15 baby names nobody used before millennials made them cool

There are so many factors that influence which baby names will spike in popularity.

We know that pop culture, TV, and celebrities play a big part, but it is also true that events and shifts in society play a role too. For instance, the pandemic over the past couple of years saw a spike in names that radiated positivity and hope – no doubt seen as a bit of a rainbow in a pretty scary and unprecedented time. And different generations have different ideas when it comes to what makes a good baby name. Right now, us millennials are having babies and the monikers we are picking for our offspring might not be ones our parents would have even considered for us. heck – some of these very millennial names barely existed before the year 2000. v We are talking names that have caught on with millennial parents who want to diverge from classic, yawn-worthy options that have been used over and over again. Basically, millennial parents can agree that their children -- born either into Gen Z (the youngest of whom are 8 right now) or Gen Alpha (which started with babies born in 2013) -- deserve names that are on the cutting edge of cool. Ready to feel inspired? Here are 15 very millennially approved baby names: 1. Vivienne Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's daughter no doubt fueled this trend when she was born in 2008. 2. Mason Kourtney Kardashian welcomed her eldest son, Mason, in 2009 – and let's just say it sparked a trend, with thousands of parents opting to give their little ones the same moniker ever since. 3. Arya Thanks to Games of Thrones, the name Arya has risen meteorically as of late. 4. Jax When Max became too common, millennial parents went with the much snappier Jax. And who can blame us? 5. Nora Once more of a nickname for longer names, like Eleanora, Nora as a name on its own has soared in popularity these past few years. 6. Oak Want to find a baby name that isn't something that all of your friends are going to name their kids too? Oak, with its vibes of fresh air and nature, is a winner with many millennial parents. 7. Lyla Substituting i's with y's is a huge thing for millennial parents, and hence names like Lila is now often being changed to something slightly more modern, like Lyla. 8. Ocean What better reminder to be eco-friendly—a millennial mantra—than to name your kid after the sea? 9. Saffron According to Yahoo, millennials are becoming really inspired by food when they're picking out baby names, so Saffron is a name that has become more popular in recent years. 10. Zayden A totally modern, made-up moniker, Zayden is spelt with two letters immensely popular with millennial parents – z and y. 11. Mila Whether inspired by Mila Kunis or Mila Jovovich, millennials are loving the name Mila – which is Russian and means "gracious" or "dear." 12. Nevaeh Starting around 2001, Nevaeh skyrocketed in popularity – wanna guess why millennial parents loved it so much? It simply spells "heaven" backwards. Cute? We know. 13. Greyson Another made up name that is hitting all the trend notes with modern parents – but that grandparents will no doubt just shake their heads at. 14. Emmie With Emma and Emily being far too old school, millennials mums and dads are more likely to go for the hipper version Emmie when naming their little one. 15. Ash A cool moniker for a cool dude – and with a big Pokemon nod too.