Each year, hundreds of new baby names make their first marks in the United States. Many are variations on familiar names. Others may be unfamiliar here, but well-known in other parts of the world. Still others are inspired by the words and names expectant parents encounter every day, from video game characters to social media influencers to common nouns. And then there are the bursts of pure inventiveness that showcase what an expressive act naming has become.
Take an alphabetic tour through 26 noteworthy names that were given to five or more American girls for the first time in the year 2020.
| Adalet | Adalet is Turkish for “justice.” Acclaimed Turkish author Adalet Ağaoğlu died in 2020. |
| Banksy | The identity of British artist-provocateur Banksy is hotly debated. A new answer: a newborn American girl. |
| Crue | This name, spelled in tribute to ’80s metal band Mötley Crüe, was already rising on the boys’ lists. Now it’s also given to “Girls, Girls, Girls.” |
| Demeter | Incredibly, the name of the Greek harvest goddess had never before appeared as a US baby name. |
| Evermore | Taylor Swift released an album called Evermore on December 11, giving parents a new option alongside popular names like Everly and Everett. |
| Fenan | This Eritrean and Ethiopian name comes from a Tigrinya word meaning positive morale or elated spirit. |
| Gravity | Gravity is the newest of the 20 different -ity nouns currently in use as girls’ names, led by the hit Serenity. |
| Historia | The Latin word for “history,” Historia is the name of a queen in the anime and manga franchise Attack on Titan. |
| Italeigh | Creative spins on place names are rising, from Scotlyn to Kairo to this country name. |
| Jexi | The title character of the film Jexi is a smartphone’s female-voiced AI virtual assistant that becomes over-attached to its owner and interferes with his life. |
| Knaomi | Silent K’s are starting to migrate from names like Knox and Knight to traditional N knames. Young sisters Knixia and Knaomi are social media stars. |
| Lavish | This new entry adds to the the growing category of luxe names. |
| Mayahuel | Mayahuel was an Aztec fertility goddess associated with the agave plant. |
| Namaste | Not traditionally a name, “namaste” is a spiritual greeting from Hindu traditions. As the word has become familiar outside of its original context it has been adopted as a name, much as the Buddhist term “bodhi” has been. |
| Olori | Olori is a Yoruba regal title, referring to a king’s consort. As an American baby name it is borne by celebrity stylist Olori Swank. |
| Poema | The Spanish word for “poem” is now a baby name. The English words Poet and Poetry also appear in the name stats. |
| Qiyana | Qiyana is the Empress of the Elements in the game League of Legends. |
| Rehtaeh | This name is typically chosen to honor a woman named Heather. (Look closely.) |
| Sinatra | The name Sinatra appeared as a boy’s name during Frank Sinatra’s swinging ’50s heyday, but didn’t make its debut for girls until 2020. |
| Tenney | This English surname was chosen as the name of an American Girl doll: an aspiring country music star from Nashville, Tennessee. |
| Uriella | A feminine form of the biblical name Uriel, Uriella was also the name of a controversial leader of a modern religious sect. |
| Vallolet | To understand this name, pronounce it as if it were a Spanish word. It is chosen to signal the English pronunciation of Violet to Spanish speakers. |
| Wilde | The final e lends surname-style refinement to a “wild” name. |
| Xharia | Xharia is part of a wave of h’s after consonants in names like Khingston, Rhyder and Zhoe. |
| Yoatzi | Yoatzi Castro is a multi-platform social media star. |
| Zepplyn | This spelling merges a Led Zeppelin tribute with a popular feminine name style. |
Read More: the Brand-New Boys’ Names Alphabet
2 Comments
I just hope the girls named Gravity are naturally thin. Do you think there’s any consensus among the namers on how to pronounce Xharia – i.e. with a Z sound, a ZH sound or a J sound in front?
I didn’t realize Rehtaeh was so rare. I figured it was following the trend of Nevaeh. It will always make me think of Rehtaeh Parsons though.