Comfort-core baby names are having a moment and it says a lot about us right now

MomTok favourite Jen Affleck just gave her daughter a sweet grandma name - and in doing so, crowned herself queen of the comfort-core baby name trend.

When Mormon influencer and Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, Jen Affleck announced the arrival of her third baby last week - a sweet daughter named Penelope Phyliss - it didn’t take long for the comment section to explode with love.

And not just the “She’s perfect!” kind of love (although yes, also that). But the “Oh my gosh, Phyliss! That was my nan’s name!” kind of love.

There was something about the name - the gentle throwback, the unexpected softness, the unshakeable grandma-core energy - that made people feel something.

And isn’t that what we’re all craving right now? A little feeling. A little connection. A little comfort.

Welcome to the comfort-core era - where we’re baking banana bread, rewatching Gilmore Girls, and naming our babies like they were born in 1925. It’s a gentle rebellion against the chaos of modern life, a nostalgic return to what feels slow, safe and familiar. In baby name terms, that means soft syllables, vintage charm, and names that sound like they should come stitched into a quilt.

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Why old-lady names are suddenly feeling new again

Baby name trends are always evolving. But the current wave of “old-lady names” - the Gladyses, the Joans, the Dorothys, the Mabels and now, the Phylisses - doesn’t feel like a passing TikTok aesthetic. It feels like a collective exhale.

It feels like comfort.

Because when the world outside feels unpredictable, many of us turn inward. We cocoon. We nest. We crave the familiar - whether it’s sourdough starters, nanna rugs, or giving our babies names that sound like they should come with a crochet bonnet and a side of butterscotch.

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The names that feel like a hug

There’s something steady and grounding about the names of our grandmothers and great-aunties. They remind us of a time we didn’t live through but somehow remember in our bones. They feel like linoleum floors, lace curtains, and Women’s Weekly cookbooks with pages stuck together from use.

They feel like a safe place to land.

And maybe that’s why, in a time when parenting can feel like a high-stakes performance - where every lunchbox is a chance to prove your worth and every milestone is uploaded for public comment - names like Dot or Nellie or Jean cut through the noise.

They say, “We’re not here for the trends.”

They say, “We come from good stock.”

They say, “This child is loved already, just as she is.”

Honouring the women who came before us

Of course, there’s a kind of poetic beauty to it. The idea that in raising tiny new humans, we’re choosing to honour the ones who raised us. That a newborn girl might carry the same name as the woman who once carried her own mother through sleepless nights.

We’re not naming them after Instagram filters or pop stars - we’re naming them after the women who gave us hard peppermints from their handbags, who taught us to sew on buttons and play patience.

There’s real reverence in that.

Cardigan names are having a moment

And it’s not just girls. Boys are getting the vintage treatment too. Think Harold, Arthur, Stanley, Walter. These are names with cardigan energy. Cardigan names are having a moment too.

They’re strong, sturdy, and just a little bit dorky in the best possible way.

But it’s the girls’ names that hit that emotional sweet spot. Maybe because so many of us were raised by or around women with these names. Maybe because they remind us of safety. Or maybe just because they’re blooming lovely.

Penelope Phyliss. A name with modern whimsy and old-school heart.

We’re not surprised she’s going viral.

We’re not stuck in the past - we’re holding on to something real

Let’s not pretend this trend is random. It’s no coincidence that old-lady names are making a comeback in a time when the world has felt especially tough. Post-pandemic, mid-cost-of-living crisis, stuck in a digital age that keeps pulling us further away from each other… we’re all searching for something to hold onto.

For some of us, that “something” is a name.

We can’t predict the future, but we can choose to honour the past. So go ahead and call your baby Edna. Or Mavis. Or Ruth.

You’re not stuck in the past. You’re rooted in something real.

And that, in the end, might be the most beautiful legacy of all.

Originally published as Comfort-core baby names are having a moment and it says a lot about us right now