In 2025, the trend of reviving older names has been observed in Newfoundland and Labrador, with Lanie and Oliver emerging as the most popular choices for newborns. Following closely are Jack and Isla, and Owen and Charlotte ranking in third place. The top 10 list also includes names like Henry, George, Theodore, Amelia, Madalyn, and Violet.
Parents like Melissa Rogers and Stephanie Butler have drawn inspiration from their grandparents when naming their children. Rogers shared that she chose Ivy and Olive, honoring her grandmother with Olive’s name. Similarly, Butler named her daughter Marilyn, combining elements of her grandmothers’ names, Margaret and Evelyn.
This trend of looking to the past for baby names is not unique to Newfoundland and Labrador but is part of a broader movement across Canada. Parents like Rogers and Butler aim to select more distinctive names, moving away from common ones they grew up with. However, they humorously acknowledge that their efforts to be unique might lead to a situation where seemingly uncommon names become popular in a kindergarten setting.
Sophia Kihm, the editor-in-chief of Nameberry, noted that the resurgence of older names follows a cyclical pattern known as the “100-year rule.” Names typically take about a century to regain popularity and sound fresh again. This explains the renewed interest in names like Violet and Jack, which were popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
Kihm emphasized that the perception of grandparent names evolves as these names resurface. She described the charm of seeing traditional elderly names on young children, likening it to wearing an oversized sweatshirt that the child grows into, molding the name to suit their identity.