Four-Letter Baby Names
Senior Content Specialist
December 01, 2022
If you’ve grown up as a millennial or a Gen Z-er, you’ve been told all your life that “time is money!” And if that’s your prerogative—or you just love the short and sweet things in life—four-letter baby names will keep that efficiency running through generations. These snappy titles will make greetings all the more memorable, giving baby a leg up from the very beginning. Four-letter baby girl, boy, and gender-neutral baby names embody the appreciative adage, “it’s the little things in life.”
Are four-letter baby names all the rage?
In the span of the Gen Z generation and then some, baby names have shrunk! Since 1999, the top baby names have been decreasing in character count and increasing in modern charisma. According to the Social Security Administration, there have been the occasional peaks—like with Isabella in 2010—but since 2013, short names have been on the rise. For instance, four-letter names like Noah, Emma, and Liam got their time to shine over the next few years. Since then, some five-letter and three-letter names have joined their rank, but four-letter names held the top spots until Olivia dethroned Emma in 2019.
What do four-letter baby names have in common?
Besides being effortlessly cool, four-letter baby names have a modern edge in common; they experiment with spelling, diminutive forms, and natural influences. There is still a wide variety of origins and definitions, but there are a few definitive trends. Names like Remi, Theo, and Otis, harken back to the days of yore. While Ezra, Zion, and Leon have some ancient biblical connections. But then there are names of pure modernity like Nova, Mila, and Sage. Long story short, trends can be found among this excellent selection, but all that matters is that baby will get the coolest of the cool.
How do you choose your favorite four-letter baby name?
Choosing a favorite is always hard to do, but there are some ways to narrow down your choices! You can ride the waves of the trends by sorting through the most popular names or pick from only the rarest selections when organized by the most unique names. But if the name’s placement on the charts doesn’t mean much to you, have a peek at the descriptions to find your favorite meanings, history, or origins associated with the titles that grab your attention.
