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Olivia & Liam Were Among The Most Popular Baby Names Of 2019
As December winds down, it's fun to look back at some of the year's biggest and most interesting trends, which includes the most popular baby names in 2019, of course. Before 2020 is officially here, at least three outlets have released their annual reports regarding the 100 most favored monikers for little ones, giving parents, and parents-to-be, a well-rounded look at what names they'll likely see in their child's future Kindergarten class.
Interestingly, no two lists of popular 2019 baby names are exactly the same. And although a number of names can be found on all three lists, they tend to be ranked in different places on each list. For example, while Daniel is ranked as the 24th most popular name for boys in 2019 by BabyCenter, the website BabyNames ranked it 68, and Nameberry listed it in 82nd place. Still, it's clear that Daniel remains a classic, popular name.
And although there are dozens of names that are new to the lists this year, a majority of them are long-standing favorites. In fact, BabyCenter reported that Sophia has enjoyed an entire decade as the organization's number one name for girls. For boys, however, 2019 saw Liam finally edge out Jackson to become the most popular name for boys after six years in second place.
Here's how 2019's most popular baby names breaks down:
The Top 10 Names For Girls
While Olivia topped Nameberry's list of 2019's most popular names for girls, it was edged out of the number one rank by Sophia on BabyCenter's list, and fell to number seven on rankings compiled by BabyNames.com. In fact, while some names — like Olivia and Amelia — appear within the top 10 of all three lists, none of the lists look exactly the same.
While Nameberry's top 10 most popular names for girls in 2019 were Olivia, Isla, Aurora, Luna, Charlotte, Ada, Cora, Amelia, Maeve, and Ophelia, BabyCenter ranked the year's top 10 names as being Sophia, Olivia, Emma, Ava, Aria, Isabella, Amelia, Mia, Riley, and Aaliyah. The top 10 names for girls in 2019 as ranked by BabyNames, however, were Charlotte, Amelia, Violet, Aria, Aurora, Ava, Olivia, Vivienne, Hazel, and Nora.
The Top 10 Names For Boys
Similarly, 2019's top 10 lists for boy names also differed, with only Oliver landing on all three. While the name Liam topped lists from BabyCenter and BabyNames, it didn't even make Nameberry's top 10. Instead, Nameberry ranked Milo as the most popular name for boys in 2019, followed by Asher, Archie, Jasper, Silas, Oliver, Theodore, Jack, Atticus, and Aarav.
Although it garnered the top spot on Nameberry's list, Milo didn't rank within either BabyCenter or BabyNames' top 10. Following Liam, BabyCenter ranked Jackson, Noah, Aiden, Grayson, Caden, Lucas, Elijah, Oliver, and Muhammad as the year's top 10 names. Meanwhile, BabyNames listed the year's 10 most popular boys' names as Liam, Oliver, Theodore, Declan, Henry, Owen, Finn, Caleb, Emmett, and Benjamin.
Celebrity Picks Continue To Hold Sway
Similarly to how they drive trends in fashion, celebrities' baby name picks continued to drive trends within baby names in 2019. For example, Luna and Miles, the names of John Legend and Chrissy Teigen's two children, both fell within all three lists of 2019's 100 most popular baby names.
Other popular names in 2019 likely inspired by celebrities included Maverick, a name Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps chose for his son born in September, and Mason and Penelope, both names Kourtney Kardashian gave to her children. Similarly, the names of popular celebrities — think Kylie Jenner, Scarlett Johansson, Emilia Clark, Maisie Williams — also proved to be a popular way of naming children in 2019.
Another Popular Source Of Inspiration? The Royal Family
The British Royal Family also proved to be a popular source of inspiration for baby names in 2019. For instance, Charlotte, the name of Prince William and Kate Middleton's daughter, landed on all three lists of popular girls' names. Camilla, the first name of the Duchess of Cornwall, was also listed as the 17th most popular name for girls by BabyCenter. Charles, William, Henry, Louis, and Archie — all names of male members of the royal family — also all fell among Nameberry's 100 most popular baby names for boys. Even Elizabeth, the Queen's chosen moniker, ranked the 43rd most popular girl name in 2019, according to Nameberry.
For Girls, Floral & Plant Names Continued To Reign
In 2019, names inspired by flowers and plants like Rose, Violet, Iris, Ivy, Lily, Daisy, Dahlia, Willow proved especially popular for girls.
Parents Also Pulled Inspiration From Famous Places
While Kimye's Chicago may not have fallen within the top 100 baby names for 2019, it seems a number of parents drew inspiration for their children's names from well-known places. BabyCenter's list, for example, listed Brooklyn and London as the year's 44th and 99th most popular names for girls, respectively. Meanwhile, Austin and Zion were listed as the 92nd and 94th most popular names for boys.
With the new year set to bring us forward into a new decade, it will be interesting to see if any of this past decade's long-standing favorite names — like Sophia for instance, or the many biblical names — continue to reign supreme. Or will 2020 bring a new crop of popular baby names?
