Hipster baby names that will sound ridiculous in 10 years

Love ’em or hate ’em, you’ve got to respect hipsters for doing things their own way. From their love of all things vintage to their commitment to Whole Foods, hipsters are a unique breed and certainly don’t deserve most of the shade thrown their way. The subculture has had a massive influence on wider trends, helping to bring back vinyl and re-establishing typewriters as a must-have office item.  

While there is no consensus on what, exactly, constitutes a hipster name, baby name website Nameberry has gathered baby names from the hipster-saturated cities of Brooklyn, Santa Monica, Austin, and Madison to get an idea of what hipsters are naming their little ones. The data makes it clear that, even when it comes to baby names, hipsters are marching to the beat of their own drums. While the names on this list might be crushingly cool among hipsters, all things must come to an end. These hipster names will probably sound ridiculous in ten years, but there’s no reason we can’t enjoy them for now!

Kai

Kai is one of those hip names that has been popping up everywhere lately, but its takeover has been subtle. It has been slowly gaining traction since the late 1970s, and right now it’s one of those excruciatingly cool names — it’s trendy, but not so trendy that it’s become completely mainstream. The best part is that it can be used for both boys and girls, although it’s still more frequently given to little lads.

The moniker has meanings in several languages, giving it some international flair that makes it popular with travel-loving moms and dads. In Hawaiian, it means “sea,” in Japanese, it means “forgiveness,” in Navajo it means “willow tree,” and in Maori it means “food.” Sadly, the growing popularity of the name means that, while Kai sounds cool now, it will be another story a decade from now. It’s either going to sound like a name that’s trying way too hard to be “in,” or it will have overplayed its hand and become far too common.

Anais

An under-appreciated writer during her lifetime, Anaïs Nin never received the acknowledgement she deserved until many years after her death. It makes sense, then, that the writer’s name would be a top pick for hipsters looking for a name with deep significance, but yet is still off the beaten path. Nin, who lived from 1903-1977, has seen a modern resurgence, particularly among the artistic set, and comparisons have been drawn to Lena Dunham, a figure who encapsulates hipsterdom for many.

A French name meaning “grace,” Anais (pronounced ah-nah-EES) is derived from the more common name Anne. While it’s a lovely twist on a classic English name, Anais is too hard to pronounce for most people in English-speaking countries. Another hurdle: It’s similar in structure to the plant named “anise,” which, given the fact that it sounds an awful lot like “anus,” means that this name is doomed before it even gets a proper chance to shine.

Hopper

Any hipster worth their salt knows their way around a good craft beer, which might be part of the reason that Hopper has become a popular name for baby boys in that crowd. The name was notably given to Hopper Penn, son of actors Sean Penn and Robin Wright, in honor of their friend Dennis Hopper. Like many celeb baby names, Hopper has proven to be unusual enough to not catch on with the masses, but is seeing some popularity among hipsters.

It’s been decades since Hopper Penn was named, so it’s safe to say that if this name hasn’t caught on outside of hipster circles by now, it will never will. It’s far more likely that, given a few more years, it will only continue to decrease in popularity, especially since it’s hard to shake the image of the Easter bunny hopping along. It also sounds like a less-cool variation of the trending name Harper, making it even less likely that future parents will want to jump on board the Hopper train.

Minnie

Minnie might be an adorable nickname for monikers like Minerva and Wilhelmina, but some hipster parents have adopted it as a first name in its own right. Sure, actress Minnie Driver has helped popularize the name, but her parents actually named her Amelia. The fact that the most popular Minnie is, and will likely always be, Minnie Mouse means that this name sounds kind of childish once the name’s hipster revival dies down. It will likely remain acceptable as a nickname, but most women probably wouldn’t appreciate having to sign the name on documents or have it appear on their passport.

There’s no defeating the power of Disney and, while Mickey’s better half may be a beloved icon, no kid wants to be compared to a mouse. The name just opens itself up to too much teasing for Minnie to ever be viewed with widespread respect as a given name.

Auden

While the trend of turning last names into first names has been around for a while, most of them tend to be more common names like Anderson (think: Anderson Cooper) or Harrison (think: Harrison Ford). Hipsters have taken the name trend to a whole new level by turning the fairly obscure last name of Auden into a first name.

W.H. Auden won a Pulitzer prize for The Age of Anxiety in the 1940s, but he’s still far from being famous on the level of, say, Sylvia Plath or Emily Dickinson. The use of Auden as a given name is very rare. While some people may appreciate the literary reference, only the biggest poetry lovers are going to truly understand it. Unless the name miraculously makes a lot of headway, it’s safe to assume that ten years from now, people are going to be scratching their heads at the idea of this moniker ever being used as a given name.

Daisy

This flowery name is featured in the classic novel The Great Gatsby, which has come to embody the hedonism and glamour of the 1920s. Calling to mind speakeasies, flappers, and all things vintage, it’s no wonder that Daisy has been embraced by hipsters. The name is part of a larger hipster baby naming trend that has helped to revive other nature-inspired names like Iris and Ivy.

While this vintage name is a sweet one and has some strong literary street cred, it’s pretty old-fashioned. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and is a selling point for hipsters who are reclaiming vintage names, but it means that this name has seen its heyday. Daisy, like Iris and Ivy, is a name you might expect your grandmother to have. It may be seeing a brief resurgence now, but we’ll likely see history repeat itself with the name growing more outdated.

Monty

Monty is another name that is just way too old to make anything other than the briefest of comebacks. Most common in the early to mid 20th century, it was a fairly obscure name even then. Today, the name Monty has become all but extinct outside of Monty Python references. While it may come pre-packed with a comic legacy, it’s not one that most kids would appreciate.

The name might be seeing a brief spike in popularity, at least among hipsters, but its modern revival is almost certainly going to fall short of the full monty. Ten years from now, the name Monty is going to be once more relegated to the pages of history. While a few babies will probably continue to be given the name each year (most likely in honor of a long-dead ancestor), in ten years it’s likely going to sound pretty old-fashioned.

Elvis

Hipsters tend to love both vintage things and good music, so a devotion to Elvis Presley makes sense. That being said, there’s a big difference between loving Elvis and naming your kid after him. He may be one of the most popular musical artists of all time, but not even the king of rock and roll could make his unusual name popular.

Sure, the rarity of the name Elvis makes it a prime pick for hipsters, but a kid named Elvis is bound to get teased. Even at the height of Elvis’ popularity, his name didn’t catch on. In fact, the name Presley ranks higher on baby name charts than Elvis does. In ten years, it’s likely that Presley will become a top-ranked baby name, but Elvis will have left the building. The good news is that, while his name won’t live on, Elvis Presley’s music definitely will.

Waldo

Where’s Waldo? Right now he’s probably tucked away in his vintage, refurbished cradle falling asleep to the strains of indie music playing gently in the background. The name may bring to mind iconic writers, like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Ralph Waldo Ellison, but even their parents weren’t hipster enough to give them Waldo as a first name. Naming your little one in honor of not one, but two, literary giants is no doubt a cool (not to mention hipster) thing to do, but it would take a massive amount of work to make this name go mainstream. 

The old-fashioned name dates back to the Middle Ages and has been out of common use since WWII, so it’s doubtful that Waldo will ever see any popularity outside of hipster enclaves. A decade from now, the only cool Waldo on the block is going to be the striped-shirt wearing master of hide and seek.  

India

We all know that one person who loves to travel and talks about “finding themself” while on an adventure — even if it’s just someone you follow on Instagram. That jetsetting person tends to be cool, sophisticated, and — dare we say — just a bit of a hipster. It would be no surprise if that jetsetter named their baby girl India – perhaps inspired by a trip to Chennai, or revitalized by the study of yoga.

The name might sound like a hip, modern moniker following in the vein of other trendy place names like Brooklyn and London, but the use of India as a baby name dates way back. In the 1930s, the name India was used in book-turned-movie Gone With the Wind, which is set during the Civil War. While the name has been catching on with celebs who are giving it to their babies, growing concerns over cultural appropriation mean that people ten years from now will probably frown at Westerners naming their babies after the Asian country.

Magnus

There’s something to be said for giving your child a strong, powerful name that will spur them to success in their life. Some names just have a powerful connotation, and Magnus, which comes from the Latin word meaning “greatness,” is certainly one of them. A popular name in Scandinavia, where it was historically given to kings, Magnus has seen a slow rise in popularity in the U.S. thanks to celebs like Will Ferrell and Elizabeth Banks giving it to their kids. Many hipster parents are following suit and bestowing the name Magnus on their little boys, but does the moniker have staying power?

The name may be beloved in Europe, but in the United States it’s likely to remain fairly obscure. It doesn’t help that the name is similar in sound to the word “magnum,” which is so closely connected to the popular mega-sized prophylactic that most parents will be unlikely to see past it. Naming your kid after kings is one thing, but naming them after a condom is quite another.

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