Expert guides, trends, and data-driven analysis on baby names.
Public naming data has always been a frozen photo. Colorado's new seal law is the first time a state has explicitly told researchers some names will be invisible. The dataset our children grow up measured against will not be the same one we were measured against.
Surprise pregnancies produce different names than planned ones. The Ozempic baby cohort is quietly reversing the post-Pinterest era of researched five-syllable names — toward shorter, more intuitive choices.
The most popular baby names in America right now are overwhelmingly Germanic in origin. Emma, Amelia, Henry, William — all Germanic. Here's a deeper dive into what makes these names endure.
Twin names are an art form. Here are the best pairs that connect without being cutesy, for every twin combination.
We brought back mom jeans. We brought back Doc Martens. The Spice Girls had a reunion. So when do we bring back Courtney and Kyle? Seriously — some 90s names deserve a second look.
The best literary names do something special: they carry a character's spirit into the real world. Atticus Finch's moral courage. Lyra Belacqua's fierce independence. Scarlett O'Hara's survival instinct. When you name a child after a literary character, you're invoking all of that.
Liam means "strong-willed warrior" — and it's #1. Wyatt means "brave in war" — it's at #38. Matilda means "mighty in battle." The best warrior names aren't just bold — they're beautiful too.
Baby name endings tell the story of American culture in miniature. The rise of -son names, the explosion of -ley for girls, the golden age of -ella, the relentless -den wave — each ending has a life cycle that mirrors bigger social shifts.
Norse names are having a serious moment. Freya is top 160. Axel is top 80. Odin has broken into the top 500. Viking mythology is becoming one of the most exciting sources for baby names today.
Mamdani's skip is a small but visible signal in a much larger trend. Across both baby and pet data, names with 'service' meanings - Asha, August, Wren, Wolf, Sage - are quietly outperforming their generic analogs.
Sports rookie debuts reveal a quieter naming truth: parents are MUCH more likely to name a son after a position-player rookie than a quarterback or NBA star.
Naming a half-Korean child Austin Davis on prestige TV is a deliberate provocation. It mirrors a real SSA pattern that mixed Asian-American families overwhelmingly choose Anglo first names with Korean middle names — and rarely the reverse.