“Thomas? No, there’s a Thomas at work and I hate his guts. Luke? I don’t know, it doesn’t sound right with the surname. What about Gabriel? That might be an option, but let’s keep looking.”
Conversations like this are not uncommon among expectant parents. Choosinga namefor a bundle of joy is a privilege but a huge responsibility, too, which is why one has to think long and hard about what the most suitable option is. (Unless, of course, they have had their mind made up about it since the 6th grade.)
Whenthis redditor’ssister told her the name she chose for her unborn son, the OP thought that the mom-to-be was joking. Yet, she wasn’t; being a lover of the ocean, she opted for a fish’s name for her child.
Scroll down to find the full story below, where you will also findBored Panda’sinterview with a sociolinguist, Professor in the department of English at University of Nevada, andauthor ofLike, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English,Dr. Valerie Fridland, who was kind enough to share her insight on the linguistics of naming.
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Girls are more likely than boys to be given a unique name
In a recent interview withBored Panda, Dr. Valerie Fridland shared that over her 20 years of university teaching, she has definitely noticed a trend for more diversity in names, as well as an exponential growth in unique spellings; though, more often for girls than for boys. (For example, Hayleigh or Hailee for Haley.)
Some names never lose their popularity
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Some names, such as James, Michael, and Robert for boys and Mary, Patricia, and Jennifer for girls, seem to be ever-popular (based ondatafrom the last hundred years). Others, however, come and go in waves, when for one reason or another a certain name becomes increasingly popular for a period of time.
For the last two years (2022–2023), for instance, the top three of the most popular names (in the US) didn’t change one bit, with Olivia, Emma, and Charlotte taking the three spots on the podium for girls and Liam, Noah, and Oliver respectively for boys.
All sorts of trends bring an abundance of unique names
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Delving deeper intounique names, The Memo covered seven trends that might interest expectant parents looking for something different for their little one:Maximalism(entailing such names as Amadeus, Andromeda, Magnus, Myfanwy, and Wolfgang),Retro(Arlo, Bobbie, Lenny, and Teddy, being just a few examples),Gilded(Apollo, Aura, Glow, Helios, Sterling, Sunday, Sunny), and evenSci-Fi Cowboy(Brando, Dallas, Rhett, Royal, Steele, Tex, and others).
Then there’s the so-called ‘4-2-i’ trend, entailing names consisting of four letters and two syllables, and ending in an ‘i’ (Avni, Bibi, Gigi, Mavi, Suki, Zuri),adjectives—yes, adjectives—used as a name (Brave, Celestian, Glorious, Heavenly, Supreme, True), which is not that uncommon among celebrities, and finally, the ‘Blue-Green’, which is considered to be the “next evolution of the nature names trend” (Azure, Caspian, Forest, Marina, Navy, Ocean, Raney, Sky, Storm, Wave). Chances are—even if not blue, nor green in reality—Seabass would also make it to the nature category, as a marine life-inspired name.
According to Prof. Fridland, the context of nature-deriven names or names drawn from something that is trendy at any one particular moment is always a bit risky. “Parents are assuming that the impetus for that naming trend will still be clear years from now, which it likely won’t be. But if the name has a good feel and fit to it from the parent’s perspective, that may not matter,” she suggested.
Be that as it may, the OP’s sister might not stick to her choice after all, thanks to her sibling showing the fellow netizens’ reactions to the name Seabass. Yet, some Reddit users said that the name the mom-to-bedecides to giveto her child is none of the redditor’s business. Scroll down to find their differing opinions below.
Some redditors thought that Seabass could be a cute nickname, but definitely not a first name
Some netizens believed that if it isn’t your child, their name is none of your business
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