Popular names: Nameberry vs US
The top names of 2018 were recently released, reflecting the names parents chose for their children born last year. At Nameberry we compile our own Top 1000 based on the most popular names on the website. It’s updated every month, so it’s a year and a half ahead of the US Top 1000. And since the Nameberry Top 1000 is determined by views, not by babies who receive the names, it looks fairly different from the US Top 1000. Let’s compare!
The US Top 100 and the Nameberry Top 100 share close to fifty percent of the same names. These names tend to appear near the top of the US list. The eight most popular names for boys and the four most popular names for girls in 2018 make it onto the Nameberry Top 100.
The names that overlap are often classics, like Anna, William, Grace, and Charles. The lists also share newer names with upward trajectories, like Mila, Sawyer, Luna, and Roman.
Both the Berries and the rest of America like El– names, with Eli, Elijah, Elias, Eleanor, Elena, Eliana, and Elizabeth appearing on both lists. The Nameberry and US Top 100s also have Lu– names like Lucas, Luke, Lucy, and Luna in common.
On the US charts, surname-style names ending in -son are still a big deal. Mason, Jackson, Grayson, Greyson, Hudson, Jaxson, Jameson, and Bryson all made it onto the US Top 100, but the Berries seem to be over this trend.
America also really likes names with a strong V sound. Avery, Victoria, Savannah, Nova, Valentina, Vivian, Maverick, and Evan were all popular with Americans, but didn’t resonate as much among Nameberry users.
Word names were also more popular on the US Top 100, particularly those with a spiritual bent like Genesis and Serenity for girls, and Christian and Angel for boys.
Names beginning with Ar- for girls were featured on both lists. The Berries liked Arabella, while America as a whole preferred Ariana/Arianna. Aria made it onto the Nameberry and US Top 100s. Nameberry users have extended this trend to boys, with names like Arthur, Aarav, Archer, Arlo, and Aryan on the Nameberry Top 100.
Berries also love Cas– names for boys, such as Cassius, Caspian, and Cassian, and names ending in -us, like Aurelius, Cyrus, Caius, and Atticus. Our popularity chart is often predictive of future top American names, so these groups are two to watch.
For girls, Berries are fond of names that are hot across the pond, like Maisie, Florence, Thea, Freya, and Zara. These names are all in the England Top 100. The UK tends to be one step ahead of the US when it comes to fashionable baby names, so it’s not surprising that you all have taken notice of these hot names.
There are fifteen names in the Nameberry Top 100 that don’t appear in the US Top 1000. For girls, Posie, Elodie, Adah, Imogen, Ottilie, Seraphina, Cleo, Cordelia, and Beatrix. For boys, Amias, Cassian, Kit, Aurelius, Caius, and Ambrose. If you’re looking for a stylish but unusual name for your baby, these have the Berry stamp of approval.