The list is kind of funny. I live in Brooklyn (Prospect Heights, next to Park Slope) and while I have heard some of these names at the playground, many are news to me. What is personally funny is that my two month old nephew is Asher, my own name is Poppy, but my son's name is not on the list (another high-falutin' literary name - Beckett).

It makes me sad my sweet Isla's name made the list, I had no idea I was a hipster!

While I'm happy that my boys' names (Linus, Oliver, and Miles) aren't on the list, they are precariously close to some of them (Lionel, Olive, and Milo - hee hee!) But I prefer the Hipster names over ridiculously spelled made up names any day.

oops, i just realized i did misname. Miles. Darn jazz musicians! :P

It's interesting that they say to stay away from literary characters, but that soap opera stars "remain safe." And I agree pyjammy...these names are much better than the silly made-up ones.

My personal theory regarding naming is that gay men are ahead of the curve. What they name their dogs this year will be the "it" name of the next 3-5 years. Some good friends of ours named their dog "Olivia" about ten years ago, and my six-year old daughter has about five little friends named the same.

Of course, the same month we brought our son home from the hospital, we came across an add in The Economist for an investment bank. It featured a picture of two children in sepia tones, and the names of our children. So perhaps we stayed a little TOO traditional.

Heh. Wrenx, based on your theory, my personal experience dictates that in ten years "Bubbles" will be a hot name for girls. ;)

While most people really like my (almost born) daughter's name, Charlotte, I've told a few people who have looked at me like I was a freak for being in my 20's and not coming up with something more....trendy.

I always thouht that when I had my first child I would name her something super unique and interesting....but then Charlotte just fell into our laps. It's old fashioned, but elegant. However, we've decided our next daughter will be named Sarai. So, we didn't escape the un-traditional completely.

We've never run into another Sebastian my son's age. I love that his name is unique enough that he won't be one of three in his kindergarten class. When we introduce him to young kids they always associate it with The Little Mermaid movie so its easy for them to remember.

Bring on the hipster names. It makes life more fun.

Our daughter is Harper. Which means I guess we'll have to somehow try to go on living with this badge of shame hanging over our heads. *sigh* What were we thinking...

Uh oh! We are in serious violation. Our two kiddos--Isaiah (5) called Izzy and Zora (11 days) called Zadie--have names that start with I and Z. And sin of all naming sins, Zora/Zadie bears the name of two different writers (Zora Neale Hurston and Zadie Smith)...though this was entirely coincidental.

Uh oh, my husband and I are doubly in violation of the no-hipster name code naming our new daughter Aurora. It's both the name of a Roman goddess, and one of George Sand's original names. Darn it, why didn't we see this list two weeks ago! At least it's not on Nameberry's list of hipster names to avoid. /snark The sad thing is that I bet more people will think of the Disney princess before anything else when they hear her name.

I understand prohibiting Z (even if it is a little ignorant of non-western cultures) but I? When you have perfectly good, traditional names like Isabelle?

If you're interested in the topic of trends in baby names, check a book called Freakanomics out of your library. He has a fun chapter on how names can move from trendsetters to over-popular and then to poor populations.

Disclaimer - since the guy's whole book is about playing with numbers, obviously read whatever he says with a grain of salt - but it's still a fun read!

Eh, I'd go for Zion or Pepper before Jacob or Ashley. However, there's a fine line between hipster names (Orion, Cobain) and ahem, yuppie style names (Cooper, anything with a 's' at the end that makes it sound possessive).

It's hard to step back far enough to see the demographic we're in. We, and everyone around us who's naming children about the same time, are immersed in our culture. We share our experiences of what names feel old-fashioned. We watched the same hit movies, read the same best-sellers. We went to school together, so we're all avoiding the names of everyone we dated in college. By noticing what names we haven't heard lately, we develop a collective notion of what names are fresh and original, too.

To see it all in play, visit the baby name wizard, where you can see the ebb and flow of naming in the US for the last century. Type your own name in and see if your parents were ahead of the curve.

http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager

I'm not sure what was worse- finding my daughter's name on the 'hipster' list, or finding my son's name on the 'yuppie' one...

What I find funny:

The more obscure and high-minded the character, the more hipster-worthy the name. So you’ll have to stay away from Scout, Daisy, Maisie, Holden and Gulliver.

Obscure? Names from books everyone read in 8th or 9th grade? For pity's sake.

Personally, I've long wanted to give a girl my favorite literary name: Dorothea.(From Middlemarch, I would argue hardly obscure.) I also like that it would pay tribute as well to Dorothy Day and Dorothy Parker, without carrying the Wizard of Oz baggage. But my husband's not having it. So we're settled on Margaret, a nice traditional name.

I will add that I resent the inclusion of "Max" among the dog names. Max was my grandfather's name, damnit.

I'm generally in favor of unique names - hoping for an Evelyn, Aster, Eleanor or Adelaide, myself someday - but I absolutely hate this currently generation of Aiden/Haden/Braden/Jayden/Caden. Its sad too, because they're all nice names. Or.. well.. they were.. until they became totally overdone. I guess my top names fall into that category of "highly unfashionable and hideously ugly" though, so who am I to judge.

my brother named his kids Piper and Ransom.
'nuff said.

Huh. We named our son Theodore because it's the male variant of my name (Dorothy) and because my husband's name is Matisyahu (which means the same thing in Hebrew). And we have not yet met another kid named Theo in person, although we've heard of them.

We're planning to name our daughter Eleanor after my grandmother, which apparently is too closely related to the now-unacceptable Leonora, but I can't get too excited about this.

The only weird looks we get are from people who think we have some bizarre attachment to the Roosevelts.

Some ethnic groups favor naming after relatives, living or deceased (among Jews).

In England people gave the oldest son a surname for a first name (and they were expected to go by a middle name or nickname among friends).

In many countries in Europe you were limited to naming your child after one of the saints in the calendar. Flower- name names, for example, like "Violetta" denoted a prostitute.

I'm glad naming customs have loosened up, though, since it means kids are less likely to be teased in school for having odd names.

I think the kindest thing is pick a first name that goes well with the last name the child happens to have, and also one that will sound good in all stages of life.

We named our son for my Grandfather, Max, so I suppose we were in violation of the "rule" against picking a name that ends in x.

i found rule number 8 to be quite funny. my great-grandmother was named indiana. i am pretty sure she was far from being a hipster.

we have always wanted to name a daughter, vivian ann after our grandmothers, but we are unable to have children & got an already named one, dylan. probably border-line hipster since my husband loves bob dylan. oh well! :)

--summar (possibly hipster name, but more likely hippy name with weird spelling!)

Well, we can't all name our kids Zamboni, now, can we?

(momma to my girl Finley and my boy Sam (18 months), and Isaac, 19 years - not a hipster name by any means at the time I named him.)

We're on the list, too. Daisy - a literary character and, as we've heard over and over, the name of many a dog.

"Don't pick any name that starts with "I" or "Z" or ends with "X" or "O"

Very silly rule! Plus, Isabel is a gorgeous name

Aw, man, I am so guilty. Both of my sons violate the no I/Z or X/O rule (Zion and Max- though that is just his nickname, real name is Malik). I still love their names though. I figure, as long as it won't sound too ridiculous when they are grown and have to put their name on a resume, it is A-OK.

i already violated Rule 2

Ooh, i think we violated the pet name. Max, Ramona, Oliver and Samuel. Two are cats and two are kids. : )

Hee. I should be ashamed of myself - a total of 11 of those names were on our prospective baby name list before we had our daughter. We ended up naming her Persephone, which isn't on the list specifically, but is after a literary character if you count mythology.

Oh, they do mention Goddess names! Well nevermind, I guess my baby has a hipster name.

Winston is evidently the name of a bazillion cats and dogs -- we didn't know this that at the time and it doesn't bother us either. We love animals almost as much as we love kids. We came across the name, because it is John Lennon's middle name (his mom named him after W. Churchill), so guess we also violated that rule. However, it fits our boy to a "T" I can't imagine having named him anything else.

Also, we live in a cowtown, but I know more than a dozen kiddos with the listed Hipster names and several of them seem to be kind of common (Olive, Atticus, Piper, etc.), but I still think they are great names.

Well, I'm half yupster, I guess. My daughter Alice puts me on that list, but my son Wesley isn't on any lists.

Of course, seeing that my entire list of favorites is too hipster, I am not out of the woods: Olive, Ramona, Matilda, Clementine, Felix, Miles, Milo...I'm screwewd. :)

Bah. The list is subjective. My daughter's name is Ruby and I couldn't care less if someone thinks that's "hipster". So what.

Well, I guess I'm a hipster then because I'm guilty of most of those rules. My son is Nicholas, but he's Nico for short. I like most "hipster" names long before I ever considered having babies anyway.

My mom named me after a high minded literary character, Laura Ingals Wilder, and I have never thought it very hip. She also had the coolest dog name ever, Ilsa, which I would love for a little girls name.

While I'm not wild that our daughter's name is on that list -- we named her Tallulah in 2003, long before it became "hip" -- it doesn't change the fact that it is a beautiful name, and suits her to a "T".

It took us a full month to name her after she was born. We searched the US name registry to see how often it had been used, how often is had been used in Canada, as well as the UK. We googled her full name (Tallulah Rose), and came up with a champion bloodhound (!) and a baby in London, England. But when I google it now, I come up with a pile of real estate agent's webpages...

I'm betting our son's name, Viggo, will hit the list too.

She goes to a school peopled by United Nations employees, which really makes the withering comments about Brooklyn plagrounds seem, well, silly and petty. To illustrate, at age 4, she acquired 3 "fiancées" all with names starting with a K -- Karim, Kushinga, and Kenji. Her classes include a Timor, Loukie, and other more exotic names that I know only by sound.

Bah! on the list, and the petty sentiments underlying it.

i gave my son a name that is incredibly common in italy, but not in the US. i saw the name (on a building) every day on my way to high school, and filed it away. he HATED it when he was young, LOVES it now...goes with his surname, and is perfect for an artist.

i also looked in phone books for ideas, and found some beautiful and unusual names.

heyy monarda - regarding part of your comment about flower names...
"In many countries in Europe you were limited to naming your child after one of the saints in the calendar. Flower- name names, for example, like "Violetta" denoted a prostitute."
i had nooo idea! hehehhe
i'm so glad naming customs have loosened up too!!! my father picked my name which literally means "little flower" in Italian. I'm Fiorella. Oh yeah and I have an aunt Violeta (just one T in her name) too!

Annabel, Clementine, Dexter, Georgiana (Georgia), Lola, Roscoe, Sebastian, and Violet have all been on my list at various times.

*shrug*

All of these name are so much better than what's in the Social Security top twenty. I'll take names popular with metro hipsters over names popular with teenage moms from Iowa any day of the week.

Personally, I think having less common names is a good thing.

When my husband and I first got together, we picked our daughter's name, but then it exploded on the popularity list, and so we know 4 of them.

As parents, we have a hard time keeping all the Olivias (4), Alex/Alec/Alix/Alexanders (7 of both genders), Sebastians (3), Olivers (3), Sophias (4), and Samuels (3) in our 5 year-old's life straight, and so have had to assign other descriptors ("baby", "big", "blonde", etc.)...

At least with a less-common name, the chances that your child will have a descriptor you haven't chosen is less likely....

Wow! My name (Sadie) made the list! The most common response I get when I tell people my name is that it is their dog's name. The second most common response is the Streisand number. Both are okay by me. I was born and live in obscurity in the Midwest, and there is no chance that anyone is going to accuse my parents of being hipsters.

Plus, I'm named after my first cousin thrice removed, who was practically the queen of my hometown. :)

Hey matchbookhymnal - I love your name! So much so that I named my daughter Sadie.... hipster name be damned.

It's my husband's grandma's name.... we decided on it like 4 years ago. I've watched it gain popularity over the past 4 years with some surprise - but it fits our little 3 month old to a tee!

This is so funny. Every time I find a name I like for our next little one, it turns up on every "what should I name my kid" list. Evangeline and Finn were my favorites five minutes ago, but they seem to be rising in popularity. Maybe we should start turning to singers' surnames to find really unique names. Veirs for a boy?

I actually woke up at 2 a.m. this morning thinking that I'd have to run to the computer and find out if Mildred is acceptable as a clunky hipster name. It's sort of sweet in an odd way. And we're unschooling, so no pressure at the playground.

everything always comes full circle. names are like throwback jerseys. once you remember them, they come alive again in full force. soon, we will be adopting the names of long past for our kids: Ethel, Gertrude, Hazel, Aloysius, Wilfred, etc. Then, in about 10 years, it will be the popular late 60's born generations names that are back in style like Linda, Debbie, and Sherry.

don't forget, though...it could always be worse. your name could be number 16 bus shelter. nothing hipster about that: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7522952.stm

As an "Isabelle," I find this "no names starting with I"-rule highly objectionable.

I'm also a fan of Ingrid and Ilse, which are apparently not hipster names yet but probably will be before I get around to having kids in 3 or 4 years.

My parents violated a rule.

I'm Tess, after Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Both a Thomas Hardy novel and a Roman Polanski film. Guilty twice! But I'm very thankful. I get complements all the time and I'm the only Tess I now (I do know plenty of Tessa's that have changed their name to Tess).

Those rules are retarded. So I have a hipster name just because it starts with an 'O' (Olivia)? I was named back in 1977 - so I don't even know what a hipster was back then.

I don't think there is anything wrong with giving your kids an uncommon name - some of them are so beautiful - like Isabel.

Hey, thanks, Annie t! It's nice to hear. Especially since it was your daughter you named Sadie, not your schnauzer!

I'm a gay and I want to name my dog Joyce or Susan.

Straights take note.

my mother wanted to name me Coco- my father pleaded for her not to name me that because i would be taunted and(not the extremely popular dog name) thank god for that... so they ended up naming me Chanel. Which in 1986 wasn't common or good in a small town in Texas. Throughout school I was always called... Janelle, Chantel, Michelle, and the ever popular Channel. *sigh* and for some reason people STILL cannot pronounce my name correctly!! >.<

Ah, to be white in America and have to think about such things...

So the new Hip is not using Hipster names...

So only white parents carefully consider their baby's name? That's news to me. Also, I don't know where you live, Sadia, but in Seattle we've got plenty of hipsters and hipster parents who aren't white.

I love my name, it never shows up any any of these lists! Too unusual to become really popular, not uncool enough to become cool.

As far as the dog name thing, a few years ago I felt like every new dog I met was named Emma--and not long after, suddenly every baby I met was named Emma. I think there's truth to this!

It is very hard right now to choose a baby name. There are so many trendy baby names as well as names that might sound like roll call at a nursing home. So many people are trying to think of different yet classy names that so many babies are ending up with the same names! I wish my daughter's name,Maeve,was not on the list of strong names because I want her name to stay different. I guess I am part hipster,though,because her middle name is Harper (would have been Atticus Rhys if she had been a boy!)

Well I purchased Pamela Redmond Sartran's book "Cool Names For Babies" back in 2005 when baby number one was in the works. She had several lists of names which were "uncool" and how to make them "cool" and "cooler" eg "Lillian" (uncool) Lily (cool) and Lilo (cooler). There are entire chapters devoted to names beginning and/or ending in "o", literary names and supermodel baby names because those names are just the coolest thing everrrrr. By baby number 2 we bought her next book, "The Baby Name Bible" (2007). Names that were just so uncool in the first book (eg Ian) were suddenly described as having jaunty charm and were recommended. Literary names and names ending in "o" are given the big thumbs up. After taking her comments into consideration, we ignored them all and went with the names we liked. I'm glad we did because otherwise our kids would be hipsters now!!

I'm glad that my baby Eileen is not included in the list. I don't know if my best friend will like it if she realizes that her baby bows wearing bald baby girl has a hipster name. She named her Isabelle Zhae.

That's stupid. She probably thinks boring names are un-hipster. Who needs some guru to tell people how to name their spawns anyway? Only thing worse than a hipster baby name is a full of shit profession like that.

A police officer once told me about arresting a prostitute whose name was Atlantis, but it was spelled all weird like, Adlantus. When I was watching Oprah or something once in tv there was a special about child molesters, and one of the child molester's names was Scooby-Doo.

Sometimes people have terrible ideas what would be reasonable to name a child, who will then grow up to be an adult. I always wonder how these peoples parents came to the conclusion these were good names to give children, and if they'd had more normal names if their lives would have been any different. How much does your name effect what you'll grow up to be?

I originally named my son Mordecai and six months after he was born I changed his name to James. People couldn't figure out how to pronounce Mordecai, and everyone told me it was morbid, and one of my aunts accused me of trying to upset her by giving my son a name that was morbid on purpose because she'd just had a baby die three months earlier.

I think the whole hipster name thing is stupid. Wouldn't you really just want your child to grow up happy, well balanced, and industrious? I think that'd be hard to do with some of the more 'unique' names out there. Alot of the way how people treat you has to do with your name, doesn't it?

My parents violated the "I" rule, but only if you spell it with the English alphabet. If you spell it in the original Greek, we're OK. That's good, since we ARE Greek.

Spend your energies on the more important parts of parenting, and just pick a name that you both like for your child. Just don't give the kid a name that will easily rhyme with insulting words, and especially don't give them a name that everyone will have difficulty spelling for their entire lives. This is exactly what's happened to me: Gwyneth.

My name is constantly misspelled,mispronounced, and until Ms. Paltrow came on the scene, completely foreign to most Americans. As a child, I would have traded my heart and soul to have been named Linda, or Kim, or Lisa, or Kathy, or Christine, or even Mary. I'm glad for it now, but it took almost 3 decades for that to happen.

Given my son Ash (not Asher) is 21, I'm going to assume that I can avoid being branded a hipster for his name. Of course, I would have committed a huge "no no" if my 9 year old, Ford, had been a girl, and named her Zoe.

Why do we care what other people tell us to name our children anyway? My grandmother hated the name Ash so much I just didn't tell her what I was going to name Ford while I was pregnant with him. My kid, my choice.

i did pick a z name. it took a lot of convincing from my husband, as i am aware of the trendy factor. we took the idea of taking something you both love and finding a subtle reference to it. he is named after star trek. but we wouldn't have gone with something alien sounding like spock or too obvious like kirk or jean luc. and we also did not use the exact pronunciation of the original name. and most importantly we kept the spelling simple. there was probably 100 ways to spell it. we rarely if ever see it on a baby name site or book. but it has a familiar, ear pleasing, and natural sound to it.

Sorry, but I don't think you can ever go wrong with something as "ordinary" as Michael or Kathleen.

I have 2 adult nephews with first names that appear on these lists. (The parents were WAY ahead of the hipster curve, apparantly.)

One only uses his initials, even on his business card.

One had his first and middle name legally transposed so the unusual name is now his middle name.

Even though it's no one's business what we name our children, sometimes parents have to think further down the road.

My oldest son is called Graham, which was fairly unique in 1978. He complained bitterly about his name and asked me why I didn't give him a "normal" name like Ryan or Jerry (?!). I went traditional for my next 3 sons. The other night, while watching some reality show, one of them said, "God, why couldn't you have given me a b****in name like Mondo or Casanova?" So, you can't win.

My parents named me Kasandra and I adore it. It fits me perfectly and I've never had issues with people (employers, professors, etc) taking me seriously. The only thing I did have a problem with was my nickname, Kasi. Most people wanted to call me Kayci so I stopped using it after elementary school.<p>My husband and I have picked out unusual names for our future children, not to be hipsters, but because we love what they mean to us and because I saw what all the Jennifers, Britneys, Ryans and Brians of my day struggled with.

To think, I thought I was being so original when I named my son Luca Vincent in 2006. I still like it anyway, and so does he. My daughter, Annie (Angelina for long), didn't make the list at least, although similar names did. All my backup names were there except my favorite, Beatrix, although it breaks the x rule. I'm glad we decided to name her after her dad, Angelo, because it has meaning regardless

I have one rule: don't pick something that's in the SSA's top 100 baby name list for at least the last 5 years.

I have an Asher (4) and Felix (18 mo) and had never met another Asher or Felix before we they were born. Both of their names are Biblical and have the same meaning ("happy") which is why we chose them.

Much to my dismay, I know at least 4 other boys born in the last year named after our Asher. Boo.

What about Elizabeth, Mary, John, James? These names are classic and will never go out of style.

@ pywackett

I'm pretty sure you weren't reading Henry James in the 9th grade... at least not 'What Maisie Knew.'

The most trenchant comment in the article is that hipsters both disdain being called hispters, yet want very much to be accepted as such. And that one result means they stretch for names, trying to be unique and a member of the group at the same time. Which is why hipsters are so sad and so funny. Your neuroses are going to be messing with your kid's mind anyway; why make it worse by calling it Isla or Persephone? Just reading about someone called out to his toddler "Odin" had me laughing out loud!

I do not have a baby yet, but it makes me sad that the name I have in my back pocket for my future baby girl - Which Is The Name Of My Grandma-Who-Raised-Me - is on the hipster list!! (I would like to know how the list is generated!!)

There should be a blog along the lines of "Help! Hipsters Stole My Baby Name!"

The "hipster" baby name list & the "yuppie" baby name list are pretty much the same thing.

Haha Well, my son (Sullivan) and both our dogs' names (Roscoe and Ruby) are on here, so I guess we are hipsters! Oh well. Our new baby's name will be Jackson (sons - Sully and Jack) so i think we are safe there:-)