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Nameberry predicts 2020’s top baby names by calculating which names saw the biggest increases in interest from our readers so far this year compared with last year, and the names may shock you. The top baby names of 2020 feature a host of names that went virtually unused a generation ago and they include newly-minted names, rediscovered antique names plus names imported from around the world.

Unsurprisingly, some top names of 2020 are influenced by high visibility celebrities or pop culture events while others contain a fresh spin on a stylish sound or form.

Our top baby names aren’t the official national list (sadly, we won’t know which names were really used most often for babies in 2020 until May of 2021 when the Social Security Administration releases the list) but the names here give mamas a heads up on trends and specific names destined to get more popular in 2020 and beyond.

Here is Nameberry’s outlook for the top names for baby girls and boys in 2020:


Top girls names for 2020

Our top girl names for 2020 feature several choices that feel familiar, yet contain some element that’s new.

The top 10 girl names, in order of popularity, are:

1. Adah

All girl names starting with the letters and sound Ad have been rising quickly in recent years, including Ada and Adele, Adelaide and all spellings of Adeline. Adah, a Biblical name pronounced AH-dah, is a fresh choice with deep roots.

2. Reese

Actress Reese Witherspoon had a highly visible year in 2019, between Big Little Lies and her book club. Now her name is poised to take off ala Scarlett (Johansson) and Adele. Reese is the phonetic spelling of the unisex Welsh name meaning ardor.

3. Mika

Journalist Mika Brzezinski undoubtedly had some influence on the popularization of her name, pronounced mee-ka, but it’s also a new Michael feminization, taking over from the now-flagging Mikayla and cousins.

4. Paisley

Paisley is one of those super trendy names that morphed quickly from fascinating and fresh to super trendy, rising in the official list to number 52 in just a bit over a decade . But according to our data, the Scottish Paisley is only getting hotter.

5. Amina

Amina is an Arabic name with Quranic significance—she was the mother of prophet Muhammad—and international appeal.

6. Teagan

The Irish and Welsh Teagan is one of those names that is technically unisex but is used far more often for one gender, in this case over 90%of girls have the name. The name has deeper roots than you might imagine—there was a Welsh St. Tegan—and takes over for 90s favorites Megan and Reagan.

7. Nova

Nova is one of those nouveau names that’s enjoyed a meteoric rise. Closing in on the top 50 on the official charts, Nova could soon join Luna as a celestial name at the top of the popularity lists.

8. Aura

Aura may be the least-used name among our top girl names of 2020—only 120 baby girls were named Aura in the US in 2018, where it still lies outside the Top 1,000. But it’s a natural successor to Aria and Arya, carries a stylish spiritual feel and is also popular with Spanish speaking parents.

9. Pearl

Gently old-fashioned Pearl is a granny name turned modern superstar. Pearl was a top 100 name from the time the Social Security popular names count started in 1880 through the mid-1920s, when it started a long decline. But in the past decade it’s come back in a major way.

10. Billie

Teen singing sensation Billie Eilish has done for this name what Billie Holiday could not: made it a modern star. Billie hit its high point in the US charts in 1929 and 1930, when it was in the top 100, which according to the Hundred Year Rule makes it destined for widespread popularity again in the next decade.

These names also showed a big bounce in interest in 2019 compared with the previous year, so we’d look for them to gain greater visibility in 2020.

  1. Adelaide
  2. Allegra
  3. Amaya
  4. Anastasia
  5. Andromeda
  6. Anya
  7. Ariel
  8. Artemis
  9. Astra
  10. Aurelia
  11. Avalon
  12. Ayla
  13. Briar
  14. Camila
  15. Cecilia
  16. Clara
  17. Claudia
  18. Clover
  19. Cordelia
  20. Cosima
  21. Delia
  22. Eden
  23. Eliora
  24. Elodie
  25. Eloise
  26. Fia
  27. Harlow
  28. Indigo
  29. Ione
  30. Juniper
  31. Kiara
  32. Lara
  33. Luna
  34. Lyra
  35. Mabel
  36. Mira
  37. Myla
  38. Nyx
  39. Octavia
  40. Olive
  41. Persephone
  42. Piper
  43. Poppy
  44. Primrose
  45. Reign
  46. Sally
  47. Selah
  48. Sloane
  49. Theodora
  50. Willow

Top boy names for 2020:

1. Austin

This Texas city name is poised to climb again now that the memory of Austin Powers has faded. You can also see it as a feminist literary name, a tribute to author Jane Austen.

2. Alva

Every American schoolchild knows this as the middle name of the great inventor Thomas Edison, whose surname has also become popular. With Alma and Alba now stylish for girls, Alva could gain visibility for boys.

3. Acacius

This ancient name carries the trendy s ending and a botanical meaning, a style winner on three counts.

4. Tate

Norse surname name Tate, which means cheerful, is theoretically unisex but used 95% of the time for boys.

5. Diego

Diego, which you’d be forgiven for not knowing was the Spanish form of James, is one of the hottest Latinx names for boys in the US.

6. Easton

Easton, technically a place-name literally meaning east town, is preppier and more popular than the cowboyish Weston.

7. Lucius

Lucius can’t help being a luscious name, one of the male forms of the ancient Roman clan name meaning light. While Lucy, Lucia, and Lucian are all rising on popularity lists, Lucius has yet to hit the US top 1,000.

8. Cash

Cash is a multi-dimensional name, theoretically a short form for the stylish ancient names Cassius or Cassian, a tribute to Johnny Cash, or a straight-out ode to money.

9. Ash

Ash is a short form of the popular Biblical Asher, which means happy, and might also be considered a tree name. It still stands outside the top 1,000.

10. Luca

Luca is a pan-European favorite that receiving an enthusiastic welcome from American parents. Related to Lucas and Luke rather than the Lucius family, it’s set to break into the boys’ top 100.

Based on Nameberry data, we predict these boys names to be among the hottest of 2020 and rise through the ranks in the decade ahead.

  1. Alfie
  2. Alistair
  3. Amias
  4. Ansel
  5. Apollo
  6. Archer
  7. Archie
  8. Arlo
  9. Arthur
  10. Atlas
  11. August
  12. Beau
  13. Beckett
  14. Bennett
  15. Brooks
  16. Caius
  17. Calix
  18. Casper
  19. Cassian
  20. Chester
  21. Cian
  22. Clliian
  23. Cormac
  24. Elio
  25. Emmett
  26. Enzo
  27. Ezra
  28. Felix
  29. Finn
  30. Flynn
  31. Grant
  32. Hugo
  33. Jax
  34. Jonah
  35. Josiah
  36. Jude
  37. Kieran
  38. Kit
  39. Lazarus
  40. Leon
  41. Lincoln
  42. Mateo
  43. Micah
  44. Miles
  45. Nash
  46. Nico
  47. Nolan
  48. Oliver
  49. Orson
  50. Otis
  51. Raphael
  52. Roman
  53. Ronan
  54. Sullivan
  55. Theo
  56. Titus
  57. Tobias
  58. Weston
  59. Zane
  60. Zion

Top unisex names for 2020

Gender-neutral baby names we see getting more popular for both baby girls and baby boys in 2020 include the following.

1. Ellis

2. Phoenix

3. Remi /Remy

4. Marlowe

5. Shea

6. Zephyr

7. Darcy

8. Rowan

9. Quinn

10. Emerson

This article was originally published on Nameberry and it has been republished with permission from the author.