Here's what parents are naming their kids in 2018, including a surprising new trend

Grace Carr, DCNF

Portrait of happy baby boy lying down in bed and looking at camera. — Getty

This year’s list of baby names are in, and some of them are surprising.

“Emma,” “Olivia” and “Ava” rank as the most popular girl names respectively while “Liam,” “Noah” and “Oliver” rank best for the boys, BabyCenter reports.

“Harper,” “Avery,” “Riley” and “Madison” also rank among the top baby names for girls, reflecting a growing trend of parents giving their babies gender-neutral names.

“This generation is truly interested in gender-neutral names,” BabyCenter.com’s global editor-in-chief Linda Murray said, according to The Associated Press.

Many parents are giving their babies unisex names in order to embrace potential gender fluidity, co-founder of the baby name site Nameberry.com Pamela Redmond Satran explained. “A lot of people choose unisex names because they think they’re cool or they’re meaningful,” Satran told the AP.

“Luna,” “Layla” and “Lily” also ranked high on the 2018 list along with traditionally southern names “Hazel,” “Violet,” “Savannah” and “Scarlett.”

A number of nontraditional boy baby names also made the list including “Jaxon,” “Levi,” “Mateo” and “Muhammad.” Biblical names, “Gabriel,” “Isaac” and “Isaiah” also ranked well.

Gender-neutral names are still not as common or popular as traditional male and female names, but have been on the rise, especially among millennial parents.

Some countries — like Portugal, Denmark and Iceland — outlaw unisex names.

The U.K.’s Baby Centre also created a list of funky baby names inspired by IKEA furniture. “Malm,” “Tarva” and “Stig” were among the names for boys while girls’ names included “Norna,” “Mata” and “Mydal.”

“Naming your baby after IKEA furniture might seem ridiculous at first glance, but don’t dismiss the idea! IKEA is known for the charming Scandinavian names it gives its products and many work surprisingly well as baby names,” LucyBC wrote on Baby Centre’s blog.

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