A New Report Reveals Some Interesting & Unique Trends When It Comes to Middle Names
If your middle name is Ann, Jane, Grace, Elizabeth, Louise, Lynn, or Marie, you’re in good company (mine is Jane, so I’m right there with you!). Male middle names have a similar level of predictability: Joseph, Edward, Thomas, Charles, and so on. It seems like there’s a wide variety of first names, but middles are a much narrower pool, and you probably know multiple people with the same middle name. Historically, they’re almost like an afterthought: just a way to bridge the gap between first name and last name using something that sounds decent with both.
But in an era when individuality is prized and everybody wants their kid to stand out, parents are getting more creative with their middle name choices. Though the classics are still classics (they’ve enjoyed this kind of longevity for a reason!), there’s been an emergence of more unique middle names. Baby name site Nameberry recently analyzed more than 1000 birth announcements from the last year in order to track middle name popularity and trends, and its findings are pretty amazing.
“The age-old criteria for middle names — flow, honor names, etc. — remain, but today parents feel freer to be creative within the boundary of their choosing,” Nameberry’s Editor-in-Chief Sophie Kihm tells SheKnows. “For example, parents who like the flow of a single-syllable middle name may go for something bolder like Dove or Mars rather than the classic Rose or James. Parents who wish to honor a loved one may be inspired by that person’s favorite color and use the middle name Blue rather than the loved one’s name.”
Kihm explains that while middle name trends have expanded over the decades, they’re still not changing quite as quickly as first name trends do — which is why the most popular middle names for girls, per Nameberry’s data, are still Rose, Grace, Elizabeth, Marie, and Jane; for boys, it’s James, Alexander, Michael, Joseph, and Thomas.
But lest you think James is only for boys, think again! Not only have parents been using James as a middle name for girls, they’re branching out into other traditionally-male names as well. A recent rise in “grandpa names” for girls has also made its way into middle names, which is one of the trends divulged in Nameberry’s report. “Grandpa middle names for girls are directly inspired by the rise of names like Scottie, Georgie, and Charlie for baby girls,” Kihm tells us. “But instead of using those cute nicknames in the middle, parents are opting for the arguably more dramatic (on a girl) classic male forms Scott, George, and Charles.”
Parents are also drawing inspiration from mythology; names of legendary mythical figures like Atlas, Artemis, and Jove have had an uptick in popularity in first names, and middles have followed suit. Also, as surname-names like Parker and Harper have become super popular, parents are looking for fresher alternatives, especially for boys. “We’ve noticed many more plural surname names — i.e. Rhodes, Townes, Santos — as middle names, all of which are rising as first names as well,” says Kihm. Nameberry’s analysis found that when it comes to surnames as middles, Ellis was the most popular choice.
While it’s true that middle name trends tend to follow behind first name trends, this is not always the case. Kim tells SheKnows that there are two trends currently more prevalent among middles than firsts: new iambic names and bold single-syllable names.
“Iambic names — two syllable names with the emphasis on the second — give just about any first name the ‘perfect flow,’” Kihm says. “Millennials all have middle names like Marie, Nicole, and Michelle that fit this pattern, but parents today are opting for fresher choices like Celeste, Estelle, and Soleil. These have risen in popularity as first names, but they are particularly popular as middles.”
When it comes to the trend of bold single-syllable names, this is where it seems like parents are really branching out into edgier, more unique choices. Kihm says that middle names such as Dream, Charm, and Wild are experiencing a surge in popularity — especially, she notes, Love and Lux.
Other trends include maximalist, hyper-feminine middle names like Evangeline and Anneliese, vintage revivals like Royce and Bea, and nature names like Bloom and Storm. (You can read the entire middle name trend report at Nameberry.)
Middle names may have once been the quiet sidekick, but now they’re stepping into the spotlight with a whole lot of personality. Whether parents choose a timeless classic like Grace or dare to go with something edgy like Wild, a middle name is the perfect little twist that ties the whole name together — no longer an afterthought.
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