Naming a baby is like finding a pair of jeans that fit perfectly: it’s really hard. Many parents look for baby naming resources to make finding the perfect name easier. One of the sites, Nameberry, recently released its 2025 naming trend predictions, and number one is an interesting prediction: fast-fashion baby names.
Just last month, Jessie Paquette, the baby-naming consultant behind @DreamBabyNames, listed fast-fashion baby names as a category to avoid in a conversation with Nexstar. She gave the names “Renly, Lakelynn and Icelyn” as examples.
The term “fast fashion” refers to overly popular, cheaply produced clothes and doesn’t have the most positive connotation… So what exactly are fast fashion baby names? And, should you avoid naming your baby? The answer is, well, it’s complicated.
What is the name of the fast fashion baby?
Fast fashion baby names blend popular naming styles together to create unique “of-the-moment” names.
Nameberry explains on the site: “Like their clothing counterparts, fast fashion names are modeled on the authentic but with a unique twist that references neither the past nor the future, but the present.”
The appeal of these names is that they allow parents to combine features of different names they like, or update a more common name to create something personal. Trapped between Sky and Lakeland? You have Skylyn. Does grandma’s name sound too old-fashioned? May becomes Mayli.
However, Nameberry warns that fast fashion names aren’t entirely new creations, like Elon Musk’s X Æ AXII, nor are they obscure words that no one would consider a name, like Carrot (why I think Carrot might be a cute one now) name) ? The focus on fast fashion names is trendy twists on existing names, for example every piece of clothing this fall has a cheetah print, and a few years ago the same thing had a chevron print.
“Only by transforming Banks and Scotland into Banx or Scottlynn can they become fast fashion brands,” Nameberry explains.
Fast Fashion Baby Names for Girls
Nameberry lists names like Amilia, Laynee, Lakelyn, Scottlynn, and Wrenlee as examples of fast fashion girl names. Amilia and Laynee are unique spellings of more common names (Amelia and Laney), while Lakelyn, Scottlynn and Wrenlee adopt the popular suffixes -lyn/-lynn and -lee.
Fast Fashion Baby Boy Names
For boys, Nameberry lists Adael, Eydan, Ryett, and Wylder as examples. Adael uses the popular -ael suffix, while Eydan, Ryett and Wylder provide alternatives to the more popular Aidan, Riot and Wilder spellings.
So, are fast fashion baby names bad?
Let’s start here: No name is a bad name, if you like.
However, baby name regret is a real thing. Colleen Slagen, a consultant who runs NamingBebe.com, told Nexstar she has had parents come to her asking for help changing their children’s names — even a year after their children were born.
“I was shocked,” Slagan said. “It’s eating these people away. There are many reasons why this is happening, but they’re all different.
Due to their fashionable nature, fast fashion brands may end up in the “names we regret” pile.
Everly and Everleigh are two examples of fast fashion brands that exploded in popularity over a decade ago. In 2013, Everly jumped 500 spots on the list, becoming the 379th most common name for girls. By 2023, it ranked 69th.
“I steer people away from fashion,” Slagen said. “Any name that jumps 100 spots in popularity every year … to me, that’s a sign that a name is going out of style.”
She directs her clients to review the Social Security Administration’s annual rankings of the most common baby names in the country to identify names that may become oversaturated or outdated in the near future.
Also, just because a name is popular or emblematic of that era, doesn’t mean your child will hate it. My own name, Megan, ranked #10 in the decade of the ’90s and #36 in the 2000s, and I promise I won’t resent my parents for sentencing me to be called Megan L for the rest of my life.
Just like fast fashion, what really matters is whether you actually like the name. If you plan on wearing these leopard print ballet flats for the next decade, they’re not fast fashion. This name, associated with a child you will love your whole life, might also be perfect.
