifesting in baby name trends too with new nonbinary names. For years, gender-bending baby names have been on an almost exclusively one-way track. Previously male names like Avery, Dylan and even James have crossed gender lines to become increasingly 

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Nonbinary Names for Boys

popular for baby girls. But very few female names have gone the other way. Now, more and more parents are willing to consider more feminine names for boys. Included in this group are goddess names like Artemis, Echo and Nyx, nature names like Indigo, Sunny and Wren, and unisex names that previously leaned female, like Blair, Laurie and Sasha.

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Spirit and Soul Names

Baby names in 2022 will continue to reflect parents’ hopes, dreams and aspirations for their children, born into a time of uncertainty and change. Spirit and soul names are powerful and evocative, drawing on ancient myth and diverse religious traditions – but with a thoroughly modern twist. Many of the dynamic Christian word names on the 

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Spirit and Soul Names

rise started out as verbs: think Praise, Dream, Revere, Promise and Shine. Others are virtue names that feel strong and decisive. Brave, Righteous, Savior and True replace more timid traditional virtues, such as Patience or Chastity. But Christianity isn’t the only source for these new spiritual names. Sanskrit names such as Veda and Rishi are also trending in a 

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Spirit and Soul Names

big way, as are names from ancient myth and even fantasy. Lucifer’s Amenadiel is ascending alongside a host of other angelic (or demonic) A names, from Aziel to Azrael to Azazel.

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Names Ending in S

S ending baby names are booming across the board! In 2022, S will feel so much cooler and fresher than N, R, A, and even O in the final spot – and not just for boys. We predict that the smart S ending will feature increasingly prominently on the girls’ side too in coming years. Particularly trendy categories for S ending names right now include snappy surnames 

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Names Ending in S

like Banks and Wells, cool vintage names from Lois to Ignatius, and ancient and mythological names like Atlas, Emrys and Osiris. But we’ll be watching out for this trend across the style and gender spectrum!

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Retro Nostalgia Names

As well as turning to nature, travel and entertainment for some much needed post-pandemic escapism, 2022’s parents will be donning their rose-tinted spectacles and looking to the past for inspiration. Bright, playful, primary colors are dominating the home design scene for 2022. And the retro baby names on the rise will follow suit, conjuring up images of simpler, 

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Retro Nostalgia Names

sunnier, more stable times – the idealized childhood of gingham tablecloths, home-baked cookies and lemonade stands.

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Next Wave Musical Names

Bold baby namer Nick Cannon outdid even himself when he gave the middle name Mixolydian to one of his twin sons earlier this year (in case you’re wondering, it’s a musical mode). We can’t see that one catching on anytime soon, but it is an illustration of how much more creative musical baby names are set to become. Fashionable music-inspired choices like Aria, 

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Next Wave Musical Names

Lyric and Cadence will be joined by ever more adventurous options, from Calypso to Rhythm to Symphony – all rising on our charts. We’re also predicting the debut of the lovely melodic Madrigal in 2022, following the release of Disney’s newest musical comedy Encanto in late November of this year.

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Punchy R Names

Short baby names really pack a punch, and that strength and simplicity will naturally appeal to parents in 2022. We’re seeing a whole bunch of energetic unisex names starting with R taking off, from recent celebrity baby names Rhodes, Row, Rio and Rue to edgy word names like Revel, Riot and Rogue. This is a trend that lends itself particularly well to middle names, where short, 

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Punchy R Names

simple names like Ann, Rose, James and John have long been favored by parents due to their great flow and grounded feel.  2022’s parents will have the same criteria in mind when they opt for bolder alternatives to time-honored classics, like Reign rather than Ray or Rome instead of Rose.

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Euro Chic Names

Classic baby names don’t have to be common or conventional! Parents searching for unique yet established names are looking to our European friends for inspiration, seeking out stylish choices that feel fresh and surprising in an American context. The coolest Euro chic baby names of 2022 will mark a shift away from culturally distinct names like the Irish 

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Euro Chic Names

Saoirse or the Italian Gianni and toward the vaguer pan-European names whose origins are harder to pin down. These names feel as at home in Copenhagen as they do in London or Amsterdam or Vienna, appealing to sophisticated world travelers. We expect sleek Scandinavian, Slavic, Gaelic and Germanic names to 

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Euro Chic Names

appeal especially to the next crop of style-savvy parents, replacing the softness of the Romance languages with a spikier, steelier aesthetic.

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