If you’re expecting a baby right about now, that new little person will belong to Generation Alpha. Super space-agey sounding, right? They’re the children of Millennials, the babies born today – and into 2025, give or take.
We know that every generation chooses different names, but I suspect that every generation thinks about names slightly differently, too.
And that means conflict. Your parents may not understand the names you choose for their Gen Alpha grandchildren. And they might not get your approach to naming at all. These trends have been building, but I’d say that naming the newest generation means:
- An emphasis on standing out, rather than fitting in.
- A tendency to go nickname-free.
- More creativity when naming sons … which might lead to a decrease in family names being handed down automatically.
- SO much more pressure to get it right!
Where do you identify generation-wise? And have you spotted any conflict across the generations? I’m curious to know!
Elsewhere online:
- Blake Lively is expecting! And Keira Knightley! And we’re expecting the royal baby any day now, and then when is Kim and Kanye’s fourth expected? To quote Taylor Swift, “Je suis CALME!”
- Hmmm … what’s with all the excitement over Allegra as a maybe-name for Baby Sussex? I’m convinced they’ll surprise us, so I won’t dismiss the rumor. I mean, it could be amazing …
- Could Bolden catch on as a baby name? There’s a new movie coming out about New Orleans jazz musician Buddy Bolden. Guessing the movie will sell fewer tickets than, say, Avengers: Endgame, but it could be enough to inspire a few families.
- Back to Generation Alpha for a minute – how to reinvent all of those 70s, 80s, and 90s names for girls born today. Mila for Melissa is just downright smart. Still, I’d use some of these as-is: Diana, Allison, Caroline, Leah, Grace …
- Doesn’t Fiona feel like a name with history galore? While that’s not precisely wrong, Nancy explains that it didn’t arrive in the US until the 1940s.
- An Open Letter to All the Olivias! Oh, this struck a chord with me. (My given name is one of the most common for girls born in the 1970s. I use my middle instead.)
- Things do change quickly. A few years ago, Paris was too deadly wedded to celebutante Paris Hilton. Or maybe the character from Gilmore Girls. But today? This birth announcement for country music’s daughter Paris garnered lots of positive responses.
- Names that are similar in sound, but very different in style – an intriguing list from Swistle.
- Isabeau for a boy … my first reaction was no. But Duana talked me into it, and now I’m wondering why I didn’t see it all along? Maybe because Isabeau was on my long girls’ list at one point? (My youngest sister is nicknamed Bo, so I suppose that makes me hear it as feminine, too …)
