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A new list of Gen Beta names are suddenly taking off and they might just be the most iconic yet

Get ready to meet a lot of "Chosens."

Photo by Howard R Wheeler on Unsplash

A young child wearing a cowboy hat and scarf.

We knew this time would come. The time when baby names would be off-the-charts cool and brilliantly unique. Sure, this might be said of every generation, but this time, it's really true. And it's awesome.

Of course, Gen Beta babies have already been born. That generational clock reset on January 1st, 2025. So, any child born on or after that date until 2039 is full Beta all the way. Millennials and Gen Z-ers have gotten off to a fun start on naming the newest generation, and their inspiration is unlike anything most of us have seen before.

babies, names, Raising Arizona, trends, children, beta A scene from the film Raising Arizona. Giphy 20th Century Fox

On ABC News, writer Bethany Braun-Silva notes, "Popular baby names today are a mosaic of smaller, hyper-localized trends rather than a set of universal favorites." She cites editor-in-chief of Nameberry, Sophie Kihm, who claims, "Names are deeply tied to identity. The most important thing is choosing a name that feels meaningful to you."

Braun-Silva shares, "Current trends include neo-cowboy names (like Rhodes and Dutton), adult-sounding names such as Lionel or Georgina—girl names for boys like June or Willow, and 'atmospheric' names like Clover or Solana."

But what's most exciting is what's on the horizon ("Horizon" being one of the names you might actually see soon.) As Gen Alpha ages, they'll be naming the new gen in as early as a few years. It's expected that they (along with current new parents) are taking inspiration from more localized, niche identities. Think Japanese, Turkish, Spanish, and Indian influences, Braun-Silva suggests.

Also, names based on video games and hobbies are coming quickly. (I really hope that means "Grand Theft Auto" and "Pickleball" will be the most popular names in nursey schools soon.) It's also reported that "Among the names expected to rise in popularity for girls are Scottie, Elowyn, Lenora, and Murphy, while for boys, names like Matheo, Elio, Chosen, and Caspian are predicted to trend."

video games, grand theft auto, baby names, babies, trends A clip from the video game Grand Theft Auto Giphy GTA

According to author Delilah Gray for a piece on Yahoo! Life, bird names are about to take flight. (Sorry.) She writes, "You may be like, 'Bird names? Seriously?' But hear us out: there are so many bird baby names, and they’re all so unique and beautiful." She cites Baby Center, who report that Robin, Cardinal, Mavis, Raven, Dove, and Callum are definitely becoming popular for our little Gen Beta friends.

bird, dove, babies, trends, names A white dove flying during daytime. Photo by Shubhankar Bhowmick on Unsplash

Furthermore, Baby Center claims that new parents are naming babies after traits they wish for them. "For boys, Wisdom is up 868 spots to No. 1,340, Loyal (up 225 spots to No. 829), Sincere (up 160 spots to No. 534), and Knowledge (up 83 spots to No. 1,054) are also climbing the baby name ranks."

For girls, trends include "Praise, which has risen 489 spots to No. 1,156; Divine, which has risen 145 spots to No. 1,175; Adore, which at No. 1,365 is up 106 spots; Queen, which is up 75 spots to No. 940; Miracle, which is up 69 spots to No. 181; and Hope, which at No. 217 has risen 40 spots."

sharks, Jaws, movies, baby names, trends A scary scene from the film Jaws. Giphy Shark Week GIF, Universal Pictures

Lastly, expect to meet more babies named after movies. Baby Center notes, "The name Anora has jumped up 1,105 spots for girls so far this year, ranking No. 2,291." Not to mention a rise in popularity for recent Oscar winners, like Kieran, Cynthia and Adrian. It's all an exciting trend and could lead to that exciting day when we meet babies named "Jaws" or "Scream Three." Here's hoping!

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"He's a baby genius": 3-month-old stuns mom by perfectly repeating full sentences

The boy's sister couldn't believe her ears and began sobbing uncontrollably.

Photo credit: Canva

3-month-old baby repeats full sentences, shocking mom and social media.

Babies can't talk. This isn't something that needs to be studied and researched, it's a pretty common fact of human existence. The reasons babies cry is because they can't talk to tell us what they need, at least that's what the general understanding has been for centuries. Not only their brains, but their bodies lack the development and coordination needed to form complete words and sentences.

But what if some babies could talk and we simply haven't been exposed to them because the world is so big? Thanks to social media, the world has gotten a whole lot smaller when it comes to being able to take a peek into other people's lives. This means we get to be exposed to things that may otherwise gone unseen.

Mekeia, a mom of two, uploaded a video of her then 3-month-old son talking. Not the cute baby babble that we like to call talking, but repeating actual short sentences.


baby talk; talking baby; video of talking baby; echolalia in babies; baby repeats mom; talking infant; family; parenting What if babies could actually talk? Some of them can... sort of. Giphy

Mekeia was recording her daughter playing with the baby when they captured the moment on video.

The little girl holds the baby's face and says, "say I am two months," before Mekeia corrects her, "say I am three months," the little girl pipes back up. Clearly the baby was trying to join in the conversation with what was expected to be baby babble when the mom instructed the older child to let the baby have a chance to "talk." It was then that the baby shocked everyone by sounding like he repeated the same phrase.

The two are visibly and audibly shocked not wanting to believe the baby actually repeats what the other child says. Mekeia is on the phone with a friend when the entire thing happens. Presumably thinking this is a fluke, the mom attempts to put the phone up to the baby's mouth. When he just babbles, she tells the baby, "say hey Bam." Nothing. Just more babble and drool.

Just when you think your ears were playing tricks on you, the baby does it again when the mom tells him to say, "hey Quintin." Clearly the baby still sounds like a baby but you can clearly hear him repeating the sound and cadence of the words so much so that it sounds like he's fully saying the words. His older sister is overwhelmed with emotion and begins to cry while Mekeia seems to be so shocked that she begins to laugh while the person on the phone is just stunned into confusion.

@foxondemandfam

Watch until the end 😱omg🥹🥰!!

People in the comments were eager to jump in with exclaiming the baby is a genius with one person writing, "he is a baby genius start showing him math problems."

Another person jokes, "next thing he's writing emails and making appointments."

"Talking so clear would scare me sooo bad he's so intelligent," someone writes.

Others explain the phenomenon with a condition called echolalia.


@foxondemandfam

He growing too fast , I didn’t have time to baby proof the house 🥴🥴 #babymessiah #babiestiktok #mamababysound

"Echolalia is a normal part of child development. As children learn to talk and understand words, they imitate, copy or echo the sounds and words they hear. Over time, a child usually learns to talk by connecting new words together to make unique little phrases or sentences,” according to Speech and Language Advisor Claire Smith when interviewed by the BBC.

Sometimes this phenomenon rears its head extraordinarily early. Mekeia's daughter was just three months old in the video above. Another popular video from a few years ago shows an 8-week-old infant from the UK very clearly saying the word "Hello" in response to his parents. A 7-week-old from Ireland was shown doing the same in 2015.

While echolalia can be a sign of autism, that's not always the case. Many kids grow out of it by the age of three and continue their typical development.

What's really interesting is when kids start to actually understand and utilize language intentionally at an extremely early age. A boy named Michael Kevin Kearney was said to be talking by around 4-months-old, even asking his parents "What's for dinner?" He went on to become a certified child prodigy, received a masters degree in chemistry at just 14, and secured his doctorate at the age of 22.

Most babies who repeat words shockingly early are not little geniuses in the making, just good mimics. Much of the time, they're not able to consistently repeat the feat once the clip goes viral on social media.

But you can't blame the parents, and social media users, for getting excited. It's adorable and fascinating to watch in action!

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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Adorable 5-year-old gives his mom 6 pieces of spot-on advice for handling her nerves

There's no age limit on great advice.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash, @EPrecipice/Twitter

Kids really do say the darnedest things.

Any parent knows that kids can be surprisingly astute little philosophers at the most unexpected times. One minute your child is throwing a tantrum because you sliced their sandwich wrong, and the next they are blowing you away with their deep preschool thoughts. It's enough to give you whiplash, but it's also one of the most fun things about being around kids. You never know what they're going to say and sometimes what they say is just awesome.

Case in point: This 5-year-old who gave his mom some sage advice about handling her nerves. Twitter user @Eprecipice (StressieBessie) shared the story in a tweet thread. She wrote: "When talking about our agendas for the day, I told my 5yo I was a little nervous about a meeting I have today. He said, 'Mama, I am nervous all the time. I know what to do.' So friends, here is all the advice he could fit into the drive to school:"

1. “You gotta say your affirmations in your mouth and your heart. You say, ‘I am brave of this meeting!’ , ‘I am loved!’, ‘I smell good!’ And you can say five or three or ten until you know it.”


advice, kids, parents, moms, affirmations, good advice A person holds an affirmation cardImage via Canva

Okay, first of all, the fact that this kiddo knows what affirmations are is awesome. Some people have questioned whether this advice really came from a 5-year-old because of the vocabulary, but kids are sponges and affirmations aren't rocket science. It's become quite common for preschools and kindergartens to teach kids things like this, so it's not actually surprising to hear him talk about affirmations. It's just adorable to hear the ones he suggests.

2. “You gotta walk big. You gotta mean it. Like Dolly on a dinosaur. Because you got it.”

Okay, so this actually is sound advice. Researcher Amy Cuddy gave a whole TED Talk about how our minds respond to our own body language, and how using confident body language can actually release chemicals in our brains that make us feel more powerful and self-assured. So "walk big" like you mean it is legit.


3. "Never put a skunk on a bus."

No idea what this means, but it's definitely solid wisdom.

4. "Think about the donuts of your day! Even if you cry a little, you can think about potato chips!"

I'm genuinely not sure if this is referencing real donuts or not, which is part of what makes it delightful advice. Metaphorically, "the donuts of your day" could be the positive things that happened, and focusing on those instead of the negative is basic positive thinking. Then again, if you cry and think about potato chips, perhaps he's just referencing comfort with food. Either way, totally feeling it.


5. "You gotta take a deep breath and you gotta do it again."

Pretty much every therapist from every psychological school of thought will tell you that breathing exercises are one of the quickest ways to calm your body and mind. Simple, but seriously sound advice.

6. "Even if it's a yucky day, you can get a hug."

Even though that sounds like a pretty typical thought for a kid, it's also good well-being advice. According to The Conversation, the chemicals released when we hug can help us manage stress, reduce anxiety and manage our emotions.

Smart kid.

He added one more piece of advice for good measure as well for those of us who tend toward distraction.




Like a little Confucius, this one.

Seriously, if you ever want to hear some of the most oddly profound things you'll ever hear in your life, spend some time interviewing a 4- or 5-year-old. They really do say the darnedest things. And if you're nervous about something, just keep telling yourself you're "brave of" it. If nothing else, it'll bring a smile to your face remembering this delightful thread.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

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Baby shocks and delights crowd by taking magical first steps during WNBA halftime crawl

And the crowd goes wild!

Canva

A baby takes their first steps. A basketball crowd goes wild.

It's a small step for a baby, but a GIANT step for mankind—at least on the Internet. Even though the Minnesota Lynx beat the living heck out of the Vegas Aces, it didn't sully the adorable halftime baby-race show. And now, basketball might never be the same.

From the WNBC Instagram page, they note "some wholesome content for your timeline."

The Las Vegas Aces baby crawl is already adorable enough as it is. But on this particular day, magic struck. What follows is definitely one for the baby's digital scrapbook. As the parents and friends lined up on opposite sides of the court to encourage their racing baby to crawl as fast as they could, one small infant clad in red leggings, a white top, and a pink bow pulled ahead from the jump. The chyron reads, "We immediately had a front runner."

And just like that, this quick lil tot, out of nowhere, just stood up and started walking instead. "But then," the screen reads. "She started taking her first EVER steps." The crowd understandably goes wild. She, perhaps feeling the exciting momentum of her many new fans, picks up the pace and runs right into the arms of the woman waiting for her. In a supportive (and non-competitive) move, the surrounding mothers, sisters, and friends applaud the baby and give the mom all kinds of smiles and love.

The clip then shows the baby's proud dad (clearly an Aces fan) carrying her in one hand, and her giant inflatable trophy in the other. "Talk to me, Dad," we hear. He responds, "She hadn't been walking. She just randomly decided to stand up in the middle of the thing!" He laughs with more pride as the person filming says, "Proud dad moment. Congratulations, champ!"

baby, nba, wnba, eating, kids Cute baby at basketball game. Giphy NBA

The comments are hilarious and joyous. A top commenter suggests that perhaps this is a sign of things to come. "Draft speech...My first steps were on a WNBA court. It was destined!" Another agrees, adding, "The fact that she walked the rest of the way, for her first time, in socks, on a basketball court… yea she a hooper in the making FASHO!!!! I would have been a bawling MESS LOL!!"

Reddit has already exploded. In the subreddit r/NBA, someone jokingly posts, "Baby blatantly cheats by taking her first ever steps to win the Las Vegas Aces baby crawl race."

This is followed by over a thousand comments in 24 hours. One shouts, "REF DO SOMETHING." Others continue with that joke. "This is why I quit baby crawl racing, too many sweats."

This Redditor takes it up a notch, by mock-alerting sports analyst Stephen A. Smith. "Steven A. Smith: Let me tell you something right now! I’m sick and tired of these so-called “experts” in the baby community trying to tell me that these little ones, these adorable, chubby-cheeked miracles, THEY’VE ALREADY BEEN ABLE TO WALK BEFORE WE SEE IT ON CAMERA? I mean, have you lost your mind!?

Listen, this baby is a personal friend of mine! I’ve watched this baby, folks! I’ve seen the struggle, the wobbly knees, the carpet burn, the sheer DETERMINATION! Don’t come in my face, on national television, and try to throw shade on this achievement. When a baby takes its first steps, THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS! THE. FIRST. STEPS."

baby, baby walking, first steps, trying, kids A baby makes a great attempt at walking. Giphy GIF by TLC

Despite all the funny memes and jokes, many seemed moved by this moment. "I was thinking how so many parents don’t get the chance to actually film the first walk and this being it is pretty momentous. Now imagine being the kid’s younger sibling and having to live up to this lol."

- Baby takes first steps during a basketball halftime show. www.youtube.com, The Today Show

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