If you follow baby name trends, you probably know that there are a few names that continue to top the charts. For girls, we’ve got Charlotte, Olivia, Mia, Isla and Amelia. For boys, you can bet your bottom dollar that Jack, William, and Leo will make the top ten.
But these top baby names are NOT what parents are searching for! Well, not this year at least, according to Nameberry.
Nameberry is one of the leading baby naming websites and they’ve uncovered the most searched-for names of this year.
Nameberry’s popular names list gauges which names attracted the most attention from the site’s visitors over the year. Rather than a measure of how many babies received each name, it’s a prediction of which names parents are most likely to choose in the future.
Let’s take a look, shall we?
Top 10 Girl Names of 2021
- Eloise
- Aurelia
- Ava
- Rose
- Maeve
- Esme
- Eleanor
- Imogen
- Aurora
- Ophelia
Let’s compare to the top 10 most popular baby names of the year:
- Charlotte
- Amelia
- Olivia
- Isla
- Mia
- Ava
- Grace
- Chloe
- Willow
- Matilda
The only name that made both lists was Ava. Instead, we see names that are pretty, elegant, lyrical and European such as Maeve (Irish), Eloise (French), Aurelia (Latin) and Imogen (Celtic).
Another dominant trend is the vowel names with 8 of the 10 names beginning with a vowel. There is also a literary vibe going on here with two names coming from Shakespeare plays – Ophelia and Imogen.
Now, onto the boys:
Top 10 Boy Names of 2021
- Arlo
- Kai
- Atticus
- Silas
- Theodore
- Rowan
- Finn
- Milo
- Felix
- Soren
And compared to the most popular names:
- Oliver
- Noah
- William
- Jack
- Leo
- Henry
- Charlie
- Thomas
- Lucas
- Elijah
Not a single name match. Instead, we see trendy choices topping the charts including the short and sweet Kai. We also see a literary trend with the rising boys’ names including Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Finn (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer).
We also see a rise of European names including Soren (Danish), Rowan (Irish) and Silas (Latin).
Top 10 Trends of 2021
As we slam the front door on 2021, let’s have a quick look back at the top naming trends of the year:
- Magical, mythical and spellbinding names including Astrid, Titan and Onyx.
- Colour baby names such as Sienna, Forrest and Sage.
- Calendar names such as August, May and Freya.
- Three letter baby names such as Kai, Leo, and Ivy.
- Four letter baby names including Myla, Remi, Rome and Mack.
- Woodsy names including Sylvie, Briar and Wilder.
- The new wave of retro names including Delphine, Thora and Orson.
- Animal inspired baby names such as Bear, Raven and Otter.
- Car names like Bentley, Royce and Indy.
- Wanderlust baby names for parents who love travel and adventure.
We can’t wait to see what 2022 brings! We predict a crop full of Esmes, Maeves, Felixes and Milos! What about you??
