Leading UK parenting site BabyCentre revealed that parents are looking to the wild west when choosing names for their babies in 2023, resulting in more baby Billys, Wyatts, Pearls and Clementines.
The surprise source of inspiration was discovered by the site’s baby name experts who mined searches made by BabyCentre parents in relation to baby names.
After taking out generic name searches, the wild west was among the top search terms. BabyCentre’s wild west baby names page was also among the most visited pages by parents searching for name ideas.
Parents in 2023 are also looking to the stars for their babies’ names as names inspired by the solar system was another popular search term. This year could see a rise in baby boys named Apollo and Cosmo and baby girls called Ariel and Luna.
Mums and dads are also choosing more gender-neutral names as part of a rising trend. Experts at the site found that the number of names in their registrations that are shared by both boys and girls has doubled in the last 10 years.
Top BabyCentre gender-neutral names include Riley, Frankie, Harley, Blake, Rowan, River, Robin and Morgan.
In addition to western and space names, parents are still searching for ever-popular old-fashioned and Bible names like Florence and Arthur and Eve and Noah. Parents looking for classical choices are also seeking out names from Greek and Roman mythology like Apollo, Troy, Calliope and Daphne.
Mums and dads also set to give their baby names a classy vibe with Jocasta, Tamara, Barnaby and Tybalt set to rise along with searches for posh names for boys and girls as well as names inspired by gemstones, like Ruby and Jet.
Sarah Redshaw, UK Managing Editor for BabyCentre, said: “Who could have predicted that wild west names would be a new trend? We’ll be looking out for more babies named Billy, Wyatt, Butch and Levi and Clementine, Daisy, Pearl and Mae later this year when we look at our registrations.
“One thing’s for sure, old-fashioned names are still in fashion while parents are still loving Bible names. Names from ancient mythology and the planets could become a new classical trend though as mums and dads look for something more unusual but familiar.
“We’ve seen the proportion of gender-neutral names soar too, which is no surprise given the rising awareness around gender fluidity. It’s another trend we’ll be keeping an eye on.
“Another possibility is that parents may take the lead from celebrities and their recent Disney-inspired names. Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury named their newborn daughter Bambi, and Stacey Dooley called hers Minnie so we could see an increase in searches for Disney names.”
BabyCentre top search queries related to names (excluding similar search terms and general name search terms)
- Wild west names
- Gender neutral names
- Names from mythology
- Bible names
- Names inspired by the solar system
- Posh and old-fashioned names
- Names inspired by gemstones