Names of the Future

[shelboselby]

In the novel I'm planning (it's really a rehash of ideas I've wanted to write for ages, just in a new format), I'm struggling with names. It's a sci-fi/fantasy set 40-some years in the future. My main characters are a band of teenagers, and I'm not sure how to go about naming them.

When they're named (as in, when they're born), it'll be roughly thirty years from now. What types of names might be "in-style" then? I'm just not sure where to go, trend wise. Or would it be acceptable for the characters to have whatever names I think suit them, regardless of the year? Could people just name their children whatever they wanted, or would it be expected that all the characters would need good futuristic names?

[beezle]

Well, 30 years isn't very far in the future. No need for any Zardocs or Brahnicks. Sure, it will depend on trends. Some names from 30 years ago aren't that hot anymore, and 30 years from now some of the popular names of today will likely fall out of favour. We can't possibly predict the fashions of the year 2040 with any certainty. You're the author, you get to decide.

In short, no. "Good futuristic names" just 30 years from now? I wouldn't buy it.

[Jenan Mac]

Names seem to go in waves. The names that were popular for the era of the grandparents and great-grandparents of the new moms & dads often become popular. So theoretically, we could be seeing a lot of little Debbies and Garys by then. I'm guessing kids born now, especially the ones for whom names like "Apple" and "Nevaeh" are commonplace, will go for retro in a big way.
And for boys, the old standbys never really go out. You'll always have John, Michael and Thomas.

[Fillanzea]

-Names go in and out of style, so maybe fusty-sounding names like Walter and Edith will be in in thirty years!

-What culture do your characters come from? Are different cultures more hip and happening in the future? Names can go from mainstream to ethnic or ethnic to mainstream.

-Lots of our common names have stuck around for hundreds of years. So I wouldn't posit too much change.

[~grace~]

I vote for Grace.

:D

[roseangel]

http://www.thinkbabynames.com/

I have a character named Adrian, which is an old name but also still in use today.
Nicholas, Kevin, Jacob, Justin, Andrew, Jessica, Jane, Anna, Mary, Elizabeth, all oldish names still in use today. No reason not to use names from today 30 years in the future.

[Use Her Name]

Why not go to what was popular in the 1890's. Oh, I would love to see a starship captain named "Heather." Also, we haven't really named kids after objects yet. Back in the 50s the old Soviets used to name their kids things like Tractor, Electricity, Bread, Sputnik.
You could name a character Xerox Johnson, or Corvette McConnor. Of course since so many animals might go extinct, you could name the kids after favorite extinct animals, Polarbear Nelson, or Stickleback Snyder.

[lexxi]

Maybe different parents of the same generation would follow different naming trends. If you go to any classroom or office or other large enough group of people in any time period, you'll probably find some people with very common names for the time period and some with fairly unusual ones.

All of the approaches suggested above seem useful. So you could take each of those approaches for a different character. You could guess or leave unstated which of the names would be considered trendy and which unusual in their era.

At least some of the characters' parents would probably be kids around now. Any names current in 2008 popular culture that today's kids develop enough of a fondness for to bestow on their own kids 30 years from now?

[CaroGirl]

It depends on how you envision society changing in the future. If women go back to more traditional roles, you might want women to throw back to old-fashioned names like Charlotte. If women in your society are strong and male-like, you might want them to have more androgynous names.

What is your future like and how is it different from today? That should help you determine your naming trends.

[Seif]

Why not go to what was popular in the 1890's. Oh, I would love to see a starship captain named "Heather." Also, we haven't really named kids after objects yet. Back in the 50s the old Soviets used to name their kids things like Tractor, Electricity, Bread, Sputnik.
You could name a character Xerox Johnson, or Corvette McConnor. Of course since so many animals might go extinct, you could name the kids after favorite extinct animals, Polarbear Nelson, or Stickleback Snyder.

I love this idea. Could work for a futuristic sci-fi comedy.

Meet Captain Starbucks and his two sons George Grill Foreman and Concorde Packard as well as his three daughters iPod, iPod nano and iPod classic.

[FennelGiraffe]

One trend going on now is to alter the spelling of names. Thirty years in the future that trend could be even stronger, or it could have completely turned around.

What assumptions are you making about which countries become powerful? One trick is first and last name combinations that mix ethnic/cultural/religious groups which don't have much contact now--Hussein O'Shaunessy, Mei-Ling Mugumba--as long as the combinations make some kind of sense in the world you've created.

On the other hand, if a particular country has turned inward and withdrawn from the world community, then they are less likely to have multicultural names. If a particular country has strongly adopted a traditional religion, then they are likely to use names associated with that religion.

[Use Her Name]

I love this idea. Could work for a futuristic sci-fi comedy.

Meet Captain Starbucks and his two sons George Grill Foreman and Concorde Packard as well as his three daughters iPod, iPod nano and iPod classic.

iPod will be a very popular name for girls in 30 years.

[superman skivvies]

Clem Kadiddlehopper
Quagoo

[Danger Jane]

You could always make an educated guess by asking current teens for lists of their top 3/5/7/whatever boy and girl names.

I realize in 40 years we'll all be PRACTICALLY BURIED at the ripe age of 63+, but well, three-year-olds aren't likely to give you great answers. Plus, there are lots of teens right here on AW. :D

[hammerklavier]

Zylo, Questar, Harlin, Zayla, and Kaylin. How far in the future is this? Maybe the names will all be Spanish, like Xiomara.

[Reilly616]

40 years in the future, names will be the same as they are now. Think of 1968, 40 years ago, same names as now. Hell, names last thousands of years! Take Jesus, that is just a mistransliteration of Joshua. Josh, its a common name now, it was commen 2000 years ago. Get my point?

[Seif]

40 years in the future, names will be the same as they are now. Think of 1968, 40 years ago, same names as now. Hell, names last thousands of years! Take Jesus, that is just a mistransliteration of Joshua. Josh, its a common name now, it was commen 2000 years ago. Get my point?

And to complement this you must incorporate multiculturalism and technological advancements which may influence new names. It's not to say that traditional or contemporary names will become insignificant, but what new ones may arise. Your point is still valid, Mohammed is the most popular name in the world (isn't it?).

[Reilly616]

Yes, it is.
To be honest, the only new weird names I hear of are ones made up by celebrities.

[MadScientistMatt]

I'd probably give most of the people traditional names that reflect the culture they're from - but I suspect cross-cultural names like the ones FennelGiraffe mentioned are likely to be a lot more common, since "the culture they're from" is likely to be a lot more mixed, particularly in the United States but probably to a lesser extent in Europe. You may even see characters who aren't desceneded from a particular ethnic group having names borrowed from another - a white guy named Kazuhiro Jenkins because his parents had a close friend named Kazuhiro, for example.

[Reilly616]

- but I suspect cross-cultural names like the ones FennelGiraffe mentioned are likely to be a lot more common, since "the culture they're from" is likely to be a lot more mixed, particularly in the United States but probably to a lesser extent in Europe.

I'd have to disagree with this. European imigration laws have become very leniant. Here in Ireland there are ALOT of Polish people. Travel between the countries is very easy. So cultures in Europe are becoming very mixed.

[Seif]

I'd have to disagree with this. European imigration laws have become very leniant. Here in Ireland there are ALOT of Polish people. Travel between the countries is very easy. So cultures in Europe are becoming very mixed.

What? The Poles are still here? I thought they were all going back home! Only joking. But look at it this way. Have you met an Indian guy and asked what his name was expecting it to be Krishnamun Humpty-Dumpty when in fact he replies 'Stephen' and you think to yourself 'Oh'. That's because during the British Empire whites and browns mixed with one another as did the names and I'm certain this will happen in the future.

The more sex people have the more new names will pop up (or out). I'm sure this makes sex, I mean sense when you get past the sex. Sex.

[Reilly616]

But those aren't new names. Just new for the area. ie. the area has diversified... Sex

[kuwisdelu]

You could always make an educated guess by asking current teens for lists of their top 3/5/7/whatever boy and girl names.

I realize in 40 years we'll all be PRACTICALLY BURIED at the ripe age of 63+, but well, three-year-olds aren't likely to give you great answers. Plus, there are lots of teens right here on AW. :D

Good point. As someone whose kid will probably be about 30 or so in forty years in the future, I'm partial to names like Jack and Vincent, and Alma and Catherine.

Of course, look on Maury and all the kids are named Hope, Jezebel, and Lavender.

I'd have to disagree with this. European imigration laws have become very leniant. Here in Ireland there are ALOT of Polish people.

True, I've always been partial to the name Wladyslawa, after my girlfriend's grandmother :)

[Jenan Mac]

Yes, it is.
To be honest, the only new weird names I hear of are ones made up by celebrities.

LOL! Work in a city hospital's newborn nursery sometime. I'm no longer amazed by anything.

[Mythica]

I want to warn you against using super unique names. People generally find them obnoxious. My characters have names that are culturally accurate to their histories, but I try to keep them simple. For your book, I agree with those that said just use names from nowadays. 40 years from now isn't a whole lot different than 40 years in the past. The most common names today have the been the most common names for the past few thousand years. Biblical names are always the most common.

I'm probably really REALLY showing my age here, but if anyone who ever saw the Zenon Girl of the 21st Century movie on the Disney channel--you know what I'm talking about. Those goofballs named their kids Zenon and Nebula...yeah. Not realistic. Of course, that was a goofy kids movie :D