The Top Babylist Baby Name Trends of 2024—Including a New Rising Star
We peeked at our Babylist Babes list to see the biggest baby naming trends of the year so far.
By Briana Engelbrecht
Fact Checked by Shannon Vestal Robson
We love nothing more than celebrating your growing families, which is why we created Babylist Babes—where real Babylist parents can share their baby’s birthday and name. Each week, a list of Babylist babies born the previous week is featured in our pregnancy newsletters.
And as it turns out, naming another human is a big deal. We know a lot of thought and consideration goes into coming up with a name you love—we want to celebrate that! Babylist Babes is a fun way to highlight those names—it’s special for new parents who are excited to see their baby’s name featured, and it’s a great source of naming inspiration for expecting parents.
We sat down at the end of last year and pored over thousands of baby names that real Babylist parents submitted to the list to predict the top baby names and trends of 2024. And now that we’re almost halfway through the year, we’re diving back into the list to share this year’s top baby names so far, along with the trends we’re noticing. (You could say that baby names are kind of our thing.) We also surveyed parents on our Instagram account to learn more about how they approach naming their baby, like what influences their decision and what they consider deal breakers. Here’s what we found.
The Most Popular Names of 2024 So Far
Looking at the top baby names of 2024 thus far, classic names (both old-fashioned and modern) are topping the Babylist Babes name list (which was also the biggest trend we noticed in the top 2023 baby names). This doesn’t come as much of a surprise—Olivia, Charlotte, Liam, William, Noah and Ava have consistently made their way into the Social Security Administration’s Top 10 Baby Names list for the past few years. Many of these picks were also Babylist Babes’ most used names of 2023.
Here are the top 20 names trending on the Babylist Babes name chart so far this year:
- Jack
- Olivia
- Oliver
- Charlotte
- William
- Thomas
- Avery
- Rowan
- Liam
- Luca
- Isla
- Sophia
- James
- Hudson
- Wyatt
- Noah
- Levi
- Ava
- Charlie
- Harrison
How Baby Names Shifted in 2024 vs. 2023
There have been some notable shifts in the Babylist Babes name chart so far this year. Oliver climbed up a few spots, while Olivia dropped one (still remaining two of the most popular baby names overall, plus the year isn’t over yet). In 2023, Noah was in the top 10 baby names of the year, and now it’s fallen out of the top 20. Hudson made a significant jump. Isla just missed the top 20 names last year and is now ranking right in the middle. Harrison is one to watch, gaining popularity and climbing into the top 20. Meanwhile, we’ve noticed that names ending in -leigh, -ly, -lee are declining in rank.
Baby Naming Trends of 2024 So Far
In addition to the top 20 most popular names of the year, here are a few others that caught our eye:
Timeless Names Are…Well, Timeless
These names evoke an antique vibe (dare we say they’re Bridgerton-esque?) and all happen to be hanging out at the top of the Babylist Babes list.
- Clara
- Eleanor
- Lucy
- Charlotte
- Georgia
E names are having a moment
So many great names start with the letter “E”, and we’re seeing a lot on our list. The most popular ones include Ezra, Emma, Elijah, Evelyn, Emmett, Elliott and Eva. Emilia is also trending up this year—a possible deviation from the more common spelling of Amelia, which has been in the top 10 of the SSA’s list since 2016.
Lucia is rising in popularity for both first and middle names
Names that have been parent-faves in other countries are also gaining popularity here in the US. Lucia (meaning “light”) has Latin roots and is a common throughout Spain and Latin America. An alternate of Lucy, we’re seeing it climb the Babylist charts. While it’s just shy of making it into the SSA’s top 100 chart, it’s among some of the most popular Babylist Babes names for girls this year. Freya is also topping our list in 2024, but has long been a fave in places like England, Ireland and the Netherlands. It’s trending right along with Isabelle, Grace and Iris.
Lucas has given way to Luca
Luca is quickly rising in the Babylist Babes rank. When a name becomes so well-loved (aka popular—looking at you, Lucas), parents often shift to alternate spellings or close names that evoke the same vibes. More parents are also naming their baby girls Luca—we suspect its rise in popularity might have something to do with parents choosing traditionally masculine names for their baby girls as we’ve seen with James, Blake and Noah (alternate spelling: Noa).
Short and Sweet Middle Names Are Trending
One of my favorite parts of combing through Babylist Babes’ names is seeing all of the unique first and middle name combinations parents come up with. The possibilities are endless, but some of the most popular middle names tend to be short one-to-two-syllable names that just roll off the tongue. The top picks for middle name of the year so far are James, Rose, Marie, Grace, David, Jane, Rae, Jo, and Mae.
Traditional Middle Names for Boys
Parents are choosing more traditional middle names for their baby boys. The most popular are Joseph, John, William, Alexander, Thomas, Michael and Robert.
Babylist Parents Tell Us Their Baby Naming Thoughts
Parents Think It’s Important To Pick a Unique Name
We polled Babylist parents on our Instagram account to learn more about their naming decision process. When asked whether choosing a unique name was high on their list of considerations, 60% of parents said it was important to find something unique. Most (63%) said they hadn’t personally met another child with the name they chose. And 30% had met another kid with their baby’s name but weren’t surprised or bothered by it. (Tip: if you absolutely fall in love with a name that ranks high in popularity, changing up the spelling and picking a unique middle name can help to make it your own.)
The Top Baby Name Deal Breakers Are…
We also asked parents what qualified as a deal breaker when choosing a name. 42% of parents polled said they’d skipped a name due to a negative association with a specific person or memory. Popularity was another deal breaker, with 31% of parents saying they passed on names that were “too popular”. The next deal breaker was their partner simply not being on board.
Parents Say They Don’t Think About a Theme When Choosing a Name
Although most names can be categorized into different themes (think vintage, earthy, celestial, names based on books and so on), we were surprised to learn that most parents said they did not keep a particular theme or vibe in mind when choosing a name.
Parents Say Social Media Doesn’t Influence Their Naming Decisions
Social media is full of baby name inspo, and there’s always a lot of excitement about baby name reveals (I personally can not wait to hear what Sophia Richie Grainge and Ashanti name their 2024 babies). We also asked Babylist parents if social media and celebrity baby names impact their choices, and found out that most said no—but they did share some of their celebrity and influencer baby name faves:
- Atlas (Shay Mitchell)
- Sunday (Mallory Ervin, Nicole Kidman)
- Laguna (Ricky Bee)
- Rhodes (Emma Roberts)
- Rumi (Beyonce and Jay-Z)
- True (Khloe Kardashian)
- Stormi (Kylie Jenner)
- Psalm (Kim Kardashian)
- Bodhi (Megan Fox, Nikki Reed)
How Do I Add My Baby’s Name to Babylist Babes?
Not sure how to add your baby’s name to the list? Once they’re born, open any Babylist weekly pregnancy or parenting email and click on “enter your baby’s arrival date” at the top. You can also submit it here! (Note: you’ll need to be logged into your Babylist account)
We can’t wait to see all of the beautiful names you pick!
