Parents will spend months picking out their baby’s first name, drawing lists and debating until they finally pick one. Meanwhile, the middle name is often forgotten about, sandwiched between the two most important parts of the moniker and left to figure out at the last minute.
Yet, now the opposite seems to be true. Parents are paying more attention to the middle part of their child’s name, coming up with creative alternatives to the go-to’s like Anna, Andrew, Lee, and Robert.
In a new report by Nameberry, the top trends for middle names are revealed alongside the most popular choices for boys and girls.
Based on the analysis of 1,000 birth announcements in the last 12 months, it’s clear the middle name is officially making a comeback — in the most unusual ways.
Nameberry found the top five middle names for girls are Rose, Grace, Elizabeth, Marie, and Jane, while the top five for boys are James, Alexander, Michael, Joseph, and Thomas.
While these main picks are nothing out of the ordinary, a few of the trends are more abstract.
Here are the top trends for middle names in 2025
Grandpa
Rather than naming a boy after his grandfather, parents are opting to name their daughters after male relatives.
According to Nameberry, influencer Nara Smith helped inspire “the latest hit” grandpa-inspired middle name for girls, Lou, when she named her daughter, Whimsy Lou.
Other popular names include Charles, Clarke, George, Monroe, Scott, Jay, Drew, Gene, Hollis, and Claude.
Color
Color middle names are on the rise, but particularly Blue and Gray.
Cyan, Gold, Gray, Indigo, Jade, Lavender, Marigold, Olive, Sage, Silver, and Teal are among the others being picked by parents.
Nouveau Spiritual
Wanting to bring a bit more intention and meaning into their children’s names, parents are choosing spiritual middle monikers such as Creed, Praise, Psalm, Salem, Sunday, Zion, Solace, and Divine.
New Iambic
Some parents are picking iambic monikers to add a little “oomph” in the middle of their kid’s name.
The favorites include Noelle, Celeste, Soleil, Estelle, Lenore, Odette, Sinclair, and Celine.
Nature
Inspiration for middle names is also being found outside in nature. Parents are naming their children after animals, landscapes, and even weather conditions.
A few top picks are Bear, Dove, Ocean, Fern, Sol, Forest, Storm, Meadow, Wolf, and Cove.
Mythology
Some parents are leaning on the idea that their child’s middle name may be written in the stars — or the moon, or the sun.
Mythological names are being used such as Adonia, Artemis, Atlas, Jove, Jupiter, Moon, Nyx, Orion, and Phoenix.
Extravagant Feminine
A lot of girl parents are leaning on hyperfeminine middle monikers such as Anastasia, Elodie, Marjorie, Josephine, Juliette, Valentine, Catalina, Clementine, Juliette, and Esmeralda. Elizabeth, however, remains the top choice in this category.
Last Names
Why not give your kid two last names? A lot of parents are doing it now.
Typical surnames such as Mccoy, Sullivan, Wilder, Ellis, Davis, Rhodes, Santos, and Graham are now being used as middle names, too.
Vintage Revival
A few vintage names, previously favored in decades past, are making their own comeback such as Ambrose, Bea, Clark, Dean, Faye, Frances, Hank, June, Pearl, Royce, Walter, and Hank, only this time they’re being used as middle names.
Bold Single
Careful not to let the first and last name be too overpowering, parents are opting for statement middle names such as Ace, Day, Jett, Love, Charm, True, Wild, Knight, and Lux.
Modern Single
Some parents are still keeping with the one-syllable names to make things short, simple, and sweet for their kids.
James is top favorite for boys, while Rose, Grace, and Jane are the common ones used for girls. Others include Boone, Crew, Jude, Maeve, Reese, Shea, Sloane, and Kit.
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