'Barbie' Is Already Having an Impact on Baby Girl Name Trends

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

When it comes to baby names, one factor that may play into your decision is the current popularity of a certain name. You could be going for something trendy, or you may be looking for something with more of a timeless quality to it. You might prefer strong names that everyone knows and can spell, or you might rather have your child be the only one in the class with that particular, unique baby name.

Whichever direction you lean, the first step is to know the popularity of the names on your list, and what the rising trends are for baby girl names in 2024. The current crop of the 1,000 most popular baby girl names, compiled by the Social Security Administration (SSA), covers what parents actually named their children in the most recent year available (which is 2022). And while those are the most accurate, you can start to see threads of what may be on the rise for 2024.

After checking the SSA numbers and consulting baby-naming sites like Nameberry, BabyCenter, The Bump and others, these are the baby girl name trends certain to take hold in 2024. Whether you go with a pop-culture-inspired baby name or a more ethereal, celestial choice, you're sure to find one that will suit your baby perfectly.

Hi, Barbie!

If there was one powerful, pop-cultural force whose dominance may be reflected in the baby girl names of 2024, it's Barbie.

And while parents might not be committed enough to actually name their baby girls Barbie, BabyCenter's round-up of hot name trends notes a huge rise in the name Barbara, which rose in the site's 996 spot. (Interestingly, Ken didn't have the same Kenergy.)

Nameberry in its 2024 name trend report says that Barbie will also have a more indirect effect on girls' names. "Barbie makes feminism feminine, and femininity feminist," the site reports, noting a rise in names that are empowering in their girliness, like Dorothea, Guinevere, Honey, Isadora, Lavender, Matilda or Theodora. The Bump in its year-end trend report also sees an uptick in very feminine baby names, like Alice, Elise and Maeve.

If it's not Barbie, it's Disney.

"Disney names are one of the most common requests we get at my baby name consultancy," SJ Strum, founder of Baby Name Envy, said in a press release with greeting-card site Thortful. Strum notes that Disney names are huge with celebrities across the pond: In January alone, Love Island contestant Molly-Mae Hague named her baby Bambi, and TV host Stacey Dooley went with Minnie.

But Disney adults are honoring their favorite characters in the United States, too. Aurora — aka the name of the princess in Sleeping Beauty — has seen huge leaps: It was No. 488 on the SSA's most-popular name list in 2000, and has jumped all the way up to No. 31 this year. (It helps that celestial names are also on the rise.) Raya didn't make the top 1000 names before 2020, and even in 2020 was only on the lower reaches of the most-popular list at No. 937. After Raya and the Last Dragon came out in 2021, the name hopped up and is now sitting at no. 402 on the SSA list. Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Esmeralda, Tiana, Anna and Elsa are all on the list as well.

What does that mean for next year? Nameberry has Asha — the name of the main character in Disney's newest animated film, Wish — on its list of unique names to watch in 2024. It's also possible the movie will have a spill-over effect on some other names from the movie, like Dahlia, the name of Asha's best friend (a name that's already been on the rise since 2020) and Amaya, the name of the film's queen.

Atmospheric names are floating to the top.

Speaking of Aurora, Nameberry sees a rise in what it calls "atmospheric names," or names that evoke the sky and weather. Previously, we've seen a big jump in outer-space names, like Luna, Stella, and Nova, and this feels like that trend is just coming down to Earth a little. Nameberry sees an increase in interest in names like Cielo, Lumi, Soleil, Sky, Stormi, Sunny and Zephyr — names that feel like they float in on the wind.

Hey "-ya!"

There's always a trendy letter combination, and while the top baby names suggest that names that end in the -a sound are still dominant — think Olivia, Emma, Amelia, Sophia, and Isabella — names that end in -ya may not be far behind. Maya, Aaliyah, Arya, Freya, the aforementioned Amaya are already in the top 200 on the SSA list. Not only that, BabyCenter, which identified the trend, reports seeing huge gains in the names Siya, Haya, Inaya, Aadhya and Ariyah.

These are the current top-ranking baby names — and the fastest risers.

According to the SSA, these are the most popular baby girl names in the United States

1. Olivia

2. Emma

3. Charlotte

4. Amelia

5. Sophia

6. Isabella

7. Ava

8. Mia

9. Evelyn

10. Luna

11. Harper

12. Camila

13. Sofia

14. Scarlett

15. Elizabeth

16. Eleanor

17. Emily

18. Chloe

19. Mila

20. Violet

The SSA also keeps track of its own trends, noting which names had taken the biggest jumps compared with the year before. This year, these were the fastest risers:

1. Wrenlee

2. Neriah

3. Arlet

4. Georgina

5. Amiri

6. Arleth

7. Amayah

8. Winona

9. Love

10. Inaya

You can see some of those -ya names already poking through, along with some feminine Barbie names. Whether those names have enough momentum to launch into the top spots in 2024 remains to be seen — but they all are good food for thought for when it comes to thinking of your own baby names.

Looking for more great baby names? Check out these Good Housekeeping lists:

French Baby Names | Hispanic Girl Names | Indian/Hindu Girl Names | Irish Girl Names | Japanese Baby Names | Long Girl Names | Short Girl Names | Baby Boy Names | Unisex/Gender Neutral Names

You Might Also Like

• 67 Best Gifts for Women That'll Make Her Smile

• The Best Pillows for Every Type of Sleeper