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Hurricane Sandy baby names and other baby name predictions for 2013

It's one thing if they were already planning to name their children Sandy.

But in light of last month's "Superstorm" that devastated parts of the Caribbean, pummeled the eastern seaboard and killed over 200 people, Nameberry predicts that the constant repetition of the word will result in a whole new batch of Sandy-like names.

"The devastating superstorm is not likely to inspire a wave of baby Sandys or even Sandras, but the endless repetition of the name is statistically likely to increase the use of S names—as was the case of K names after Katrina," write the website's resident baby name experts Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz.

"Along with a wave of babies born nine months after the storm, we predict the rise of names with a Sandy-like sound, such as Alessandra or Cassandra or Sander. From there you can stretch to the word names Sand, Dune, Beach, or even Storm."

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As joint authors of ten baby name books, the women certainly know a few things about the names people give their offspring.

So what else do Satran and Rosenkrantz forsee on a slew of 2013 birth certificates?

For starters, a bunch of ancient gods — Norse and otherwise.

Just as the HBO series Rome sparked a flame for mythological names, the experts predict that popular films like The Hunger Games and the upcoming Hobbit trilogy will buoy the trend into a fleet of little Persephones, Athenas, Junos, Thors and Maeves.

"The appeal transcends the pop culture influence," they write. "These names are as powerful as they are deep, arming a child to triumph over earthly challenges."

Also on the radar? Lions. Though "Leon" has been popular in Europe for decades, actor Leonardo DiCaprio more recently brought the name to North American attention.

Always on the trending forefront, the authors predict a rise in names that don't necessarily translate into fierce manes and jungle kingdoms, but "sound as though they should." These include: Leonie, Lionel and Lev and Leonora.

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Any Mad Men fans out there? You could be unconsciously planning to give your newborn a name that belonged to your grandfather's time. Names like Hank, Ray, Millie and Lou haven't been popular since the World War II era, but if the authors are correct, expect to see a vintage revival in the coming year.

And the hottest letter in the baby alphabet these days appears to be "W," which is a nice thing for a letter that tends to get overlooked for its more mainstream brethren like "J" and "S."

This shining moment for Ws will be reflected, Nameberry suggests, in reams of adorable children answering to the call of Wesley, Warren, Walter, Winston, Willa, Winter and Winnie.

If you're already in possession of one of these names, consider your parents ahead of their time.

And for the full list of 2013 predictions, check out the Nameberry website.