There’s an entire generation of new baby names that are moving rapidly up the popularity list and that distinguish themselves by being recently minted–and by the fact that grandparents do a double take the first time they hear them. For even if they existed as surnames or place names or occupations, they’ve rarely been used before as first names.  Many of these new baby names are morphed versions of names that were used in another form earlier, while others have been spun from thin air.

　　Some are clearly celebrity-sourced—as when Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale gave their son a name inspired by their own personal associations with the island of Jamaica—and it wasn’t long before the name Kingston jumped onto the list.  Similarly, the singular name Miley has spread like wildfire with the fame of its onetime exclusive bearer.

　　Putting aside the legion of offshoots and variations—in rhyming and spelling—of  names related to Riley, Ryan, Bailey, Aiden, Tyler and Tyson, which already seem so 20th century– we’ve come up with a list of some of the most prominent nouveau names.  Although a precise demarcation can’t be drawn, and some of them were coming onto the radar in the 90s, these are the new baby names that definitely have a 21st century feel.

　　Girls (mostly)

　　ADDISON

　　AINSLEY

　　ARIA

　　ASHBY

　　AUDRINA

　　CADENCE

　　CALI

　　ELLE

　　HADLEY

　　HARLOW

　　HAVEN

　　KHLOE

　　LUNA

　　MARLEY

　　MILEY

　　MYA

　　PAISLEY

　　REESE

　　RHIANNA and RIHANNA

　　SAGE

　　SIENNA

　　SKYLA

　　TAYLA

　　TEAGAN

　　ZOEY

　　Some other girls’ names that haven’t made it onto the list yet, but are very much headed that way :

　　ASHBY

　　AVALON

　　JUNOESMÉSCOUT

　　TALLULAH

　　VITA

　　Boys (mostly)

　　ACE

　　ATTICUS

　　AXEL

　　BECKETT

　　CAMDEN

　　CANNON

　　CASE

　　CASH

　　CHACE

　　COHEN

　　DASHIELL

　　DAX

　　DEACON

　　FISHER

　　JAGGER

　　JAX

　　JETT

　　KIAN and KYAN

　　KINGSTON

　　KYLAN

　　LENNON

　　MADDOX

　　MAVERICK

　　MAXIMUS

　　NASH

　　ORION

　　PAX

　　RIVER

　　ROMEO

　　RYDER

　　RYKER

　　STONE

　　TREVON

　　TRACE

　　TURNER

　　ZANDER and XANDER

　　Some other boys’ name candidates for the list:

　　BODHI

　　EVERLY

　　FLINT

　　JETSON

　　PAX

　　ROCKET

　　STEEL

　　WILDER

　　Either

　　AVERY

　　BLAZE

　　EASTON

　　EMERSON

　　EMERY

　　HARLEY

　　HARPER

　　HAYDEN (newer for girls)JOURNEY

　　JUSTICE

　　KAI

　　PAYTON/PEYTON

　　ROWAN

　　SAGE

　　SAWYER

　　SHILOH

　　SKYLAR

　　TAJ

　　TRACE

　　ZION

　　And some other unisex names in the air:

　　AUDEN

　　BRIGHTON

　　CHARLESTON

　　DREAM

　　INDIGO

　　REEVE

　　ROMY

　　STORY

　　TRUE

　　WEST

　　What do you consider the quintessential 21st century name?

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