It's almost 2020.
And if this is the year you are about to become a mum – whether for the very first time or once again, we bet you have already started obsessing over baby names and what the heck you are going to name your brand new bundle.
Trends come and go, but as far as 2020 is concerned, experts have already started to see a pattern forming and predict these trends are set to keep on gaining ground in the new year too.
Shorter names are all the rage at the moment, according to
Quartz, who charted the rise of the four-letter baby names lately. This, apparently, is especially true when it comes to girls, with names like Cora, Mila, Luna and Isla all climbing the charts.
Many parents are also letting this trend dictate what they are naming their boys, with monikers like Luca, Bode, Zaid and Liam all gaining ground in the popular lists.
Foreign names are on the rise
As well as short names, many parents are also borrowing popular names from other countries, with international names such as Mateo, Luca, Kai, Koa and Axel all jumping up several spots on the trend lists in the past year. Scandi names are also having a moment, apparently, with parents loving old Norwegian monikers such as Anders, Magnus, Thor, Leif, Knut, Gunnar and Bjorn.
Oh, and with Frozen 2 killing it at the box office over Christmas, let us just assume that Scandinavian names such as Elsa, Olaf and Sven are also going to feature heavily in the popular lists over the coming months.
Whatever the royals and the Kardashians do
It seems we cannot get enough of the royals either, both here and across the pond in the US, where the obsession with the English monarchy really took off when Meghan married her Harry. For instance,
Babycenter reported that the name Meghan jumped a whopping 49 percent for girls following the royal wedding in 2018!
And once little Archie was born back in May of this year, we saw similar things happening for that name, with parents across the globe jumping at the chance to have a baby named the same as Harry and Meghan's little one. The names Eugenie and Jack also shot to fame after that royal wedding, and experts noted similar trends following the birth and naming of all of Prince William and Duchess Kate's children as well.
As well as the royals in the UK, it seems parents are also inspired by the royals of reality TV, the Kardashians, with names such as Saint, Stormi, True, Chicago, Dream, Reign and Nori (North's nickname) all climbing the charts these past years.
Tell us, did you opt for a trend name or a more traditional moniker when naming your baby?
