Our first thought upon hearing that Hailey and Justin Bieber have welcomed their baby boy, Jack Blues, into the world: Yay! Adorable! Our second thought: Wow, that’s a … really normal name?
From Elon Musk and Grimes’s son X Æ A-12 to YouTuber Trisha Paytas’s daughter Malibu Barbie, we’ve all become accustomed to celebrities giving their kids totally bizarre names, so the news that the Biebers have named their first child Jack, a name that’s as reliably popular now as it was 100 years ago, is just so unexpectedly wholesome — and the sign of an emerging trend for their generation of new parents.
In the Bieber family, J names are a family tradition — Justin’s dad is Jeremy, while his half-siblings are Jazmyn and Jaxon — but he and Hailey could have stuck with this formula and still gone for something more unconventional: Jupiter Bieber? Jaguar Bieber? JellyRoll Bieber? But no, the couple kept it classic and recycled an old family name, as Jack also happens to be new grandpa Jeremy’s middle name.
Of course, it helps that it’s a name with some seriously cool credentials, from the many iconic fictional Jacks (Bauer, Dawson, Sparrow) to the numerous real-life examples who all ooze talent and charisma (Nicholson, Kerouac, White).
By picking Blues as a middle name, the Biebers have also followed an emerging baby name trend that’s charmed Us. While Gen X and older millennials like to show off their individuality straight off the bat (think Apple Martin, North West, Blue Ivy), younger millennials and Gen Z are a little more understated, often opting for a traditional name upfront and then injecting some more quirkiness in the middle. It’s why classic names like Oliver, Noah, Emma and Charlotte continue to top the baby name lists year on year, but online searches for less conventional middle names that pay tribute to musical icons (Hendrix, Cobain … but no signs of Bieber yet) and nature (Bear, Forest, Ocean) are rapidly gathering pace.
As major influencers for the generation who are starting to have babies, the Biebers are sure to accelerate the trend, and frankly, it’s one that makes total sense. The kid gets a safe, classic name that everybody can say and spell but still has the option to embrace their quirkier middle name when they’re older. And if they find it embarrassing? No problem — who even uses their middle name anyway unless they actively want to?
So, it’s official: Jack Blues Bieber is a few days old and already a major trendsetter. With those two as parents, it was always going to be the way.
