Currently Trending: ’90s-Inspired Middle Names We Love

Baby name inspiration can be found everywhere you look. Our favorite TV shows, current trends, or even the changing of the seasons. Even with so many options, the most popular baby names of a given year tend to come from a handful of places. Parents often give their little ones names that mean something to them. Maybe they’ll look back at a family tree, carry on a traditional name, or look to nature for inspiration. And with so many old-fashioned baby names like Eleanor and Henry currently topping the baby names charts, there’s reason to believe many parents are honoring a family elder as their newborn’s namesake.

While we often reach for higher branches in the family tree when choosing the perfect baby name, recently parents have been trying something a little different when it comes to middle name options. A current trend in the baby name world is parents using middle names from the 1990s.

Why Are ’90s Middle Names Trending?

With so many new parents being millennials or part of Gen Z, this trend means they’re selecting names that would have been popular around the year they were born. Perhaps they’re choosing a ’90s middle name to honor a friend they had growing up. Or a beloved cousin or sibling. Or maybe they want to pass on their own middle that may have special significance.

Like many things, we have TikTok to thank for giving this trend its steam. A search of ’90s middle names will garner hilarious videos calling out parents of the ’90s, all choosing Nicole, Marie, Lynn, or Ann. While other options were out there, these certainly dominated. Now those same names, as well as popular first names of the decade, are having a revival. Even quintessential “It Girl” Sofia Richie Grainge chose the very ’90s middle name of Samantha—which happened to be the 5th most popular baby name of the decade—for her baby girl Eloise.

Nostalgia could also play a factor, with names inspired by favorite pop culture influences of the ’90s. Whatever the reason, there is plenty of middle name potential to be found in the baby names of the ’90s. If you’ve narrowed down the perfect first name and are on the hunt for a middle name for your little one, read on for 50+ of our favorite ’90s-inspired middle names we love.

’90s Pop Culture Inspired Middle Names

Amber

Amber hit peak popularity in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s—including the middle name of Saved by the Bell star Tiffani Amber Thiessen. The name also hits on another popular baby girl name trend: color-inspired names like Hazel, Scarlett, and Violet.

Heather

Highly popular from the 1970s to the ’90s, many millennials and members of Gen Z have an influential Heather in their lives. Not to mention the 1989 movie Heathers starring Winona Ryder gained a cult following that went well into the ’90s. The lovely nature-inspired British name means “evergreen flowering plant.”

Rachel

Rachel’s claim to fame was in 1996 when it reached the top 10 baby names of the year—two years after Friends introduced the world to Rachel Green (and “The Rachel” haircut). The lovely Biblical name means “female sheep.”

Justin

If NSYNC was your jam back in the day, honor your favorite boy band by using a name inspired by founding member, Justin Timberlake.

Kenneth

The revival of Barbie brought us all a hefty dose of nostalgia. Honor the memory of our favorite childhood dolls with this strong middle name. Or pay homage to iconic ’90s band R.E.M.’s hit song, What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?

Kurt

1994 saw the loss of one of the most celebrated musicians: Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. Raise a respectful rebel with this name meaning “courteous.”

Zack

A diminutive of Zachary, which hit its peak in 1994, this snappy name holds the lovely meaning of “laughter.” And, of course, it is also the name of Bayside High’s Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell.

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