Top Baby Names 2020….so far
The top baby names of 2020 are yet to be decided for the full year, so we are a long way from knowing whether and how the cataclysmic events of 2020’s disastrous first quarter will shape names of the future.
For now, we’ve got a new top girls’ name for 2020 so far: Luna. The name of the Roman moon goddess, Luna has vaulted to the top of the charts since Chrissy Teigen and John Legend chose it for their daughter. And it’s got a perfect ancient-yet-unconventional feel for right now.
On the boys’ side, the biblical Asher retakes the Number 1 spot from last year’s top boy name Milo, which moves down to Number 2.
Three new girls’ names entered the Top 10 in this first tally of 2020: Ava, Eloise, and Eleanor, replacing Ada, Cora, and Amelia. Cora, which we might have predicted would go all the way to the top of the list, may have been knocked out of contention by its similarity to corona.
Arlo is the most dramatic new entrant to the boys’ list, joining the Top 10 with Leo and Levi. That makes three of the Top 10 boys’ names ending with O, four if you count Theodore‘s short form Theo, which ranks on its own at Number 29. Other O-ending boy names in the Top 100 include Hugo, Elio, Mateo, Enzo, and Otto.
Archie has fallen off the Top 10, though it probably ranked that high artificially, thanks to the royal baby. Aarav is another Top 10 dropout with an artificially high ranking, given that it’s the first name on many lists. The other boys’ name that’s slipped is Jack.
Here are the full Top 10 2020 names for girls and boys:
Baby Girl Names 2020
Luna
Aurora
Maeve
Olivia
Isla
Ava
Charlotte
Ophelia
Eloise
Eleanor
Baby Boy Names 2020
Asher
Milo
Oliver
Levi
Silas
Atticus
Theodore
Jasper
Leo
Arlo
Baby Name Trends
Other baby name trends we see evidenced in our popularity list for 2020 include:
Vowel names
A large proportion of the top baby names 2020 for both sexes begin with vowels: 41 of the girls’ names and 35 of the boys’ names begin with vowels. A continues to be the most popular letter for boys, with A tied with E names for girls at 18 each.
Nearly half the Top 100 girls’ names on the 2020 top names list end in A. With boys’ names, more than a quarter end in vowels or vowel sounds, a trend that keeps gathering steam. Along with the O-ending names, the top boy names also include I-enders such as Eli and Bodhi and names that end with the A sound such as Luca and Micah.
Two syllable names
Two-thirds of the top boys’ names and nearly half the girls’ names are made up of two syllables. Three syllables is the next most popular count of the top baby names 2020, with 29 girls’ names and 25 boys’ names comprised of three syllables.
L and El names
L is the most popular first consonant for boys’ names, with 11 of the top 100 names on the boys’ side starting with L. Along with those already mentioned are Lachlan, Liam, and Logan.
Even when L is not literally the first letter of a name, the El sound is popular for names for both girls and boys. Ranking in the Top 100 are 11 names for girls — Eleanor, Elena, Eliana, Elise, Eliza, Elizabeth, Ella, Ellie, Elodie, Eloise, and Elsie — along with boy names Eli, Elias, Elijah, and Elio.
M names for girls
M is by far the most popular consonant beginning for girls’ names, with ten of the Top 100 girl names for 2020 starting with M. They are: Mabel, Madeline, Mae, Maeve, Maisie, Margaret, Matilda, Maya, Mia, and Mila.
In addition, Emma and Emilia rank in the Top 100.
Boy names ending in S
N-ending names have dominated the boys’ list for years, and a quarter of the top boy names still carry the N ending. But boys’ names that end in S now dominate those ending in R.
S-ending boys’ names in the Top 100 include both classics such as James and Thomas and newcomers like Cassius and Amias.
Coming in, going out
Girls’ names new to the Top 100 are: Edith, Amaya, Ayla, Athena, Saoirse, Kayla, Eliana, Nova, Sophia, Eva, Ella, and Ellie.
Girl names dropping off the Top 100 this quarter are: Adah, Posie, Isabel, Harper, Emily, Margot, Juliet, Hannah, Naomi, Lila, Gemma, and Evie.
New boys’ names on the Top 100 are: Lucius, Lucian, Luca, Micah, Logan, Abiah, Enzo, Ezekiel, David, Nathaniel, and Nathan.
Dropping off the boys’ Top 100 are: Harry, Sawyer, Beckett, Graham, Beau, Noah, Caius, Austin, and Simon.
Top Girl Names 2020
Luna
Aurora
Maeve
Olivia
Isla
Ava
Charlotte
Ophelia
Eloise
Eleanor
Aurelia
Cora
Iris
Amelia
Hazel
Isabella
Alice
Ivy
Evelyn
Maya
Adelaide
Genevieve
Aria
Amara
Mia
Freya
Chloe
Elodie
Nora
Violet
Lucy
Clara
Anastasia
Rose
Ada
Astrid
Audrey
Arabella
Penelope
Anna
Esme
Evangeline
Lilith
Claire
Maisie
Elena
Phoebe
Adeline
Elizabeth
Emma
Imogen
Clementine
Jane
Cordelia
Seraphina
Thea
Zara
Elsie
Emilia
Julia
Grace
Josephine
Scarlett
Beatrice
Florence
Quinn
Delilah
Eliza
Mae
Mabel
Sophia
Nova
Ellie
Sadie
Poppy
Elise
Matilda
Eliana
Lily
Kayla
Stella
Lyra
Caroline
Ella
Eva
Sienna
Mila
Lydia
Saoirse
Abigail
Margaret
Athena
Willow
Madeline
Ayla
Claudia
Edith
Amaya
Wren
Willa
Top Boy Names 2020
Asher
Milo
Oliver
Levi
Silas
Atticus
Theodore
Jasper
Leo
Arlo
Liam
Kai
Felix
Jack
Oscar
Finn
Ethan
Aarav
Henry
Caleb
Jude
Ezra
Atlas
Jayden
Eli
Hugo
Elijah
Wyatt
Theo
Benjamin
Rowan
Sebastian
Arthur
Julian
Lucas
Aaron
Tobias
Archer
Declan
Cassius
Soren
Zachary
Miles
Axel
James
Owen
Xavier
Charles
Callum
Josiah
Bodhi
Thomas
Aryan
Phoenix
Archie
Elio
Ambrose
Roman
Alexander
John
Emmett
Mateo
Luke
Nathaniel
William
Daniel
Ezekiel
Everett
Gabriel
Cyrus
Ronan
Enzo
Louis
Adrian
Andrew
Isaac
Amias
August
Abiah
Gideon
Logan
Zane
Luca
Micah
Elias
Otto
Ryker
Otis
Lucian
Ian
Max
Samuel
Lucius
Nolan
Jacob
Nathan
Cassian
Cole
David
Lachlan
Go here for an alphabetical list of the Top Baby Names of 2020.
*Note: Nameberry’s popularity list is calculated based on which names attracted the most views of our website. For the official count of the Top Names in the US, calculated most recently for 2018, visit the Social Security website.