Old-fashioned baby names are roaring back into fashion — and experts say they know why
In recent years, out-there, creative or trendy baby names were all the rage — now it seems like the classic, old-fashioned ones are popular again.
According to Jennifer Moss, founder and CEO of BabyNames.com and baby-name consultant Taylor A. Humphrey, grandma-like names such as Eleanor, Eloise, Elodie, Alma, Margaret, Nora and Bennett, are 'super trendy' for girls this year, originally reported by Yahoo! Life.
'On the boys' side, we're seeing the 'trad name,' or old-fashioned names, stick — like Theodore, Oliver, Owen, Silas and Jasper,' Colleen Slagen, author of the forthcoming book 'Naming Bebe,' also told the outlet.
'…I'm hearing Hayes, Lachlan, Palmer, Soren, Sterling and Theodore,' added Humphrey.
'These names feel grounded, elegant and sturdy; they offer just the right mix of vintage soul and modern edge.'
Why are these dated names gaining traction again?
'I think vintage names evoke a sense of nostalgia. I get a lot of clients who pull out their family tree, looking to grandparents and great-grandparents for name inspiration,' Slagen said.
'…Nursing homes and graveyards would be great sources of name inspiration.'
And according to Sophie Kihm, editor-in-chief of Nameberry, a baby naming website, today's parents are leaning more towards simpler names for their babies.
'More families in the US come from mixed cultural backgrounds, and I hear parents commonly request that they want their child to travel and have a relatively easy-to-understand name,' she said.
In regards to which names are getting the baby bump, at least for a while — ones with 'aden' in it, like Braden or Jayden, according to the experts.
'I do hear less of those names now,' said Slagen. 'I think they hit their peak in the early 2000s.'
Before you get offended if your name is no longer favored, Humphrey pointed out that baby name trends ebb and flow — similar to fashion trends.
'As with fashion, baby names follow emotional and aesthetic cycles — and as collective tastes shift, so do our naming desires.'
However, despite old-school names like Eloise and Margaret making a comeback, Liam and Olivia remain two of the most popular names for the youngins, according to the Social Security Administration.
Liam has held the No. 1 spot for boys' names for eight years in a row. Olivia has held that title for the girls for the last six.
Emma and Noah came in at No. 2 for the sixth year in a row.
If you're looking for some inspo on what to name your newborn — old-school or not — you can scroll the complete list of baby names on the Social Security website.
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See John Wick spinoff 'Ballerina' in theaters, rent 'Sinners,' stream 'Presence' on Hulu, plus more movies to watch this weekend
We independently evaluate the products we review. When you buy via links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read more about how we vet products and deals. Hello, Yahoo Entertainment readers! I'm Brett Arnold, a longtime writer and editor at Yahoo and film critic for my podcast, Roger (Ebert) & Me, and welcome to Trust Me, I Watch Everything. I'm here to recommend what you should see in movie theaters, rent from the comfort of your couch or queue up from a streaming service you may already subscribe to. I watch it all so you don't have to. This week, Ballerina, the long-awaited John Wick spin-off starring Ana De Armas, hits theaters. If you're looking for a movie to keep you up at night, horror-thriller Dangerous Animals is a strong candidate, but don't miss out on the smash hit Sinners either. Also available is an animated take on the Predator franchise and a nostalgic documentary in Becoming Led Zeppelin. 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Now streaming on Peacock. :The selling point of this movie is not only that Robert De Niro is returning to the mob movie genre, but that he's playing two distinct leading roles in it. The problem is, the characters are not related, so it's just a strange gimmick that never really makes sense outside of "wouldn't it be fun to see De Niro play against himself?" The movie is a familiar bore, but it's now on HBO Max, so if you're curious, it won't cost you anything extra. Now streaming on HBO Max. What an exhaustive week! We'll see you again next Friday at the movies.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
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See John Wick spinoff 'Ballerina' in theaters, rent 'Sinners,' stream 'Presence' on Hulu, plus more movies to watch this weekend
Hello, Yahoo Entertainment readers! I'm Brett Arnold, a longtime writer and editor at Yahoo and film critic for my podcast, Roger (Ebert) & Me, and welcome to Trust Me, I Watch Everything. I'm here to recommend what you should see in movie theaters, rent from the comfort of your couch or queue up from a streaming service you may already subscribe to. I watch it all so you don't have to. This week, Ballerina, the long-awaited John Wick spin-off starring Ana De Armas, hits theaters. If you're looking for a movie to keep you up at night, horror-thriller Dangerous Animals is a strong candidate, but don't miss out on the smash hit Sinners either. Also available is an animated take on the Predator franchise and a nostalgic documentary in Becoming Led Zeppelin. What to watch in theaters Movies newly available to rent or buy Movies debuting on streaming services you may already have Movies newly available on streaming services you may already have My "it's just good enough" recommendation: Why you should watch it: After a lengthy delay and reports of extensive reshoots, stuntman-turned-filmmaker Chad Stahelski, the brainchild of the franchise and director of all four John Wick films, was brought in to replace director Len Wiseman. One of its stars, Ian McShane, confirmed in an interview that Stahelski came onboard to "protect the franchise." He did what he could. Whenever the movie is in hyper-violent action mode, it's a lot of fun. The problem is, that awesome action is almost entirely relegated to the final 45 minutes, which leaves about an hour and 15 minutes of laborious setup. Anytime the movie slows down to get into the minutiae of the world-building or the backstory of the lead character, it's a bore, missing the mark of what makes Wick satisfying. The dark humor that punctuates the violence, a staple of the series, is firmly in tact here though, and the more inventive kills involve grenades, flamethrowers and an ice skate. Keeping with franchise tradition, it does appear that Ana de Armas does a lot of her own fighting and stunt work, and it looks great. While the reshoots clearly added the fluid action that works, they also added in John Wick himself in a way that felt unneeded, taking away from the lead character's story. I guess the writing was on the wall when the title changed from Ballerina to From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. 🍿 What critics are saying: Don't come for the storyline! Variety's Owen Gleiberman called the plot of Ballerina "pure trash," with the Los Angeles Times's Amy Nicholson calling it "a snooze." That said, the fight scenes get high marks. "These movies lie or die by their action sequences, and to its credit, this franchise expansion pack has a few good ones up its sleeve," Rolling Stone's David Fear wrote. 👀 How to watch: From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is now in theaters nationwide. Get tickets ➕ Bonus recommendation: Dangerous Animals Why you should watch it: Dangerous Animals is one of those movies in which the very premise feels like a spoiler. The opening scene is such a terrific reveal, it's hard not to imagine how much better it'd play with zero knowledge going in. So stop reading now and watch it if you're into horror or survival thrillers or shark movies. If you need more convincing, read on, because boy does it have a killer premise. It's a serial killer movie with a shark-related twist, or a shark movie with a serial killer added for good measure. Let me explain: Jai Courtney plays a serial killer, and his method of killing people is to feed them to sharks. He films these killings because to him, the 'greatest show on Earth' is watching sharks, one of the ocean's most majestic creatures, do what comes naturally to them when a warm, bloodied human body is lowered into the waters. The movie mostly focuses on the final girl trapped on his boat as she tries to free herself before the next feeding. What more do you need to know? 🍿 What critics are saying: The reception has been largely positive; Kristy Puchko at Mashable says Jai Courtney is a "rip-roaring force of nature" and praises the film as "a satisfying, sick, and devilishly smart thriller." Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian, however, isn't a fan, calling it "derivative" and declaring it "has a bargain-basement straight-to-streaming feel to it." 👀 How to watch: Dangerous Animals is now in theaters nationwide. Get tickets 🤔 If those aren't for you... :The most generic exorcism/possession movie possible, you've seen every single thing this movie throws at you. Even though stars Dan Stevens and Al Pacino, it's very low-rent. — Get tickets. :Comedian Nick Kroll and Broadway star Andrew Rannells play a gay couple in this dark comedy that starts off strong and goes off the rails about halfway through, becoming a different movie with a completely different tone. A shame, because it was cute before it went nuts. — Get tickets. My recommendation: Why you should watch it: Sinners is one of the biggest hits of the year, which is no easy feat for an original movie not based on anything that already exists, and it's easy to see why: It's as audacious as it is purely entertaining. Yes, it's a vampire movie, but it takes half the film to get there — extreme From Dusk Till Dawn vibes — and before that, it's a period piece gangster movie that patiently sets up the stakes of its story. In the end, what's revealed is that the movie works entirely on its own terms as a spectacle — about a bunch of people holing up in a single location and warding off invaders — but it also works on an entirely different level: as a metaphor about its director's feelings on making art as a Black man in an industry that's eager to exploit his perspective. Calling it a musical is a stretch, but it has a blues element that pays off well. Sinners is a hell of a swing, and even if things occasionally get messy or certain elements feel pushed to the side, its vision comes through so strong that it's an incredibly impressive feat. 🍿 What critics are saying: Sinners is also one of the best-reviewed films of the year and has a great shot at Oscar gold. David Sims at the Atlantic said it "had [him] cheering for every thrill and spill, all while mulling the deeper concerns threaded through it" and AP's Jocelyn Novek wrote, "by far the most creatively ambitious, culturally layered, artistically bold twin-led cinematic outing yet — if this sentence feels like a lot, get ready for the movie!" 👀 How to watch: Sinners is now available to rent or purchase on digital and on-demand. Rent or buy 'Sinners' 🤔 If that's not for you... : A Nicolas Cage-led, laugh-out-loud funny but also quite stressful descent into madness that recalls the Ozploitation classic Wake in Fright. "Don't live here, don't surf here!" — Rent or buy. My recommendation: Why you should watch it: Prey, the Predator prequel that brought new life to the beloved sci-fi/action franchise, shocked everyone when it debuted on Hulu a few years ago with its unique spin on the series, centering Amber Midthunder's Naru. The filmmaker behind Prey returns with the animated Predator: Killer of Killers, his first of two new Predator movies releasing this year. It's an anthology film that feels inspired by any number of viral tweets suggesting, 'We need a Predator movie set in feudal Japan,' because that's exactly what we get here. We get three separate stories — one set in Viking times, one in feudal Japan and another set during World War II that's essentially one long dogfight between U.S. soldiers and a huge terrifying Predator ship. The premise is quite simple. In each short, we learn about some badass who is the most badass fighter of their time, and then a Predator shows up to fight them. The action is incredible, unencumbered by the limits of live-action and fully embracing the fact that it's a cartoon, delivering everything you'd want to see in a Predator movie. There's one sequence that legitimately may be the best scene in any one of these movies, period. The stories do also come together in a very satisfying way. I hope they immediately announce the sequel that's set up at the end here, because even if I didn't fully jibe with the animation style, this absolutely rocks. 🍿 What critics are saying: The Guardian's Catherine Bray felt the animation was "lacking a little something," adding, "you can't help picturing how much more spectacular it would look in live action." 👀 How to watch: Predator: Killer of Killers is now streaming on Hulu. Stream on Hulu 🤔 If that's not for you... : Taraji P. Henson stars as a single mother facing a series of painful events in Tyler Perry's new movie, out now on Netflix. Netflix did not provide a review copy for critics. My recommendation: Why you should watch it: This one's an easy sell: it's a documentary about Led Zeppelin, featuring interviews with the surviving members of the band about their origins and their meteoric rise. It also features fantastic concert footage, much of which has never been seen before. It's a treat for Led Heads, even if the movie doesn't get into any of the dirty details about the animosity between them that necessitates all members being interviewed separately over the course of the film and, of course, the fact that they haven't played a show together since 2007. It's a fun, rocking trip down memory lane; if you missed it in IMAX theaters, it's now streaming on Netflix. 🍿 What critics are saying: The reception has been largely positive; Steve Pond at the Wrap correctly notes that it "offers glimpses of the band we've never seen before, but it also withholds a lot." Joshua Rothkopf at the Los Angeles Times asks, "Why are these guys so boring?" and also laments that "no other voices have been allowed," knocking the lack of historical context. 👀 How to watch: Becoming Led Zeppelin is now streaming on Netflix. Stream on Netflix ➕ Bonus recommendation: Presence Why you should watch it: Presence isn't the horror movie it's being marketed as, but it's absolutely haunting and chilling in a different way. Here, the camera is the ghost that's haunting a house, and the entire movie takes place from that perspective. The viewers are along for the ride, limited to what the ghost knows and doesn't know, as the lost soul tries to solve the case of its own death and figure out why it's haunting this What unfolds is a compelling family drama with moments of pure terror. It hits you on a deeper level and stays there rather than leave you screaming over a loud noise or a jump scare. It's certainly a horror movie, just not the register we've come to expect from the premise of 'family moves into a haunted house.' It cleverly ends up being a movie about parenting, among other themes. Director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp are more interested in the dynamics between the family inhabiting the house than delivering cheap thrills, and it pays off with a gut-punch of an ending. The entire cast is great, but it's particularly nice to see Lucy Liu again. 🍿 What critics are saying: Critics love Soderbergh, and this time is no different. Stephanie Zacharek at Time writes, "it's so compact, smart, and elegant that it feels quietly momentous. Without handing everything over, it gives you all you need," though the Telegraph's Tim Robey was more mixed, writing that it's "certainly not a bad time" while taking issue with certain elements. 👀 How to watch: Presence is now streaming on Hulu. Stream on Hulu 🤔 If those aren't for you... : If you thought The Accountant was silly, hold on to your briefcase and pocket protector! Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal both return in the much, much goofier sequel, which leans into not only the humor but also becomes more of a hangout movie than you'd expect. Any grounding in reality is gone here, so your mileage may vary, even if you dug the first one. Now streaming on Amazon Prime. :Jack Quaid continues his streak of being in yet another movie where he's out to save a kidnapped woman, This time, he plays a mentally ill man who teams up with his neighbor Jeffrey Dean Morgan to solve an abduction he witnesses. It's pretty fun! Now streaming on AMC+ : This is a sweet and nice movie about a a lottery winner who lives alone on a remote island who dreams of getting his favorite musicians back together. His fantasy turns into reality when the bandmates and former lovers accept his invitation. Carey Mulligan is in it! Now streaming on Peacock. :The selling point of this movie is not only that Robert De Niro is returning to the mob movie genre, but that he's playing two distinct leading roles in it. The problem is, the characters are not related, so it's just a strange gimmick that never really makes sense outside of "wouldn't it be fun to see De Niro play against himself?" The movie is a familiar bore, but it's now on HBO Max, so if you're curious, it won't cost you anything extra. Now streaming on HBO Max. What an exhaustive week! We'll see you again next Friday at the movies.
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13 hours ago
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Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani Looking Forward to ‘Nourishing' Summer on Their Oklahoma Ranch
Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani have been enjoying couples dates on their ranch in Oklahoma and a source exclusively tells Life & Style that they're planning on spending the bulk of summer in the country star's home state – while using it as an opportunity to reconnect and enjoy quality time without the kids. 'They love to get away from L.A. and all the superficiality of the business. On the ranch they can totally relax and let down their guards. Their family and friends fly out to see them so it's not like they are totally shut off, but they do have a lot more time alone," the insider says about Gwen, 55, and Blake, 48. "They go on long walks, write songs and play music together. Gwen cooks all their favorite foods, it's very nourishing," the source shares about the couple. "Right now, they go whenever they have downtime, but it's usually just a few days. They are looking forward to having a good couple of months there soon, where they can really recharge," the insider reveals. Gwen's three sons Kingston,19, Zuma, 16, and Apollo, 11, — whom she shares with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale — will be spending more time in Oklahoma as well. Blake introduced the boys to the ranch early on in the couple's relationship, and they've become big fans of fishing and ATV riding on the vast property. "The boys will come with them, and they'll fly their friends out too. They have tons of space and have a more the merrier vibe at the farm," the source says. "Gwen and Blake both love hosting, they're a great match in that way. They will throw their annual July 4th party, that's being planned right now, they're excited," the insider adds. In addition to the holiday, the couple will be celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary on July 3. Blake had a chapel built on his 1,300-acre ranch in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, for the nuptials, as they tied the knot on the property in 2021. The duo began dating in 2015 after working together on The Voice and going through divorces at the same time. Blake and ex-wife Miranda Lambert announced their split in July 2015, while Gwen and Gavin, 59, did the same the following month. Gwen shared a fun memory of her family visiting the "Texas" singer's ranch for the first time during a November 2019 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. "I remember the first time I went to Oklahoma with my family — we are from Anaheim [California], we'd never seen even trees before — so we were like, 'Wow, this is crazy!'" she recalled. "And we're driving and Blake's in his truck, and there's a tree that had been blown down on the road and Blake gets out and he's like, 'All right,' and he gets in the back of the truck — he has a big chain and he pulls it out, he wraps it around the tree, and pulls." "My whole family's like, 'Oh my God! He's a man!'" she gushed, which made Kelly, 43, burst out laughing. It took some time for the Southern California native to adjust to life in the country, where Blake feels the most at home. "I am not really a dirt person, a bug person, I don't like that much humidity," Gwen told People in 2023. "But you sort of get over it all because it's so beautiful [in Oklahoma], and you kind of feel like you're going into this vortex and it's just different here — I guess it's just nature, and God, is all right there."
