Experts warn against violent baby name trend
Experts warn against violent baby name trend
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Baby names inspired by weapons or other acts of violence have recently become popular. Baby-naming experts are alarmed by a recent uptick in names related to weapons, such as Shooter and Caliber. “Most of these names peaked in use relatively recently — Wesson in 2021 when it was used 306 times, Caliber in 2018 with 24 uses, Mace in 2022 with 64 uses, Dagger in 2022 with 13 uses,” she added.
“It’s hard to say if these names have truly peaked in use or if some will go on to greater use, but I don’t think we’re past this trend yet!”. The names inspired by weapons also include a few brand names such as Remington and Winchester. Some of the names, according to the Social Security Administration, are other general violent terms such as Arson, Cutter, and Dagger.
There are various reasons why parents seem to be drawn to these more violent names including their relation to cowboy names, which Kihm said parents are leaning toward, and that many of these names also sound like surnames. According to baby naming consultant Taylor A. Humphrey, parents are inspired by meaningful names within their family. As such, one popular trend she’s witnessed is parents giving their surnames as first names to their babies.
Humphrey also said that another 2025 baby-naming trend could be any name that a celebrity has used or names that were used in popular television shows in 2024. Despite the trend in violence-related names, Kihm told HuffPost that this might be the one time she doesn’t support a specific trend.
