Having a Baby in 2022? Here Are the Names That Are Likely to Be Everywhere

Pregnancy is a weird and wonderful time that involves loads of excitement, nerves and a tonne of preparation. From getting a nursery sorted to prenatal classes, regular check-ups, figuring out a birthing plan and buying more stuff than you can poke a stick at (or ever knew existed), there is no shortage of the things you find on your checklist before the arrival of your little one.

Another thing that many expectant parents love to do is to choose the name their tiny human will have once they are on the outside. With more couples these days choosing to find out the sex of their unborn child, and several companies offering personalised items for them once they are here, it’s only natural that parents might want to name their bub ahead of time. Plus, some expectant parents say it helps them feel more connected to their child in the lead-up to the birth.

For my partner and I, choosing a name for our first child (due in April 2022) was not an easy task but it was one we accomplished even before we fell pregnant. It’s a wonder we were able to decide on names at all, to be honest, as we have vastly different tastes in this area. While I favour more unusual names (Bowie was always my pick for a boy), my partner loves more traditional ones (Charlie and Oliver were two of his favourites) so when we landed on two names — one for a boy and one for a girl as we don’t know what we are having — we locked them in right away.

As it turns out, we are not the only ones who love our choices, with one of them now appearing on the list of names that are likely to be most popular in 2022. While I was initially a little bummed that our pick made the cut, the list, as a whole, shows that slightly more unusual names are starting to gain traction as we move away from the most popular names of recent years like Lily, Luna, Jack and Max. I also feel slightly smug that more unique names are gaining popularity, as it proves my point to my partner that our child will not be ostracised from society or denied employment if they have a more “out there” name. In fact, it seems the more traditionally named kids are going to be in the minority.

At any rate, according to popular baby name website Nameberry, who based their list on their data from the most searched names on their website over the year, these are likely to be the 10 names for boys and girls in 2022.

Girls Names

1. Eloise
2. Aurelia
3. Ava
4. Rose
5. Maeve
6. Esme
7. Eleanor
8. Imogen
9. Aurora
10. Ophelia

Boys Names

1. Arlo
2. Kai
3. Atticus
4. Silas
5. Theodore
6. Rowan
7. Finn
8. Milo
9. Felix
10. Soren