It’s no secret that baby-naming trends change year to year. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the coronavirus pandemic inspired its very own trend for baby names in 2020.
According to research conducted by Channel Mum, parents are choosing more positive names for their children. They created a poll of 1,300 parents to find the latest trends in baby names.
“Baby names reflect changing times and never more so than when the world is facing a catastrophe,” Channel Mum’s baby name expert SJ Strum commented. “The current crisis means parents are understandably stressed and anxious, so [parents] are using newborns’ names to celebrate new life and joy.”
No “Coronavirus”/”Lockdown” Names
Names like Corah, Corina, and Rona, are being passed over because they sound similar to “Corona.” A couple of months ago, an 8-year-old boy, Corona DeVries, made headlines after he wrote to Tom Hanks about how he was getting bullied for his name. No parent wants that for their child.
Monikers that are similar to “virus,” like Violet, are also being ruled out for newborns. Likewise, monikers that related to “lockdown” such as Lochlan are falling in popularity.
2020 Baby Name Trends
According to the poll, seven in ten people think that more hopeful names will come back into popularity. These names included Faith, Hope, Charity, Patience, and Constance.
Similarly, parents are opting to choose names that relay positivity: Bliss, Felicity, Joy, Pax (peace), Solomon (peaceful), and Blythe (carefree).
“Positive names are a wonderful way to keep focusing on the future and means that the child knows their name has real meaning,” Strum told Channel Mum.
Parents also shared that they would be more willing to name their babies in honor of frontline workers by giving their kid gender-neutral names like Hero, Avery, and Bravery. Notably, Florence — after Florence Nightingale — is also expected to rise in popularity for girl names.
Related Stories
Elon Musk Names Baby X Æ A-XII and 10 Other Bizarre Celebrity Baby Names
20 Weirdest Baby Names 2020 & What They Mean
30 Hottest Celebrity Baby Names for 2020
