The most popular baby name trends for 2018 – was your little one’s on the list?

It’s not always easy choosing the perfect name for your baby. Throughout history, there have been trends for that particular time.

Pamela Redmond Satran from baby name website Nameberry reveals the last few years has seen us embrace names from ancient times, as well as ancient Greek and Roman names.

Here are some of her top baby name picks for boys and girls for 2018.

Popular girls names from ancient times

Alba

Meaning: ‘White pearl’.

Ambrosia

Meaning: ‘Food of the gods’ in Greece.

Cecilia

Meaning: From the Roman name Caecilius, meaning ‘blind’.

Cornelia

Meaning: ‘High desire’.

Junia

Meaning: Female name of Junius, an old Roman family name derived from Juno, the Roman queen of the gods.

Livia

Meaning: An ancient Roman name meaning ‘life’.

Ophelia

Meaning: Greek name meaning ‘help’. Also, a character’s name in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Roxana

Meaning: Roman name, meaning ‘bright’.

Tatiana

Meaning: Derivative of the old Roman name meaning ‘from the family of Tatius’. 

Xanthe

Meaning: Greek name meaning ‘blond-haired’.

Popular boys names from ancient times

Atlas

Meaning: Greek mythical Titan who bore the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Julius

Meaning: Derived from Julius, like Roman dictator Julius Caesar.

Justus

Meaning: Biblical name, meaning ‘just’ or ‘uptight’.

Leon

Meaning: ‘Lion’.

Lucian

Meaning: ‘Light’.

Lysander

Meaning: In ancient Greece, Lysander was a Spartan. It’s also a character’s name from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Magnus

Meaning: ‘Great’.

Rufus

Meaning: ‘Red-haired’.

Urban

Meaning: ‘City’.

Zephyr

Meaning: ‘West wind’.

10 popular gender neutral names

According to Blackmores, they believe parents have also been embracing gender neutral names. Here are some of them:

1. Sage

2. Charlie

3. Lennon

4. Oakley

5. Frankie

6. Murphy

7. Reilly

8. Jules

9. Austen

10. Ridley

There are also some not-so-popular baby names

Felicia – after the men ‘Bye, Felicia’

Harvey – following the Harvey Weinstein scandal

Donald – after Donald Trump

Alexa – Amazon’s digital assistant’s name

Stan – after Australia’s TV and film streaming app.

Pregnancy plans

Did you know you can also download our FREE Birth Plan and Healthy Pregnancy Eating and Exercise Guide? Get it here.

This Plan has been created to take some of the confusion out of pregnancy, giving clear guidelines on how to stay in your best possible health: what to eat, how to move and how to tackle some of the challenges of pregnancy, such as cravings and nausea.

You should also check out The Healthy Mummy Healthy Pregnancy Smoothie.