These 2026 baby names are probably going to make your boomer parents' heads spin
Nameberry experts believe parents are taking inspiration from surprising sources
With the New Year in full swing, a baby-naming bible has predicted a bonkers new trend for 2026 that is sure to blow the minds of older generations.
In recent years, we've seen previously popular monikers making a return - vintage classics like 'Hazel', 'Maggie', 'Iris' and 'Evelyn' for the girls, and 'Arthur', 'Henry', 'Albert' and 'Barney' for the boys.
You know, names you'd never have been given in the 00s, when newbies like 'Megan', 'Chloe', 'Ethan' and 'Dylan' topped the charts.
The recent re-emergence of old-fashioned titles implied that baby names trends would prove somewhat cyclical, with groups re-emerging after a few years in hiding before disappearing again for some generations.
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According to experts at Nameberry, however, we'll see a new collection of names appearing on birth certificates this year - many that we've never seen before - which will be based largely on the mythic and the magical.
With fantasy novels selling out faster than ever before, and anime blockbusters sitting near the top of Netflix's most-watched, it appears as though modern-day mums and dads are hoping to remove themselves even further from reality, by naming their children after their favourite characters.
As such, it is believed that, in a few years time, we'll see monikers like Alistair, Ambrose, Azlan, Bronwen, Calista, Cassian, Cordelia, Elspeth, Emrys, Esmarie, Evander, Isolde, Leontel and Lilivere littering school registers.
These Tolkien-esque, Scandi-like, romantasy-orientated could come straight from the likes of Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses book series, or binge-worthy box-sets like Game of Thrones.
Looking for even more specific inspiration, parents will reportedly refer to names that come directly from ancient civilisations, like Adhara, Agastya, Azad, Cassander, Eulalia, Johari, Nefertari, Tenoch, Vita and Zyanya.
Then, there are anime-style names, like Aura, Issei, Jinu, Kaya, Kiro, Kota, Kyomi, Renji, Rumi and Suzu, which experts believe we'll see more of in the coming years.
Also, in an age when literature classics are being revamped for the big-screen - like Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights - it's likely that olden-time British classics like Briony, Bronte, Conrad, Crusoe, Elinor, Estella, Eyre, Heath, Kazuo and Wilde will suddenly surge.
Despite this prediction, however, child-rearing expert Chris Smith recently issued a warning over the risks of parents base their choices on potentially fleeting trends - including TV characters and rising social media stars.
"When a name becomes too trendy, it loses the very quality that attracted parents in the first place," Smith - who works as operations manager at premium formula manufacturing brand Formuland - told The Express. "What starts as a unique choice quickly becomes ubiquitous."
He added: "In five years, these names won't feel special anymore, they'll just feel very 2026."
Rhianna Benson