One thing we learned when we wrote about hipster baby names is that nobody wants one. Many people were horrified if they found their favorite names — or worse, their actual children’s names — on our list of hipster names. No matter how much they’d loved the name before, they immediately went in search of something new, something different, something with a bit less of the whiff of hipsterdom about it.
Well, okay. We can dig grok understand that. It’s intrinsically uncool to be seen as trying hard to be cool, even if you’re doing so by deliberately being uncool. Which, of course, is uncool.
We wrote about this before, in our exploration of names that hit the baby name sweet spot between too cool and not cool enough.
Today we look at how to downshift the hipster factor in some of the prime suspect names. Making a name less hip might mean making it more classic or plainer, but it also might mean making it more unusual, less obviously stylish. If you truly want to pull back from the edge of cool, consider making the following swaps.
Instead of Ada, try AIDEEN
Instead of Annabel, try ANNE
Instead of August, try GUSTAV
Instead of Butch, try BUDDY
Instead of Delilah, try SALOME
Instead of Edie, try EDITH
Instead of Hugo, try HUGH
Instead of Iris, try IRENE
Instead of June, try JANE
Instead of Kingston, try KINGSLEY
Instead of Lennon, try JOHN
Instead of Lulu, try LOUISE
Instead of Mae, try MARY
Instead of Miles, try BASIE (I think Basie is probably pretty hipster too, but I just like it better)
Instead of Minnie, try MINETTE
Instead of Otis, try OMAR
Instead of Piper, try FIFER
Instead of Ray, try RALPH
Instead of Ruby, try RUTH
Instead of Talullah, try TABITHA
Instead of Theo, try TED
Any more bright ideas? We know you have some…..