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42 Absolutely Brand-New Baby Names That Tell a Story

May 13, 2019 laurawattenberg 7 Comments

42 Absolutely Brand-New Baby Names That Tell a Story

May 13, 2019 LauraWattenberg 7 Comments
Lumiere and Cardi B
Lumière and Cardi B. Images: Disney.com, Wikimedia Commons

Meet America’s newest baby names. Each year, hundreds of names make their debut in the U.S. name statistics, meaning they were given to at least five newborn boys or girls in one year for the first time ever.

I’ve collected some highlights in notable categories from 2018. Together, they paint a picture of what’s on American parents’ minds today, and how far we’re willing to look for fresh name ideas.

Heavens and Earth
Solstice (M), Horizon (M), Cloud (F), Solar (M), Universe (F, M)

Word Imports
Noir (F, French, “black”), Kawaii (M, Japanese, “cute”), Sensei (M, Japanese, “elder/teacher”), Lumière (M, French “light”—and a singing candelabrum in Beauty and the Beast)

Video Game Heroes
Aloy (F, Horizon Zero Dawn), Bayek (M, Assassin’s Creed Origins), Ikora (F, Destiny 2)

Positivity
Gift (M), Charm (M), Goodness (M), Perfect (M), Prevail (M)

Celebrity Babies
Chicago (F, daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West), SirCarter (M, son of Beyoncé and Jay-Z)

American Places
Kentucky (M), Hatteras (F), Rehoboth (M), Nashville (M)

Entertainers
Selleck (M, actor Tom Selleck), Zazie (F, actress Zazie Beetz), Taika (M, director Taika Watiti), Cardi (F, rapper Cardi B), Zaytoven (Producer/DJ Zaytoven)

Royalty
SirRoyal (M), Pharaoh (F), KingArthur (M), Royaltii (F)

Ancients
Tomiris (F), Ozymandias (M), Thanatos (M)

Characters of Dubious Reputation
KyloRen (Star Wars), Rhaegar (Game of Thrones)

…and a Smorgasbord of Surprises
Foreign (F), Bronze (F), Peru (F), Euro (M), Precise (M)

LauraWattenberg
LauraWattenberg

Namerology founder and "Baby Name Wizard" author Laura Wattenberg is a globally recognized name expert, known for her scientific approach to understanding name trends and culture.

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7 Comments

  • lucubratrix May 15, 2019 at 12:14 pm

    I’d add Soldier and Alouette to the smorgasboard of surprises, Elegance to the positivity, and Aegon to the Game of Thrones dubious characters, Miqueen to the royalty. Myrcella is another GoT name but her character arc is completed and she’s not that dubious… and many more dubious GoT characters had their names debut in variant spellings this year. Freyr should be added to the Ancients.

    • lucubratrix May 15, 2019 at 12:16 pm

      Oh and Kingjudah and Sirlegend.

  • Melissa July 22, 2019 at 4:00 am

    The “Positivity” names remind me of 17th-century Puritan names like Temperance, Praise-God, and Obedience.

  • Craig August 1, 2020 at 8:09 pm

    I can’t believe Selleck didn’t show up in the 70’s and 80’s when Magnum PI was in the top 10 Neilsen ratings and Tom Selleck was a big sex symbol..

  • Leiana April 7, 2022 at 11:34 pm

    Where do you get your data? SSA only shows top 1000 as far as I’m aware.

  • Leiana April 8, 2022 at 1:46 am

    Thanks so much

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