How is it that certain names make a top ten or top 100 list and others don’t? Throughout the years, we continually see that particular names were more fashionable during certain decades throughout our history. The swelling and waning tide of popularity seems to swallow and overwhelm everything we do: our clothes, our music, and our favorite celebrities, and names are no exception.

I generally try to swim against the naming tide, choosing names well away from the top ten list. It seems that most moms I talk to feel the same way. Yet, there is always that handful of baby boy names that everyone is choosing in a particular year.

How to pick a name for your baby boy in 2017

One of my prerequisites to choosing a name for my child is that it cannot be more popular than number 100 on the current list. I carefully chose all three of my children’s names this way and my son’s name is in this year’s top ten list. I shake my head with a little bit of disdain towards all the fellow moms who came after me and “stole” my name.

Of course, I stole it first, hearing the name on a teenager in passing. It was so beautiful and unique that I had to have it to describe the treasure that was my son growing inside me. Apparently, lots of other women heard the name and felt the same way as I did.

So what other motivators do parents have for name choosing? I would reckon to say that the first motivator is how a name sounds to your ear. Another motivator is whether or not you associate that name with someone else and whether or not that association will ruin it for you.

As a teacher, unfortunately, many baby boy names 2017 do not sound all that good to me because I can assign them to former students… and I have taught thousands of them in my career. It is not that these students were necessarily negative experiences for me, but those names belong to their faces and not the faces of my future children.

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Another motivator is whether or not a baby boy name is popular. I think that some people do not really care how many Johns or Daves there are, if they like the name, they will use it. Many of us, however, prefer that like our child, their name be unique – precious and rare.

Finally, a lot of people, myself included, prefer a name with significant meaning such as “warrior,” “blessed,” or “God is my father,” because we want to speak positive words over our children.

According to lists made by Babycenter, Nameberry, and the Social Security Administration, names that most commonly met these criteria for parents in 2015 and 2016 have been names like Noah, Liam, Ezra, Asher, Elijah, and Oliver. Other more classic baby boy names that are still popular are names like William, Alexander, Michael, and Benjamin.

So what will be popular in 2017? Well, I’d gather that many of the names that have been popular in the most recent years will most likely continue to reign. I believe we will see at least half of those names hanging onto their place in the top ten. We can’t really know for sure, as so many other factors will come into play when the next year unfolds.

It seems to me that a name that is mentioned often probably stands a chance of making that list. Names like Robb, Brynden, and Benjen from Game of Thrones are quirky and loved enough to possibly make the list. Currently, there is a whole new wave of popularity surrounding our favorite superheroes, which might bring out names like Oliver and Clark.

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With a beloved president soon to leave office, we will probably see the name Barack joining the ever popular presidential favorites like Jackson and Harrison. Frankly, any name is seen often enough in the media, newspapers, and our Facebook feeds might possibly make the list, from names of singers like Blake and Zayn to names of American Olympians like Michael and Ryan.

Baby Boy Name Predictions for 2017

So, based on the past list of popular baby boy names and the present, which names do I feel may make the cut? I am no expert, but here are my predictions for baby boy names 2017:

Liam Asher Ezra Elijah Oliver Noah Blake Michael Brynden Clark

So what do you think? Which of my picks are most likely to make it to 2017’s most popular baby boy name list? If you have a baby coming, will you be likely to choose names like these or to avoid them for less popular alternatives?