With the year coming to an end, I've decided to revisit my predictions and make a few last minute corrections before my time is up. If you think this is cheating, then fine. I'd like to think of the May post as a rough draft and the posts today (and yesterday) as the final product. Below is a list of the boy names that I predicted would find popularity in 2011. Like yesterday, I'm going to add some to the list and cross some off.
Boy Names
Everett
Frederick
Kyron
Lathan
Paige
Skye
Wallace
August and Henry. Before I even discuss the names on the list, I'm adding these two. I hear them everywhere. Every baby boy I meet or hear about seems to be named one or the other, though I've yet to meet an August Henry or Henry August. They are the choices of celebrities, coworkers, friends and strangers. Both are classic and strong choices (think: August Anheuser Busch, Sr. and Henry Kissinger).
Everett. I still like it. A lot. It's classic and strong like August and Henry, and has the added bonus of sounding like a first name or last name. This type ambiguity seems to be a lasting trend.
Frederick. I'm not sure about this one. People are certainly into the long (read: many letters in length) classics. Nathaniel, Christopher and Alexander are Top 100 standards. But, Frederick might be too
Kyron is an odd name, in my humble opinion. It makes me think of Enron or a software company. On the other hand, it's a mash up - a mash up of Kyle and Aaron - and folks love mash ups (on Glee and with baby names). I'm going to stick with Kyron, but I find it about as baby name friendly as Katniss (more on that here). Before I end the discussion on mash ups, I'm adding Brayden to the list. It's technically not a mash up, but it sounds like one. It fits somewhere between Brandon, Raymond and Grayson...which is also getting added. Gray is a hot color and Grayson is a hot name.
Lathan is out. It's even stranger than Kyron. If it's trying to mimic Nathan, then there's a major issue: Nate is a great nickname for Nathan, but Late does not work as a nickname for anything, ever.
Paige is staying on the list with a slight adjustment - I'm dropping the "i". The "i" makes it too feminine to be used as a boy name. So, Page will stay on the list. It's gender neutral and neatly falls into the popular category of boy names that are also job titles: Mason, Hunter, Tanner, Sawyer...and Jasper.
Skye is a big YES thanks to fashionista Rachel Zoe.
Wallace may seem like a bad gamble (if I were actually betting on these guesses). The first Wallace that comes to mind is Wallace from Wallace and Gromit, which doesn't conjure intellect and success. But, it's also masculine (think William Wallace), vintage and...the kicker...British. If we learned one thing in 2011, we learned that Americans are obsessed with British Royalty. Who isn't? Who didn't wake up at the crack to watch Wills and Kate get hitched? You at least recorded it on your Tivo or DVR, right? So, I'm keeping Wallace and I'm adding Harry. Adding William would be officially cheating given that William has been in the Top 20 list since 1901, and is usually in the Top 10.
The new and improved boy name list:
Boy Names
August
Brayden/Braydon
Everett
Grayson
Harry
Henry
Kyron
Page
Skye
Wallace
If you have no clue who Wallace and Gromit are, watch the clip below.
It's claymation British humor at its finest.
