Thor, Atlas, Zelda: Most popular new baby names for 2017 revealed

Next year, parents will be naming their newborns after heavenly bodies

Sarah Jones
Tuesday 06 December 2016 14:55 GMT
Comments
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

With an erratic new president on the horizon, some Americans could be forgiven to looking to the heavens for help next year.

Now a baby name trends expert predicts that some expectant parents may go a step further - and name their new-born children after heavenly bodies.

Writing for Today, Nameberry co-founder Pamela Redmond Satran says that we can expect to see more baby names that defy convention with a trend for unique spellings, non-traditional gender identities and names that embody power.

In 2017, mythological monikers such as Thor, Persephone, Jupiter, Atlas, Pandora and Zues are set to nab the top spot alongside feminist heroine names like Ada, Eleanor, Zelda and Frida.

This isn’t the first time baby names have gone all righteous on us though. Five boys were literally named God in 2015, along with 20 named Lord, 27 called Saviour, 40 baby girls named Goddess and a surprising 1500 named Messiah.

As if human or god-like names aren’t powerful enough, Satran also predicts that some parents will turn to the animal kingdom for inspiration.

Expect to see a surge in names like Fox, Lynx, Tiger, Falcon and Hawk.

It’s not all sweetness and light though with evil baby names making a comeback too.

Soon enough, adorable little Lucifer’s, Lillith’s (a demon of Jewish folklore) and Kali’s (the Hindu destroyer) will be dominating that classroom register.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in