istockphoto.com/adrian825
Baby Center has released its most popular baby names of 2018 and you probably won’t be surprised by this year’s top monikers. What is surprising though is the increase in Fortnite and celeb-inspired names.
In 2018, Sophia laid claim to the top name for girls for the ninth consecutive year, while Jackson remained the most popular name for boys for the sixth year. The fastest growing names in popularity for 2018 include Everly, Isla, Leo and Carson. These are the top ten names for both girls and boys:
Let’s hear it for the girls!
-
Sophia
-
Olivia
-
Emma
-
Ava
-
Isabella
-
Aria
-
Riley
-
Amelia
-
Mia
-
Layla
Let’s hear it for the boys!
-
Jackson
-
Liam
-
Noah
-
Aiden
-
Caden
-
Grayson
-
Lucas
-
Mason
-
Oliver
-
Elijah
Fortnite made a big impact this year. Some of its 125 million players had babies this year and named their children after characters and “skins” in the online multiplayer game. Names inspired by the game include Ramirez, which jumped 57 percent for boys, and costume “skins” like Leviathan (jumped 46 percent for boys), Bunny (jumped 30 percent for girls) and Rogue (jumped 21 percent for boys). Names of popular players like Dakotaz (up 13 percent for girls and 6 percent for boys) also saw a spike.
When it comes to finding the right baby name, more new parents are trying to keep up with the Kardashians. This year saw an increase in Kardashian-Jenner themed names. After three new babies were born into the celeb dynasty in 2018, the name Stormi (Kylie Jenner’s daughter) rose 63 percent, Dream (Rob Kardashian’s daughter) jumped 42 percent, Nori (Kim Kardashian West’s daughter’s nickname) spiked 14 percent, Saint (Kim Kardashian West’s son) leapt 42 percent and Reign (Kourtney Kardashian’s son) increased 27 percent.
Other celebs who saw their names climb the list include the children of Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines. Magnolia increased 21 percent, Emmie by 13 percent, Ella by 8 percent, Drake by 23 percent and Crew (the couple’s youngest born this summer) by 4 percent.
Other trends include food style names like Kale, Kiwi, Maple, Clementine, Saffron, Rosemary and Sage, and spiritual/natural names like Peace, Harmony, Hope, Shanty, Dawn, Aurora, Rainbow, Ocean, Fern and Sky.
Read more about this year’s top names and trends on Baby Center’s website.