Baby names that no one will care about in 2019

It seems like 2018 just started, but the months march on. The year has seen a lot of changes, especially when it comes to baby names. Like most things, baby names go in and out of fashion, and 2018 has been a year of great upheaval for some of our favorite monikers. If you or someone you know is expecting a little one in 2019, you’re probably going to want to see which names are in for the year and which ones are out.

The names on this list have all been recently popular, but 2019 parents looking for the latest trending names are going to want to give them a miss. Many of 2019’s passé names will come as a surprise, but it just goes to show you that everything has a season. If you want to keep current with the latest baby names, here are the once-beloved monikers that no longer stand up to the test of time.

Brandon

There’s something remarkably solid and reliable about the name Brandon — or at least there used to be. The name has ancient roots, dating back to an Old English word that means “hill covered with broom.” Originally used as a last name, Brandon was one of the most enduring masculine names of the late 20th century. In the 1980s, lovers of the name were so widespread that Brandon briefly hit the charts as a name for girls as well.

Brandon’s decades-long reign is coming to a close, however. By 2016, its status in the top 100 names for boys was tenuous, and it looks like it’s time to finally declare this name trend over. The only boys bearing this name from 2019 on will probably be named for their fathers or grandfathers. Parents who are looking for a more up-to-date moniker aren’t going to care about the name Brandon.

London

From the late 1990s onwards, parents were quick to give this city name to their little ones, but the days of London calling are in the past. While far more popular as a feminine name, London is also sometimes given to little boys. At its peak, London hit a respectable high of 85 on the list of top baby girl names in 2013. 

It looked like the cosmopolitan moniker was set to soar all the way to the top, but with a 2017 rank of 151 it seems that London will be forgotten before it ever has a chance to truly shine. But then, maybe that’s a good thing. There’s a fine line between a trendy name and an overused name and we would hate to see London go down the latter path. The city of London might be inundated with tourists, but at least as a baby name it can remain fresh.  

Tristan

Tristan is an old name, and by old we mean old. The romantic moniker can trace its roots back centuries and is the Old French version of the Pictish name Drustan, which itself comes from the Ancient Celtic name Drust. The name was quite popular in the Middle Ages thanks to the legendary tale of Tristan and Isolde, a pair of star-crossed lovers whose story was immortalized in medieval literature and later further commemorated in Richard Wagner’s famous 19th century opera Tristan und Isolde.

It’s a lot of history for one name to bear, so it’s not too surprising that parents are going to be over the name in 2019. Tristan’s modern revival is relatively recent. It only started climbing onto the American baby name charts in the 1970s. While parents helped breathe new life into the name for decades, it wasn’t enough to truly resurrect the name from the pages of history books.

Khloe

Khloe Kardashian may not be the most iconic member of the Kardashian clan, but for a while her name was pretty trendy. Maybe the descent of the name Khloe is proof that the Kardashian family is losing their grip on American culture. Khloe saw a huge jump in popularity in 2007, the same year that Keeping Up with the Kardashians first hit the air. Now, though, it’s out of the top hundred names for baby girls, and doesn’t look like it’s coming back in style any time soon. Other Kardashian names that no one will really care for in 2019 include Kourtney, Kendall, and Kylie, all of which have been steadily declining in popularity and are either out of the top 100 or off the charts altogether.

The most famous Kardashian of all, Kim Kardashian West, has the least popular name out of the bunch: Kim hasn’t been seen on the baby name charts since 1993. Even the full version of her name, the more popular and traditional Kimberly, has been out of the top 100 for a few years.

Ryder

Fans of Boy Meets World and its spin-off, Girl Meets World, will be disappointed to know that naming their baby after Ryder Strong, the actor who played bad boy Shawn Hunter, won’t be seen as fashionable in the coming years. Ryder seemed to be riding to the top of the charts for a while and even cracked the top 100 names for boys in 2014, but it failed to gain much more traction from there. 

The name might have generated a little bit of buzz for a couple of years, but by 2019, the name is going to be old new, much like the cancelled Girl Meets World. Even more unpopular than the name Ryder is the name of his character, Shawn, which came in at a dismal 2017 rank of 387. While things might look bad for American Ryders, the name is still going strong in New Zealand where it consistently ranks in the top 100.

Mariah

While Mariah Carey’s music isn’t going anywhere (she dropped new music in 2018), the same can’t be said for her name. Carey’s fame is so widespread that she helped to make Mariah one of the most beloved names for girls born in the 1990s onward. In 1989, Mariah was ranked at a bleak 562. By 1990, the same year that Carey’s first album, Mariah Carey, debuted, the name jumped to 259. The name wasn’t stopping there, though. In 1991, the name broke into the top 100 names for girls. 

Mariah has been on the fringes of popular baby names for a few years, but has fallen quickly since 2012. It 2017, it slipped down to 193, its lowest point since it started climbing the charts in the 1990s. As much as we love Carey, we’re going to have to declare her name dead. Then again, who knows — if her new album proves to be a hit, it just might spur parents to change their minds about the moniker and once again usher it into a revival.

Zachary

Zachary is a name that feels a lot more modern than it actually is. This is likely thanks to contemporary actor Zachary Quinto, who has had several starring roles including Star Trek and American Horror Story. We also can’t forget about the late 1980s and early 1990s show Saved by the Bell, which featured a character named Zack Morris. In spite of the current sound of the name, Zachary actually dates back to the Middle Ages and can be traced even further to the Biblical name Zechariah.

Thanks to its ancient origins, Zachary and its many variations have seen a lot of use throughout history. In the United States, the name reached the height of its popularity beginning in the mid-1970s when it entered the top 100 names for baby boys. It has slowly been falling down the ranks for a few years, but was finally toppled from the top 100 in 2017. We’re not going to say that this name is over forever, but 2019 is definitely going to mark a beginning of a dry spell for Zachary.

Alexis

Alexis Bledel may have captured hearts for decades, first with her starring role in the 2000s hit Gilmore Girls and then for her role in The Handmaid’s Tale (which garnered the actress an Emmy award), but her name is losing fans. The name Alexis was one of the most popular names for girls in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It was so beloved that many parents gave it to their baby boys, with the name even coming close to cracking the top 100 names for boys in the early 2000s.

Bledel might be more popular than ever, but her name has been steadily losing steam for the last few years and it’s time to call it officially dead. Fortunately, things are still looking good for Emily, the name of her character in The Handmaid’s Tale. Emily has ranked in the top 100 names for girls since 1973, and it isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

Kevin

Believe it or not, it has been decades since we were first introduced to the character Kevin McCallister in the first Home Alone movie. Babies born in 2019 will be 29 years removed from the iconic film. When they watch it, they’ll likely be struck by how old-fashioned the name Kevin sounds, and we really can’t blame them. The name was one of the most popular boys names of the second half of the 20th century and ruled in the top 100 from 1949 until 2016. 

Its decline has been slow but steady, and the name has been slipping down charts all over the world. Thanks to the many boys who were given the name over the last several decades, we’re going to be hearing it for some time to come — but mostly from the dads and granddads of boys who will bear far more modern monikers than the staid Kevin.

Faith

Putting your faith in a baby name to remain timeless is risky. Fate is fickle, after all, and baby names are subjected to the whims of fashion. Not even Faith itself is safe when it comes to the 2019 baby name purge. This old classic is ultimately derived from the latin word “fidere,” which means “to trust,” and you can trust us when we say that this name is over. A top 100 name for baby girls in the early 2000s, the name Faith fell to 119 in 2017 marking the end of an era. There will likely be a handful of parents who continue to be devoted to the name, but Faith is probably going to keep decreasing in popularity — at least for the next few years.

Considering that Faith has been well-loved since the Puritans of the 17th century started bestowing it upon their little ones, it’s likely that the name will cycle back into style sooner rather than later, but definitely not in time to make it fashionable for babies born in 2019.

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