Next Year's Top Baby Names

When you're choosing a name for your baby, why should you care which names were most popular last year? What really matters is which baby names are going to be popular next year and into the future. You want to know which names you're going to hear most on the playground and in the classroom, which of today's stylish choices will become tomorrow's Top Ten and which will remain distinctive.

Nameberry's top names list, tallied from nearly six million views of our individual name pages, is an indication of which names parents will be using for their babies in 2012 and beyond.

The biggest news on the list: Asher as the new Number 1 for boys, taking over from Finn. Charlotte remains the top girls' name, though Unisex Number 1 Harper is attracting interest mostly for girls. New entries to the girls' Top 10 are Scarlett and Lila, and to the boys', the fashionable classic James.

While these may be Nameberry's favorite names, which on this list are your favorites? Check this space early in the New Year for our brackets competition to pick the favorite baby names of Huffington Post Parents.

LOOK: Nameberry's Top 10 Girls and Boys Names

(Click here or scroll down to see the complete top 100)

Top 100 Girls' Names

*rising fastest

1. Charlotte
2. Seraphina
3. Amelia
4. Violet
5. Isla
6. Imogen
7. Adelaide
8. Alice
9. Scarlett *
10. Lila *
11. Stella
12. Eleanor *
13. Maeve
14. Ruby
15. Ava
16. Eliza
17. Claire
18. Olivia
19. Lucy
20. Matilda
21. Sophia
22. Isabella
23. Grace
24. Beatrice*
25. Hazel*
26. Cora*
27. Aurora
28. Clara*
29. Nora
30. Clementine
31. Evangeline
32. Elizabeth
33. Ella
34. Lily
35. Evelyn
36. Ivy
37. Poppy
38. Audrey
39. Arabella*
40. Genevieve
41. Penelope*
42. Josephine
43. Elodie*
44. Mae*
45. Maisie
46. Emma
47. Iris
48. Pippa*
49. Elula*
50. Eloise*
51. Willa
52. Wren
53. Caroline
54. Adeline
55. Gemma
56. Aurelia*
57. Mila*
58. Jane
59. Lydia
60. Margaret
61. Rose
62. Piper
63. Delilah
64. Emmeline
65. Chloe
66. Esme
67. Cordelia*
68. Juliet
69. Zoe
70. Madeline
71. Phoebe
72. Georgia
73. Harlow
74. Olive
75. Sadie
76. Katniss
77. Anna
78. Adele
79. Eva
80. Louisa
81. Lola
82. Hadley*
83. Emily
84. Beatrix*
85. Hannah
86. Mia
87. Julia
88. Willow
89. Maya
90. Kate
91. Cecilia
92. Vivian
93. Sophie
94. Eden
95. Molly
96. Leila
97. Cecily
98. Ada
99. Millie
100Fiona

Top 100 Boys' Names

*rising fastest

1. Asher
2. Finn
3. Henry
4. Milo
5. Jasper
6. Atticus
7. Oliver
8. James
9. Jude
10. Felix
11. Owen
12. Liam
13. Miles
14. Kai
15. Hudson
16. Silas*
17. Levi
18. Leo
19. Emmett*
20. Sebastian
21. Declan
22. Oscar
23. Jack
24. Noah
25. Rhys
26. August
27. Max
28. Dashiell
29. Everett*
30. William
31. Caleb
32. Ezra
33. Eli
34. Beckett
35. Ethan
36. Theodore*
37. Charlie
38. Elliot
39. Bentley*
40. Theo
41. Arlo*
42. Julian
43. Alexander
44. Mason
45. Gabriel*
46. Benjamin
47. Jacob
48. Dexter
49. Luke
50. Jonah
51. Phineas
52. Wyatt*
53. Flynn*
54. Archer*
55. Jackson
56. Isaac
57. Hugo*
58. Elijah
59. Nathaniel
60. Lucas
61. Arthur
62. Ryan
63. Callum
64. Thomas
65. Logan
66. Roman
67. Cole
68. Elias
69. Auden
70. Xavier
71. Tristan
72. Evan
73. George
74. Gideon
75. Holden
76. Edward
77. Aidan
78. Rufus
79. John
80. Samuel
81. Grayson*
82. Hayden
83. Simon
84. Aiden
85. Andrew
86. Ryder*
87. Nicholas
88. Charles
89. Orion
90. Harrison
91. Michael
92. Axel*
93. Soren*
94. Liev
95. Tobias
96. Nathan
97. Kieran
98. Reed
99.Zachary
100. Landon

Top 25 Unisex Names

*rising fastest

1. Harper
2. Quinn
3. Rowan
4. Avery
5. Sawyer
6. Rory
7. Riley
8. Emerson
9. Finley
10. Dylan
11. Luca
12. Micah*
13. Sasha
14. Emery
15. Nico
16. Peyton*
17. Remy*
18. Blake
19. Aubrey
20. Sage
21. Parker
22. Carter
23. River
24. Teagan
25. Cameron

 

 

 

Follow Pamela Redmond Satran on Twitter: www.twitter.com/nameberry

Comments

[Sheltie Luv]

02:40 AM on 01/06/2012

Really? Lauren isn't on the list? I thought that was a relatively popular name. Regardless, I'm still keeping it for my daughter.

[nikemomma2007]

12:24 AM on 01/05/2012

Every year these so called experts get it wrong. Why publish what they think will be the most popular names, they never get it right.

[Jason Ungar]

02:07 PM on 01/04/2012

Darn it. Exactly what we didn't want when we named our daughter Charlotte..just about 2 years ago.

[coachnelly]

09:22 AM on 01/03/2012

It's a fun article not to be taken too seriously. Name your child what you want regardless of whether it's popular and not. Don't worry about what other people think - there will always be someone that doesn't like it and your child will at some point be teased, regardless of the name you choose. Just like everything else in our marriage, choosing a name was about compromise - what was something that both of us could agree on for our daughter.

[mamacat]

04:55 AM on 01/03/2012

The name of one of my Grandmothers was Agnes.
One of my Grandfathers was named Leonard.
Not too many people running around with those names anymore.
A rose by any other name smells just as sweet.

[SvrWx]

04:22 AM on 01/03/2012

I've never heard of Nameberry. Who are they?

That being said, I love Ava and Isabella. Combined, Ava Isabella (insert last name) is perfect!!

[SomebodysParent]

07:51 PM on 01/02/2012

My daughter is a Charlotte born in 2010. I AGONIZED over the name. I was TERRIFIED it would become too popular. It was Nameberry's top riser last year too. I'm not buying it. I still don't think it will crack the top 10 on the SS list in 2012. I think Isabella, Emma, Sophia, and Ava will continue to reign. This is a glimpse of my agony... http://bit.ly/t7IfDR This is was how we ultimately came to Charlotte.... http://bit.ly/sPun11

[Jason Ungar]

02:08 PM on 01/04/2012

Exactly what we didn't want when we named our daughter Charlotte.­.just about 2 years ago. Oh well I guess our great minds think alike!

[nikemomma2007]

11:59 PM on 01/04/2012

I have yet to meet a Charlotte. I was a day care/preschool teacher for years. Never a Charlotte. I wouldn't worry about it. It's a very pretty name.

[LexiMR]

04:00 PM on 01/02/2012

im 18 and i already know at 2 names,both girls, i absolutely want to name my children (Lea and Quinn). i don't plan on having kids for a very long time but, popular or not i'm using those names. people shouldn't pick because of popularity. pick a name special to you. your child will be stuck with it for forever.

[cwpamp]

08:53 AM on 01/02/2012

Really, this list sounds like a joke. Keeping in mind, names WE would have enjoyed being called ourselves, and shortened nicknames that might likely be used by others, we considered only 33 girl names, 39 boys names(some which we would eliminate on a second look), to be worth even considering to give a person for a lifetime. Hopefully future parents are smart enough to use discression when choosing such a loving gift. It is a very personal project so we try to never show disrespect for others choices through reactions or comments. And we never hated others for their rudenesses. We just 'shook it off', reevaluated our choice, and moved on. In the nine months we had to make the decision, the choices did evolve and change. Also, it worked out the easiest when the 'future mom' came up with a list of 2-10 names from which the dad could give his input for first and middle combinations. ('Mom' did have a reserve list of about 20 more names for each sex to go back to and to add to the main list).

[coachnelly]

01:08 PM on 01/02/2012

That seems really....complicated.

[cwpamp]

01:22 PM on 01/02/2012

There is a range of development to everything. Level effects results.

[HoosierConsumer]

08:41 AM on 01/02/2012

Are people REALLY naming their sons ATTICUS? I realize that Atticus Finch was an admirable literary character, but he would have been born around the 1920's in the South. Why would someone stick a child with that name in 2012?

[SvrWx]

05:11 AM on 01/03/2012

At least it's not Sparticus.

[novalove]

08:56 AM on 01/05/2012

My first born son is going to be name Atticus. It is a great literary reference, a strong name and something not everyone in his class will have.. and hey at least its not Apple or Pilot Inspektor. lol

[Anonimouth]

08:14 AM on 01/09/2012

I absolutely love the name Atticus. I would have used it in a heartbeat, hubby wasn't so keen on it. Would call him Atti for short.

[Ebelskiver]

09:47 PM on 01/01/2012

This list is incredibly Anglo.

[BLKCLK500]

07:59 AM on 01/02/2012

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY....NO LASHAWN or TANISHA ?

[gwj2000]

10:45 AM on 01/02/2012

I was looking for the autos- Mercedes, Lexus, Ferrari, and of course, Chrysler 300m.

[realist666]

04:45 PM on 01/01/2012

Unbelievably misleading article!

For a list of actual names chosen by US parents see the Social Security site

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

[murphyab]

06:56 PM on 01/01/2012

Yep and the first paragraph sounds really shallow and lame... "What really matters is which baby names are going to be popular next year and into the future." Uhm, no actually that doesn't matter AT ALL. What matters is if you like the name or not, if it's a strong, confidence-evoking name. Who cares if it's "popular"? People have their values twisted. "You want to know which names you're going to hear most on the playground and in the classroom" Yeah, so I can know what NOT to name my kid. Do you really want he or she to be 1 of the 10 Ashers in his class? Way to make 'em feel unique and special. Get a clue Pamela.

[Lori Day]

05:42 PM on 01/02/2012

I agree! I work with kids and am in tune with what's popular. The names on this list you give are far more accurate. Not sure what's up!

[realist666]

04:34 PM on 01/01/2012

This is an awful list and article - it doesn't explain clearly that this list was developed based on the number of times someone looked up a name on this website.

This is not a list of names people are actually giving to their children. For that list for any year - in the US at least - go to the Social Security Administration's website - http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

[Rubberfish]

05:42 PM on 01/01/2012

I was thinking that myself.

[bluefalcon06]

04:25 PM on 01/01/2012

Ug, some of those names are awful.

[asmj21]

04:10 PM on 01/01/2012

I am so happy my name isn't up there!! It's Alia and my parents made it up, but now i've met a couple of girls with the same name but they spell it differently.

[Rubberfish]

05:44 PM on 01/01/2012

Well, consider yourself lucky that, although your parents made the name up, it is actually a real name with a real meaning. I see too many kids nowadays that have names that their parents made up because they liked the way it sounded, but there's absolutely no meaning to those names.