Baby Name Trends for 2010

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With 2009 name fads, from Marley to Miley, safely behind us, what do we see as the hottest trends in baby names for 2010?

Here are the top predictions from the "Beyond Ava and Aiden" authors Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz:

Biggest Big Picture Trend:

Economical Names

In this era of tighter budgets and darker outlooks, names are getting both shorter and more light-hearted. We see a trend toward nickname names ahead. For boys, these are economical one-syllable names: Bob, Joe, Gus, Hal, Hank, Max. Such short forms - in every sense of the phrase - are stylish and getting moreso in Europe, with Jack the No. 1 name in England and Tom tops in France.

Newest Retro Trend

We predict the revival of serious, no-frills names that haven't been considered for babies in several generations: Adele, Alice, Dorothy, Edith, Evelyn, Florence, Lenore, Louise and Marion for girls; Arthur, Frank, Harold, Harvey, Martin, Raymond, Victor, Vincent, Walter, Warren for boys.

Latest Gender-Bending Trend

Male-female name equivalents: Auden and Audrey, Isaiah and Isabella, Theo and Thea. In fact, an association with a popular name of the opposite sex is enough to propel an unlikely choice to prominence: Edison on the coattails of Addison, for example, or Malachi hitching a ride with Makayla.

Biggest Pop Culture Influence

"Twilight," which has catapulted Edward (another E name) from boring old man name to sexiest boy on the block, may boost Bella to No. 1, and popularized such unlikely choices as Cullen and Esme.

Most Surprising Comeback Name

Felix, replacing Oscar. The X factor is important in several names getting another turn in the sun - Dexter, Rex, all forms of Max - as well as some new choices, such as Maddox, Paxton and Jaxon.

Coolest Middle Name Trend

Double and triple middle names, a la the British royals, using mother's maiden plus another, or honoring both grandmothers or fathers at the same time.

Ethnic Name Group Most Likely to Rise

Latin names, both Spanish and Italian-Seraphina, Mateo/Matteo, Valentina/Valentino, Cruz, Romeo, Lucia and Luciana, and Paloma. Even as one study says Hispanic parents in the United States are less likely to use Latin names after two or three generations, such choices are gaining in acceptance among non-Latino American parents.

Trend We'd Most Like To See Die

Reality TV names that feel about as authentic as the people behind them - Khloe, Audrina, Jaslene. Come on, people, Even Jackson, as in Michael, is a more unambivalently worthy namesake.