7 Baby Name Trends To Look Out For In 2022

Each year promises to bring new trends in style, food, design and even baby names. With only a few months to go until 2022, the experts at the baby naming site Nameberry have shared their predictions for what those trends will be. 

Specifically, they identified 10 trends set to influence parents’ name choices next year and offered some notable examples. As always, the Nameberry experts make their predictions based on patterns they’ve observed in Social Security Administration data, user behavior on their website, pop culture, current events and more. 

The latest categories draw from television, nature, music and even specific letters and sounds. Keep scrolling for a look at seven of the trends, and visit Nameberry  to read the full list.

Playful

The Nameberry team believes the turmoil of the pandemic will lead many parents toward light, playful baby names like Birdie and Pixie. 

Bear

Birdie

Dovie

Iggy

Pixie

‘Bridgerton’-Inspired

It seems the mania around Netflix ’s Regency-era novel adaptation “Bridgerton” lives on beyond the streaming platform. The folks at Nameberry identified several character names they foresee getting a popularity boost in 2022. 

Benedict

Cressida

Daphne

Eloise

Francesca

The Letter ‘R’

“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 R names starting to take off, especially as middle names,” wrote Nameberry’s Emma Waterhouse.

Reeve

Revel

Reign

Rome

Roux

Retro Nostalgia

Much of what is old often becomes new again and that will likely be the case with 2022 baby names, according to Nameberry. They’ve identified retro baby names that evoke a simpler, sunnier time. 

Betty

Bobby

Mae

Ned

Nellie

Euro Chic

“The coolest Euro chic baby names of 2022 feel as at home in Copenhagen as they do in London or Amsterdam or San Francisco, appealing to sophisticated world travelers,” Waterhouse noted.

Astrid

Bastian

Cosmo

Oona

Stellan

‘S’-Endings

We’re used to seeing names that end in letters like ‘A’ or ‘R,’ but ‘S’ endings aren’t quite as common. The Nameberry experts believe this will change for both boys and girls.  

Ames

Emrys

Lois

Ozias

Wells

Escapist Nature

Being cooped up at home during the pandemic has sparked wanderlust and yearning for the great outdoors. As such, the Nameberry team thinks parents may draw inspiration from nature and even shows with beautiful natural landscapes like “The White Lotus.”

Horizon

Koa

Lotus

Prairie

Woods