The aughts were, among other things, peak baby name weirdness. I’m talking Apple, Bluebell Madonna, Birdie and Petal Blossom Rainbow. Of course, there hasn’t exactly been a shortage of eccentric names born of the 2020s either, thanks to the likes of Dream, Thunder, Raddix and X Æ A-Xii.
And now another trend as emerged: people naming their babies after their favorite destinations. Per a new study from the luggage storage service Bounce, “One baby-naming trend that is particularly popular is travel-related baby names, which sees parents naming their child after a favorite holiday destination, honeymoon spot or even the city where they were conceived.”
Now, there’s still something about naming your kid after the country or state where they were conceived that feels a bit…off. I’d venture to guess that it would be mildly disconcerting for most to have to find out that they’d been named after the place they’d been conceived. (Though, to be fair, it’s probably no less weird than naming them after your favorite equation. Or the weather. Or something you quite literally made up altogether.)
That said, naming your baby after a destination you love — and not because you once fucked there — is something we can get behind. In fact, a lot of destination-inspired names, like Sydney or Savannah for example, don’t even necessarily register as being inspired by destinations as they’ve become so commonplace (which may be why the former is the number one most popular travel-inspired baby name for girls in the USA). Below, the other most popular-travel inspired baby names, according to Bounce:
The most popular travel-inspired baby names for boys in the US between 2000-2020:
- Preston (56,922)
- Dakota (38,665)
- Israel (33,380)
- Kingston (33,146)
- Dallas (21,846)
- Phoenix (17,165)
- Orlando (12,495)
- Atlas (8,611)
- Boston (7,541)
- London (7,137)
The most popular travel-inspired baby names for girls in the US between 2000-2020:
- Sydney (105,777)
- Alexandria (41,132)
- London (37,419)
- Dakota (27,665)
- Paris (22,058)
- Carolina (19,218)
- Guadalupe (18,918)
- Journey (15,217)
- Skye (14,856)
- Asia (14,559)
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