• Looking Back on 2025 - A Year In Names
• Giving in the Age of Personalization
• Exploring A Name as Home Base
• Upcoming Events

The Year In Naming News

2025 has been a big year in naming news, with multiple world events showcasing the depth behind a simple label. Globally, the power of names catapulted into attention in January with a controversial US executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico - kicking off a year that has vastly raised awareness of the significance of what we call places and things. And just as those names matter, so do personal names.

Personal names have been big news – 

• Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago was named the 267th Catholic pope. His first act? Choosing a new name, a tradition begun in AD 533 that marks a new beginning, signals direction, and asserts an identity rooted in the church. Pope Leo XIV says his new name represents his role model, his philosophy, and this pivotal moment in history.

• A New York commercial driver’s license correctly issued with “no name given” instead of a first name sparked a US Department of Homeland Security rebuke and front page news controversy - and could be a great teaching moment for learning about mononymous naming traditions in other parts of the world and how we balance technology with inclusion.

• Also in New York, then-mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani confronted political opponents who he accused of deliberately mispronouncing his name. The accusation sparked a New York Times article probing the linguistics of mispronunciation - and a hiphop song with hundreds of thousands of views that may have helped Mamdani become mayor-elect.

• The Reddit-fueled frenzy of bullying parents over their baby name choices kept growing in 2025, with two UK tabloids picking up the mocking of a mom who allegedly named her child Serwrenidy Jean.

  

• Meanwhile, NPR mourned the possible demise of the name Bobby. (But don’t worry, Bobby - 2025 trends also show that good old names, like Maeve and Henry, often reenter the top ten.)

• A surge of new research on names includes several studies showing that large language models can interpret names in ways that exacerbate existing gender- and racial/ethnic social disadvantages - and can even produce new patterns of discrimination based on names. Another 2025 study examines the psychology of assigning of human names and characteristics to AI technologies, which, unsurprisingly, makes us more likely to trust it.

• And stars, unsurprisingly, continued to give their children unusual names in 2025, including: Aquaman Moses (Trisha Paytas and Moses Hacmon); Golden Raye (Patrick and Brittany Mahomes); and Saga Blade (Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox). But a worldwide trend towards unusual and unique names continues among the nonfamous too, confirmed by newly released scholarly research; in July, Nameberry identified Unique itself as its most searched name of the year so far, fueled by what it termed “sudden interest” from south Asia.

  

• And 2025 brought one more noteworthy milestone: the launch of the Museum of Names! Thank you for being part of this journey and for all your support.

What else happened in 2025? Send me your most compelling or amusing name memories of 2025 - public or personal - for possible inclusion in the next edition of Big Name.

Giving in the Age of Personalization

We live in an age of personalization, when everything from teddy bears to tennis balls can be customized with our names. The Museum blog tackles bigger questions about what all this spotlighting might mean for us, but for now, let’s just enjoy the season and check out what just might be arriving in your name!

None of the above are affiliate links. If you’d like to support the Museum of Names, please donate:

The Season of Home

Last month on LinkedIn, I shared a memory about a childhood game and the comfort of finding “home base” in the dark - and my observation that for many people, a name serves that same purpose. It can be a touchstone that grounds us and tells us we’re seen, we’re safe, and we’re home.

Trinidadian-American writer and University of Vermont professor Emily Bernard describes the same sentiment in her brilliant American Scholar essay My Name is Emily. In it, she asserts,

“Being nameless is like being homeless. A name is a map, a link to the past as much as it is a claim on the future.”

How does a name become a home? As Bernard’s essay shows, it’s molded of all the myriad meanings and uses of a name. It stands to reason that if it’s given and used with love and respect, that helps it become a source of strength and restoration.

In the season where many people especially cherish home, a season that can be full of gatherings, crowds, and interactions, recognizing the value of others’ names becomes an especially meaningful - and simple - way to connect. This holiday season, approach the names of people around you with particular love and respect. It costs nothing and affirms what matters most.

Are you on LinkedIn? Connect with the Museum of Names there and on Facebook:

• www.linkedin.com/company/museumofnames

• www.facebook.com/museumofnames

COMING UP . . .

🎟️ Discover Name Fluency Mini-Workshop (Zoom)
🗓️ Thursday, Jan 22, 2026 | 11:00–11:45am EST
🧠 Learn how names shape trust, identity, and belonging
👉 Reserve Your Free Spot

🎟️ In-Person Presentation - Ten Surprising Things About Names
🗓️ Saturday, Jan 24, 2026 | 12:00–1:00pm EST
🧠 Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, Vermont
👉 Open to the public - Get Details

🎟️ Brandeis National Committee - South Miami-Dade Chapter
🗓️ February, 2026

THANK YOU!

Thanks for subscribing to The Big Name, the monthly publication of the Museum of Names! We’re still just getting started and your readership matters. Know someone else who would enjoy this free newsletter? Forward this on!

New subscribers can sign up here: