You may have thought you'd seen it all with some of the baby names that have come out this year (Kanye West and Kim Kardashian's daughter, North West, springs to mind), but 2014 is predicted to push the boundaries once again as parents seek to give their children distinctive and unusual names.
Social baby naming website Baby Ballot has released its predictions for the upcoming year, revealing that unconventional spellings of popular names are likely to become one of the ways that parents will give their children's name a unique twist. Izak, Emhily and BrookLynn are among the more unusual suggestions.
Less conventional Biblical names like Caleb, Levi and Shiloh are also set to become more popular, joining others such as Jacob, Michael and Noah which have been gaining popularity in recent years.
The success of TV shows including The Originals, Sleepy Hollow and Orange is the New Black have caused new parents to favour the names Camille, Piper and Katrina, though it remains to be seen if Ichabod will enjoy the same popularity.
Choosing names deriving from ancient mythology is also expected to become a trend; Luna, Gaia and Thor are among those set to find popularity in 2014.
Another growing trend in the US suggests that Latino names will become more common outside the Hispanic community. It is thought that Lola, Diego, Santos and Miguel will all become more common next year.
Lucie Strachonova, editor of Baby Ballot, explains that parents tend to enjoy giving their babies unique names as it sets them apart as special from other children.
"Distinctiveness is paramount," she says. "It's an exciting time to see so much variety and we can't wait to see how things turn out".
