Popular Baby Names For 2021 Take Inspiration From Magic And Cottagecore

It makes sense, after the year we’ve had, that many new parents searching for baby names are turning to nature or magic for inspiration.

Those are two of the major baby-name trends identified by Nameberry  for 2021.

The site has predicted a rise in “cottagecore” names, given by parents who either dream of escaping confined urban areas for the great outdoors or have actually made the switch. “Vintage and ethereal” names like Faye, Flora and Maisie as well as “woodsy” names like Bear and Fletcher are popular, apparently. River , Rowan and Wilder will be huge too, in the coming year.

Other popular nature-inspired names include Clover, Silas, and Opal. 

Regardless of how cottage-appropriate a baby’s first name is, the site predicts that bird-inspired middle names like Dove or Nightingale will be another popular choice, perhaps inspired by celebrity baby names like Daisy Dove Bloom .

Among the avian names set to soar this year are Birdie, Lark, Falcon, Hawk, Peregrine, Phoenix, Robin, Sparrow, Swan and Wren.

There are some nature names that may not survive 2020, though: the ones that remind us of the pandemic. Nameberry predicts that the people who named their poor kids after the virus  were just an anomaly, and that there will likely be a pause on any names that remind us of the words “COVID” or “coronavirus” as the pandemic trudges on.

That means a likely downturn on nature names such as Cora and Cove, as well as variations like Coral, Coralie and Coraline. Expect to see fewer Cordelias, Coreys and Corinnes too.

Maybe it’s escapism, maybe it’s yearning for the mystical intervention of a higher power or a reminder that plagues have been battled and overcome before, but the other big naming trend the site predicts is magic. This means superhero names like Adonis  and Titan; mythological names like Artemis, Jupiter and Guinevere; Biblical names like Messiah, Delilah and Lilith; religious names like Kali; and clear, blunt names like Brave, Noble and Powerful. (Nick Cannon demonstrated this trend pretty clearly by naming his daughter Powerful Queen .)

And it’s not just the good guys being represented: Loki, Lucifer and Mazikeen are popular choices, too.

Some of the other names in this category: Legend, Savita, Evander, Kylo, Legend, Cyrus, Blaze, Persephone, Ophelia, Rowdy, Wild, Pandora and Oz. 

Some of the other trends we’re likely to see:

• names inspired by the word “ever” (Ever, Everly , Everett, Everlynn, Everson, Everton)
• names with long A  sounds (Ada, Adelaide, Ayla, Haven, Vega, Maeve, Esme, Phaedra, Hazel, Layla, Mabel, Reina)
• names that end in ”-ari,” such as the Japanese name Akari and the Swahili names Amari and Khari
• day-of-the-week names (Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday )

Check out more predictions at Nameberry .