It’s only the beginning of November, but Baby Center UK has already made its baby name predictions for 2016. And boy are they surprising!
While classic names like Emma, Olivia, Jackson and Liam have long dominated the charts, they appear nowhere on Baby Center’s top predictions for 2016. Instead, the list consists of a mix of old-fashioned names making a comeback, trendy nicknames and, of course, pop culture references.
According to the site, the list was compiled using “an unscientific poll in the office, and a more scientific look at our data” to determine the top girl and boy names that will explode in the New Year.
Take a look below at the top 30 baby name predictions for 2016:
Baby Name Predictions For 2016
For their predictions, Emi and Hector topped the list for girls and boys. Nicknames as first names has become a big trend in recent years, so Emi, which is a variation of Emma or Emily, is no surprise.
Hector, on the other hand, is a more interesting pick as it follows no recent trend at all. However, its connection to strong heroes in literature make it an appealing and solid choice.
Hector was the name of the Trojan War hero in Homer’s “Iliad” and the name of the knight who raised King Arthur in Arthurian legends.
Some of the most surprising names on Baby Center’s list were the old-fashioned, traditional choices such as Cicely, Beryl and Dottie for girls, and Nelson, Percy and Stan for boys. Other eccentric picks included Electra for girls and Ziggy for boys.
And with parents’ increasing love of pop culture names, it’s no surprise that Khaleesi made the list at number 23.
Khaleesi is the name of a character in HBO’s popular series “Game of Thrones.” In 2014, the moniker was number 755 on Nameberry’s list of most popular names for girls.
To see Baby Center UK's full list of predictions, click here.