Classic baby name trend for boys and girls

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One of the latest baby-naming trends comes from the past in the form of baby names that were popular decades ago. Your grandma or grandpa may have names that are popping up in nurseries everywhere, such as Stella, Violet, Robert or Walter. What other classic names from generations ago are popular now? Read on to find out!

Honoring family members

One of the main reasons parents today choose classic names isn't because it's trendy. Many moms and dads pick family names to bestow upon their little ones -- a practice that has taken place for hundreds of years all over the world. Ashley named her son Robert Benjamin and her daughter Margaret Florence -- all family names. "Robert Benjamin is my mother-in-law's father, then my mother's father," she said. "Margaret Florence is my father's mother, then my father in law's mother. We could figure out no rhyme or reason for... name inspiration, so we chose to name equally for both sides of our family." Kim, mother of Robert Michael, did something similar: "Robert is after my grandpa and Michael is after my dad," she said.

Cindy, mom of twins Myles and Wade, got Wade's name from her grandfather and an uncle. Victoria, hailing from the UK, has Ethel in mind for a future baby if she has a girl. "Rusty, my husband, asked me when we first discussed having children if we could use the name as his mum died about two years before we met and he felt it was a way to link her to the grandchildren she would never meet," she said. And Katie named her boy Edward -- he is the 4th generation to bear the name.

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Loving the sound

Others choose classic names because of the timeless sound. Cristina, who doesn't plan to have children, said she loves the names Mabel and Velma. Melody, mother of two, did name one of her daughters Mabel (and the other Alice). Elizabeth's two daughters are Evelyn Jane and Aubrey Nora -- classic names that truly flow beautifully with one another, especially as a sibling set.

Amelia, mom of three girls, used both family for inspiration as well as classic literature. "Lillian and Violet are named after my great-grandmother and grandmother," she said. "Eleanor isn't named after anyone, we just loved the name, though the name came to us from 'Sense and Sensibility' by Jane Austen. We used a different spelling from that Elinor though."

Meredith had a similar approach when naming her children, Katherine and David. "We agreed to stay away from trendy names and names that would either be too burdensome for a child or would sound ridiculous on a retiree," she said. "We are a little old-fashioned in many ways regarding parenting, so I suppose our more traditional name choices aren't really a surprise." Inspiration came from family members as well, so her little ones share parts of their names with relatives.

Here are even more cute and classic girl names!

"That's an old lady name!"

Charlene, mom of Audrey, got just that reaction when she told her family of the name she and her husband had picked out. "I got a lot of grief for naming Audrey an 'old lady name' from my family," she said. "Of course they all love it now and I get lots of compliments on it."

Even when a name may appear old fashioned, the fact that classic names are coming back into style makes them less unusual. Melissa, mom of three, agrees. "Daisy and Poppy were last popular around World War II but in the last year they have really seen a surge in popularity so they don't seem so old fashioned any more," she said.

It all boils down to what you love and if you want to honor those who came before you. If you are worried that your classic name choice will be looked down upon by friends and family members, keep it a secret until your baby's birth -- no one will think twice about your baby's name when they look upon that sweet face for the first time!

Check out more cool classic boy names!