The Most Popular Girls' Names of 2020 Are Inspired by Elite Athletes
The Social Security Administration (SSA), which keeps track of the popularity of baby names, says the most popular baby names for girls are Olivia, Ema and Ava.
The SSA also keeps a list of the fastest-rising names for girls, informing what may be the most popular baby girl names in the future.
Parents are opting for baby names inspired by nature, including gemstones and food.
When it comes to popular baby girl names, Emma had a good run. It was the No. 1 baby girl name in the United States from 2014 to 2018. (And from 1996 to 2007, it was the similar-sounding Emily.) But the Social Security Administration (SSA) released the list of the top baby names of 2019, and Emma has finally been unseated by Olivia, which was sitting at No. 2.
Will this ranking last? Possibly: The girl names seem to be holding firm, with only one new name — Camila — entering the top 15. While nothing seems like it'll be able to break the cycle of Emma, Olivia, Ava, Sophia and Isabella — the current top five names for baby girls — there are a few names that are getting hotter each year. Here are five trends to look out for, along with the 100 most popular baby names for girls. (No girls in the family? You can find the list of the most popular baby names for boys and gender-neutral names.)
The Fastest-Rising Names for Girls
The SSA keeps track of what the most popular names are going all the way back to the late-1800s. (Mary was the most popular girls' name in 1879, in case you were wondering.) But that's not the only thing the agency monitors. While you can see the SSA's 2019 list of top 100 names for girls below, it also compiles the names that have the biggest jump in rank between years. These are the top names gaining in popularity for girls:
Amoura
Theodora
Navy
Emani
Yaritza
Alaia
Alaiya
Oakleigh
Ainhoa
Salem
Lyanna
Kaisley
As you can see, names that end -a are on the rise, which makes sense given that the top five baby names also end in -a. Will Theodora be the Sophia of tomorrow? For those looking for gender-neutral names, it's interesting to note that Salem was one of the fastest climbers for both boys and girls.
Names That Are Bubbling Up
In addition to the SSA, baby naming website Nameberry keeps track of the interest in names among its users, catching names that are gaining in popularity before they hit the SSA list. According to the site, the most popular girl names for 2020 are Luna, Maeve, Aurora, Olivia, Isla, Ava, Ophelia, Eleanor, Eloise and Aurelia. Names that experienced big jumps in lookups on the site include Kiara, Nova, Ayla, Zara, Athena, Cordelia, Florence and Anastasia.
In addition, Nameberry compared its list of popular names at the beginning of the year to the SSA's 2018 list, they found more girls' names popular among its users that didn't make it onto the SSA's list of the top 1,000 names in the country. These are the ones that are just about to hit it big, but aren't so popular that they'll be written on all the cubbies in all the daycares across the country. They are: Posie, Elodie, Imogen, Ottilie, Seraphina, Cleo and Beatrix.
BabyCenter also tracks the interest in names among its users, found these on its list of the most popular names of the year, and the top five are very similar to the SSA's: Olivia, Emma, Ava, Isabella and Sophia. The site did find one name in its top picks that fell outside of the SSA's top 100: Amaliya. Two other names, Isla and Eleanor, were BabyCenter's fastest climbers for last year (and were also in Nameberry's hot list).
Names.org, a site that uses SSA data to try to predict fastest-climbing names, also sees big things for Camilla (or, really, the variant Camila) and Isla. The site predicts that Camila, Luna and Aria will crack the top of the list next year, and that Everly, Ivy, Emilia, Valentina, Willow and Emery are on the rise — those 'E' names sure seem poised to be big.
Look to Birthstones
Another hot, hot trend the site has noticed for girls (and even some boys) are names inspired by gemstones.
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Of the jewel-inspired names, there's been a rise in lookups for Amethyst, Emerald (and its derivatives, like Esmeralda and Esme), Ruby and Onyx (another unisex name). Even Goldie and Gemma have seen an uptick. That tracks with a trend that's been going on for a few years now, with baby-girl names inspired by the surrounding world: In 2018, BabyCenter saw an uptick in names inspired by nature. This includes food names like Kale, Kiwi, Maple and Clementine, as well as sky-related names like Dawn, Aurora and Rainbow.
Look to Athletes
For next year, BabyCenter sees female athletes as a big driver for girls' names. It's already seen a rise in interest for Coco and Naomi, after tennis superstars Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka. After the next Olympics, the site predicts a rise in Simone (after Simone Biles), Allyson (after Allyson Felix) and Dalilah (after track star Dalilah Muhammad). And don't forget the U.S. Soccer World Cup Champs: There may be a bump for Alex (Alex Morgan), Carli (Carli Lloyd) and Megan (after Megan Rapinoe, although the alternate spelling, Meaghan, is also climbing the charts after Meghan Markle).
Girls' Names That Aren't Girls' Names
BabyCenter already found a names that are flipping from the blue column to the pink one. Stevie, Max, Drew, Tyler and Ryan are some of the "boy" names that are now going to daughters. And the site predicts an even bigger rise in unisex names, with Ari, River, Cameron, Sam, Tatum, Corey and Frankie seeing an uptick in popularity, too.
The 100 Most Popular Names for Girls (According to the SSA):
The SSA says that these are the current most popular names for girls (from the year 2019, the most recent year available).
Olivia
Emma
Ava
Sophia
Isabella
Charlotte
Amelia
Mia
Harper
Evelyn
Abigail
Emily
Ella
Elizabeth
Camila
Luna1
Sofia
Avery
Mila
Aria
Scarlett
Penelope
Layla
Chloe
Victoria
Madison
Eleanor
Grace
Nora
Riley
Zoey
Hannah
Hazel
Lily
Ellie
Violet
Lillian
Zoe
Stella
Aurora
Natalie
Emilia
Everly
Leah
Aubrey
Willow
Addison
Lucy
Audrey
Bella
Nova
Brooklyn
Paisley
Savannah
Claire
Skylar
Isla
Genesis
Naomi
Elena
Caroline6
Eliana
Anna
Maya
Valentina
Ruby
Kennedy
Ivy
Ariana
Aaliyah
Cora
Madelyn
Alice
Kinsley
Hailey
Gabriella
Allison
Gianna
Serenity
Samantha
Sarah
Autumn
Quinn
Eva
Piper
Sophie
Sadie
Delilah
Josephine
Nevaeh
Adeline
Arya
Emery
Lydia
Clara
Vivian
Madeline
Peyton
Julia
Rylee
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