Girls’ Names 2012: Nameberry’s Top 100

Girls’ Names 2012: Nameberry’s Top 100

Around this time every year, we peek behind the Nameberry curtain to see which names are the most popular with our visitors.  This Top 100 for each gender, which reflects views of the name pages on our site, indicates which names have captured the most interest since the start of the year.

The girls’ list is evidence of both pop culture events along with future baby name trends.  Some analysis:

The Hunger Games is the obvious inspiration for Katniss at Number 1.  We don’t ever expect to see Katniss — or Primrose or Rue — in the U.S. Top 100 for real live baby girls.  But the appeal of the heroine inspires a great amount of curiosity about her unusual name.

Celebrities and their babies attract a lot of page views, which sometimes translate into baby name trends.  Names high on the Nameberry list thanks to celebrities and starbabies include Harper, Seraphine, Penelope, Violet, Isla, and Scarlett.  And these are all names that will continue to rise in the national name statistics as well, we predict.

The berries are ahead of their time.  While there are some crossovers between the Nameberry and the U.S. Top 100, there are more notable differences.  Most important: Classic, stylish names little used in the country at large are popular among our visitors: Imogen, Maeve, Aurelia, Elodie, Pearl.

Here, the Nameberry Girls’ Top 100 for 2012 so far:

  1. Katniss

  2. Charlotte

  3. Harper

  4. Seraphina

  5. Imogen

  6. Penelope

  7. Amelia

  8. Violet

  9. Isla

  10. Eleanor

  11. Adelaide

  12. Alice

  13. Quinn

  14. Cora

  15. Eliza

  16. Evelyn

  17. Aurora

  18. Claire

  19. Sophia

  20. Lila

  21. Maeve

  22. Scarlett

  23. Nora

  24. Hazel

  25. Grace

  26. Ivy

  27. Ava

  28. Olivia

  29. Elizabeth

  30. Stella

  31. Lucy

  32. Clara

  33. Ruby

  34. Ella

  35. Wren

  36. Matilda

  37. Beatrice

  38. Poppy

  39. Clementine

  40. Avery

  41. Emma

  42. Isabella

  43. Willa

  44. Chloe

  45. Aurelia

  46. Audrey

  47. Evangeline

  48. Iris

  49. Lily

  50. Mila

  51. Josephine

  52. Maisie

  53. Rose

  54. Arabella

  55. Adeline

  56. Aria

  57. Elodie

  58. Mae

  59. Genevieve

  60. Lydia

  61. Merida

  62. Eloise

  63. Caroline

  64. Jane

  65. Juliet

  66. Phoebe

  67. Gemma

  68. Margaret

  69. Harlow

  70. Emmeline

  71. Zoe

  72. Emily

  73. Delilah

  74. Esme

  75. Cordelia

  76. Georgia

  77. Olive

  78. Sadie

  79. Piper

  80. Madeline

  81. Mia

  82. Hannah

  83. Anna

  84. Emery

  85. Willow

  86. Hadley

  87. Cecilia

  88. Zara

  89. Luna

  90. Maya

  91. Pearl

  92. Kate

  93. Mabel

  94. Lola

  95. Isadora

  96. Ellie

  97. Eden

  98. Amelie

  99. Eva

  100. Beatrix

Look for the boys’ list tomorrow.

Guess Number 101 and win a free signed copy of our book Beyond Ava & Aiden!

One guess per person, first person to guess the correct name wins the prize (so don’t pick a name that’s already been guessed!).

About the Author

Pamela Redmond

Pamela Redmond

Pamela Redmond is the cocreator and CEO of Nameberry and Baby Name DNA. The coauthor of ten groundbreaking books on names, Redmond is an internationally-recognized baby name expert, quoted and published widely in such media outlets as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Today Show, CNN, and the BBC. She has written about baby names for The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, and People.

Redmond is also a New York Times bestselling novelist whose books include Younger, the basis for the hit television show, and its sequel, Older. She has three new books in the works.