I could ramble on and on about trends for ages, but today, I’m taking a look at some of the real data collected by the Social Security that show us just how exactly parents in this past year are shifting their taste in baby names. Specifically for their daughters, although I also have an article just like this for boys if you missed it! These numbers show off which names rose the most spots, not necessarily those who gained the most new babies with the name or percentage of population given these names. Feel free to read if you’re a namenerd with the hope of getting a better understanding of the new stats, a parent searching for a trendy and cool name for their daughter, or an expecting parent hoping that your favorites won’t grace the list. Whatever your objective, I hope this article will provide you with that. So with that said, here are a list of the top trending girl names!
The Biggest Trend of the Year: Avayah
A stylish elaboration on #3 Ava, it’s easy to see why parents are drawn to the name Avayah, the hugest name of 2020. Not only does she dominate for girls, she also triumphs male victor Zyair by about 3 times, so this one is certainly a success. Avayah went from the pits of name popularity despair at #2477 all the way to #930, climbing up a startling 1547 spots. Avayah has so many positive qualities: for one, her pronunciation, Uh-vae-Uh, closely resembles top three favorite Ava, who obviously bears undeniable appeal for so many families, much of which is contained in that sound. Not only does Avayah have a striking middle V combined with the A initial, she also has a spelling that matches the trends of Aaliyah, Aryah, and Amayah that are all increasing in demand. Decidedly frilly and feminine, current and cool, and blending in perfectly with stylistic trends, it’s no wonder that Avayah has had such smashing success. But even a name with as many lovely qualities as Avayah can’t launch herself. A name that flies up out of the bottom of the ranks into the top 1000 needs a catalyst. Whether it’s a celebaby, tv show character, singer, or something entirely different, a name needs someone or something to throw it into the spotlight. And as I scoured the internet, I found a family vlogging channel that did just that. Vloggers Makaela and Ronnie Banks have three beautiful little girls (they really are the most adorable little babies) named Ameera, Avayah, and Aylah. Now, I’m not typically a same-initial sibset kind of gal, but that is quite the cute bunch. Anyway, it was this Youtube channel that brought attention to the name Avayah for the first time, and as we all resorted to bingeing our favorite content, it’s no wonder that parent’s main source of baby names came from Youtube and tv instead of baby showers and mommy+me classes, resulting in Avayah’s sudden rise. And I think that Avayah has the promise to continue to climb in the future. Alternative spellings will spring up and swirl around in coming years, and we’ll see Avaya, Aavaya, Avaeah, and more enter mainstream baby naming.
The Top Ten High Risers
Just like boy name Jaxtyn at #2 was a shock, the girl name that America catapulted into massive heights is a major shock. In fact, it’s one that I expected to plummet, not rise. Denisse? I mean, no one saw that coming. Most of us think of Denise as a name reserved solely for new grandmothers, not one that’s cool and current for their granddaughters. But apparently, Denisse Novoa, athlete and competitor on the reality show Exatlón Estados Unidos, made a big impact on the name. Her strength and competitive nature on the show might’ve inspired some parents to view the name not as a dated dud but as a name that represents determination and grit. Denisse has particularly been appealing to the Hispanic and Latino community due to the fact that the show it’s been popularized by is in Spanish, and now ranks at #854 after a 942 spot leap. Next up is Jianna, an alternate spelling of the Italian name Gianna, likely (almost definitely) a nod to Kobe Bryant’s late daughter, a name that allows parents to honor the basketball legend and his daughter with the name of their little girl. This is made clear by the appearance of Giana and Giovanna also among the trendiest names of the year. After a 824 spot jump, Jianna holds the #850 place in 2020 data.
Capri! Welcome to the top 1000! I’m not a giant Capri fan myself, but I was watching her very closely. She’s brief and bouncy, a word name that feels a bit Kardashian to me, and has this endearing liveliness about her. She was able to push her way into the 600s range, making a 608 spot jump to #685, and I’m sure she’ll just be flying higher and higher by the year now. Next up is Rosalia at #5. Rose names are truly classic, but Rose, Rosalie, Rosamund, and the rest of the gang have all been getting extra recognition lately. And it doesn’t hurt that Spanish artist Rosalia has also been gaining in popularity, performing at the 2020 Grammys. All these factors combined have pulled Rosalia out from the depths of the oceans of obscurity and to the surface at #744. Such a beautiful name, and I think that both Capri and Rosalia have a strong enough foundation to continue rising up in next year’s data.
Number 6 is just the traditional spelling of Denisse: Denise. Denise ranks just under Denisse at #872, a 522 spot leap from her past ranking. Now, I didn’t think of this the first time around, but isn’t Denny the cutest little nickname for a baby girl? I’m hoping that with this wave of baby Denises and Denisses, Denny will come flooding back into style as well. As for #7, Zhuri takes the cake, an elaboration on Zuri. LeBron James’s 6 year old daughter Zhuri James may have something to do with this sudden spike, given that she’s recently begun appearing in TikToks with her basketball player dad, putting her name out to a group of parents potentially viewing the content on the app. Zhuri just squeaked into the top 1000, balancing on the edge at #991 after a 398 spot boost. A name with a whole ton of spunk and a snazzy Z sound to top it all off, Zhuri is one cute little name. And just when you thought that the Haylee-Kailey-Baileigh craze was waning, we get a new variation who just happens to be #8 Haisley. That’s right, peppy Paisley and girl-next-door Hailey get a good ol’ fashioned smushing together to create Haisley. Now, I know you might be staring down at Haisley with a bit of doubt. I would agree. But put aside that ‘trashy trendy’ thing you’re thinking right now (I did a whole article on that here: https://delphinamoon23.wixsite.com/mysite/post/let-s-talk-about-trendy, but I think this Nameberry thread said it better) and think about the name as a variation of Hazel, a name that is much more acceptable in the naming atmosphere we’ve created today. I know my mind immediately categorizes it as a nicer name, and I see it more for what the parents who pushed Haisley to #373 in 2020 did when they chose it for their daughters. I’m not saying it’s Elizabeth, and I do think that Haisley is a very temporary high flyer. But ‘trendy’ still gets in my way a lot, and I get much too overly judgemental of names that don’t fit the silent, not spoken namenerd code of acceptability. For #9 we have a slight spelling variation on celestial name Nova, a name that rose 347 spots last year to become #569: Novah. In Nora/Norah fashion, Nova naturally comes with an -h version and a not -h version. Which one do you like best? I’m partial to Nora and Nova, as well as Noa vs. Norah, Novah, and Noah, but new parents in 2020 seem to lean more towards the -h endings. Finally, #10 appears to be perky Murphy, a name once put aside as only a surname, but now obviously in quite liberal use as a given name for baby girls at #969 as of 2020.
Some Trends I’ve Spotted
The Ay sound has been particularly in style lately, with Avayah, Shay, Leilany, and Jaylin (just to name a few) dominating sections of the trendiest of girl names. Meanwhile, we also see nickname names getting hot, with Stormi, Frankie, Jovie, Indie, Ari, and Stevie also among the top spots of these names swinging into the top 1000 with vigor and determination. Finally, I see no end to the -leys (Adalee, Keily, Charli, Bexley, Araceli), -lynns (Oaklynn, Avalynn, Aislinn, Aylin), or the -lanis (Malani, Khalani, Ailani, Keilani). Those were my main observations, although I did notice the -lynn ending getting slightly weaker while the -ley and -lani endings grow stronger. Alright dear readers, I hope you enjoyed, and keep an eye out for the falling boy names in a couple days. Thanks for reading, friends, and I hope you have a lovely rest of your day!
Sincerely,
-Delphina Moon