When you come right down to it, hipsters are just like the rest of us. They might have slightly different tastes in music and prefer an obscure craft beer to whatever is on tap, but at the end of the day, they’re just people who have a distinct taste — and new hipster parents are struggling to find the perfect baby name like everyone else. Hipsters might not acknowledge that there is such a thing as a hipster baby name (after all, that would make the name just too mainstream), but the baby name website Nameberry says otherwise.
While some of the baby names chosen in the hipster-dense areas of Brooklyn, Santa Monica, Austin, Madison aren’t going to stand up to the test of time, many hipsters are giving their little ones incredibly adorable names that anyone could appreciate. Of course, we can’t guarantee that these are going to be the top-ranked names ten years from now (we’re not psychic!), we have a feeling you won’t regret any of these picks in a decade.
June
June is bustin’ out all over. For you non-musical theater nerds who aren’t up to date on your Rodgers and Hammerstein, that’s a song from the hit musical Carousel, but it can also apply to the hipster baby name of June. What’s not to love about this name? It’s short and sweet and, given that it appears on the calendar, it’s literally timeless. It’s hard to imagine June becoming outdated. The month marks the beginning of summer, which is every kid’s favorite time of year, so your little one is bound to love being named after the most wonderful time of year (second only to the holiday season, of course).
Baby name charts would seem to agree. While the name dipped in popularity in the late 20th century, these days it’s climbing to the top of the charts. If you’ve watched The Handmaid’s Tale, you’ll also recognize June as the real name of the protagonist who is only known as Offred in the hit Hulu series based on the same-named Margaret Atwood novel.
August
It looks like hipsters have a thing for the summer months — at least when it comes to baby names. The name August has a distinguished sound and has never fallen of the Social Security Administration’s list of top baby names since records first began being kept in 1880. This was a very popular name at the end of the 19th century and well into the 20th. It dropped in the rankings as the 20th century marched on, but all of that changed in 2007 after the hit movie August Rush was released.
Since then, the name has steadily increased in popularity every year. Not only is August the name of one of the loveliest months of the year, but it also comes from the German form of the name Augustus which means “great” or “magnificent.” It’s a fitting name for a spectacular month and will suit your little boy equally well, whether or not he comes from a long line of hipsters.
Lennon
It’s really hard to go wrong with a name like Lennon that’s packed with so much musical talent. Originally a last name of Irish origin, Lennon became a household name after The Beatles catapulted John Lennon to fame. The singer/songwriter had a huge impact on the music world, and his name has also proven to be influential on the baby name scene. By the 2000s, the name Lennon was starting to see steady use as a given name, first for boys and then for girls.
Today, Lennon is widely accepted as a gender neutral name, although the most famous contemporary bearer of the moniker is singer and actress Lennon Stella, who starred on the show Nashville. With so much music talent behind the name, this is a great name choice for hipster and non-hipster parents alike who love music and hope that their little one will grow up to be a gifted musician themselves.
Levi
While many people might associate the name with Jewish baby boys thanks to its Hebrew origins, Levi is popular across many demographics. You don’t have to be Jewish or a hipster to appreciate this Biblical name which means “joined” or “attached.” Countless people over the years have formed an attachment to this centuries-old moniker, which first began seeing use in the English-speaking world around the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.
The name has remained consistently popular, so it’s safe to say that ten years from now your own little Levi will be thanking you for giving him such a timeless and trendy name. Hipsters might not be caught dead in a pair of jeans from Levi Strauss & Co. (unless they maybe get a vintage pair from the thrift store), but when it comes to Levi’s — both the denim and the name — you really can’t go wrong.
Frances
Speaking of musical names, Frances is another name that’s associated with an up and coming singer. The British singer Frances has been dubbed the next Adele, so it’s safe to say that this once old-fashioned name is going to see a revival that will last for at least the next decade. The name was incredibly popular at the beginning of the 20th century, constantly falling within the top ten baby names for girls, but had fallen out of the top 100 names by the 1950s.
The name has been seeing a slow but steady increase in popularity over the past few years. It’s still rare enough that we can’t exactly call it mainstream, but it looks like it’s poised to take over the charts in the next decade, especially if Frances (the singer) lives up to the hype. Unless you’re a diehard hipster who really wants something unique and unusual for your little girl, this is one name you won’t regret in ten years.
Hazel
Foodies and nature lovers alike have a lot to adore in the name Hazel. The name comes from the hazelnut tree, and also refers to the tree’s light brown color. This pretty name was hugely popular in the early 20th century, although more modern parents rejected it starting in the 1970s.
The name started to grow in popularity again in the late 1990s, and has seen a steady rise in popularity since then which has been spurred along with the popularity of the book and novel The Fault in Our Stars. The character Hazel’s story might be a tearful one, but there’s enough history packed into this name that you don’t have to worry about your baby’s life imitating fiction.
The name has been borne by countless others over the years, such as by bluegrass singer Hazel Dickens and botanist Hazel Schmoll. There’s a lot of great company for your own little Hazel, ensuring that you will love this name for years to come.
Delilah
Hipsters most likely aren’t a fan of the 2007 earworm “Hey There Delilah” (sorry if we just got it stuck in your head) by the Plain White T’s, but this is one of those songs that’s sure to achieve classic rock status in another ten years. Forget the fact that Delilah is considered one of the most deceitful characters in the Bible – this name is just too pretty to give up on it. Parents seem to agree, because the name has been climbing up the baby name charts in the last few years, and will most likely break into the top 100 names soon.
Still not convinced? You should also consider the name’s floral roots. While Delilah might not seem like an obvious flower name, the Miss Delilah is actually a particularly beautiful type of dahlia that was first introduced in 2002. The name’s growing popularity, music association, and feminine ring mean that this is a name with staying power.
Nico
While Nico has traditionally been a nickname for boys with names like Nicholas and Nicodemus, it has slowly emerged into a given name that can be used for both boys and girls. In fact, one of the most famous people to have born the name was Velvet Underground singer Nico (born Christa Päffgen) who adopted the moniker as her stage name and made it famous through her successful music career. The name works beautifully as a nickname, but you could also consider it as an alternative to names like Nicole and Nicola.
The name might seem almost too trendy to be accessible, but it’s on the rise. It’s still more popular for boys, but it seems likely that the name’s musical history will keep it popular with parents for the next decade. With so much star power behind it, how can you help but fall in love with the short but sweet nickname as a first name?
Piper
Piper has remained on the list of top-ranked baby names for girls for so long that it’s kind of hard to believe that something so mainstream could be so hipster. Still, this is just further proof that this trendy name is one that you will be happy to have chosen for years to come.
While Piper is technically a gender neutral moniker, it has seen a lot of love as a name for girls, notably as the name of a protagonist of the show Charmed as well as the name of Orange is the New Black author Piper Kerman whose memoir about prison was turned into the hit Netflix show of the same name (the author’s name was changed to Piper Chapman for the show). As if that weren’t enough of a legacy to seal the fate of this name, there’s also actress Piper Perabo who has helped to add to the popularity of the name.
Roman
Roman might seem like a bit of an unusual name (which is probably why hipsters seem to love it so much) until you consider that it’s not really different from other popular location-based baby names like Paris and London. Using a demonym as a given name isn’t very common, but with the name Roman, it just works. The name has been around for a while, although it didn’t really start to gain ground in the United States until the past few years. Now, its upward trajectory has been clear for several years, and it is firmly lodged in the top 100 baby names for boys.
Hipsters may have helped bring this name into the mainstream, and it looks like it’s going to be here for a while. It’s also distinctive enough that, even if it does to prove to be one of the most popular names of the next decade, you will feel secure in choosing to name your little boy Roman.
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