Trending Girl Names

Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, grabbed her own share of headlines after her pregnancy and having appearing on Dancing With The Stars. She subsequently (almost) single-handedly propelled her distinctive name, derived from the name of a city in England, into the Top 1000 and up the charts.

Traditionally a masculine Italian boy name, a diminutive to Giovanni, equivalent to Johnny, it has started to be used for girls in the US, with nearly 200 being given this appellation in 2024.

Promise is one of those word names with an uplifting meaning that is making inroads as a girls' name, like sisters Dream and Serenity. How promising is Promise as a first name? Our try at cleverness illustrates perhaps the biggest problem with naming your baby girl Promise: It will be difficult for people to resist making bad puns on the name. We promise (argh) you'll be tired of hearing them well before your baby Promise's first birthday.

Combine two parts Paisley with one part Hazel and one part Harley, add a dash of Hayes, and voila: Haisley.

With Journey becoming increasingly popular, it's no surprise that this alternative spelling is not far behind. However, you may be surprised to learn that in recent years, the Journee spelling has actually passed the original spelling in popularity — Journee is currently in the Top 200. This word name may be appealing to parents attracted to the idea of a spiritual -- or even an actual -- voyage.

Kenya is fairly commonly heard as a girl's name, but its capital city makes a much more exceptional choice. The name comes from the Maasai phrase "Enkare Nairobi," which translates to "cold water." Nairobi is popularly known as the Green City.

Analia is a melodic newcomer to the US Top 1000, a fresher spin on the Olde Worlde Anamaria. It charted in the US from 2009 to 2012, and then reentered the popularity list in 2015. El Rostro de Analia is a popular Spanish language telenova on the Telemundo channel, which probably greatly contributed to its initial entry to the US list in 2009 at Number 331 when it was unranked the previous year!

Khloe's a variation of the popular Chloe, thanks to reality star Karshadian of the K-named family. Khloe jumped a whopping 101 places into 2009's Top 100 and peaked at 42 in 2010 but has declined in popularity in recent years.

The name of a Guaraní princess killed by Spanish conquistadors in Tupi-Guarani legend. A Ceibo tree – the national flower of Argentina – is said to have bloomed in the spot where she died.

This variation of Corey has a Kardashian-style spelling update -- which might be why it's experiencing a boost in popularity of late. Kori is also a Kikuyu name meaning lamb, one of the many names from that African culture with animal meanings, and a short form of Koral, the Hebrew form of Coral.

Royalty was the hottest name of 2016, moving furthest up the ladder to enter the Top 1000, and is also arguably the trendiest name of the past decade, used a whopping 71 times as often in 2017 as it was ten years earlier. Royalty represents the convergence of two important trends: word names and superlative names such as Legend and King. This is one we'll hear a lot of for a while.

Joining Maia, Raya, and Kaia, is alluring, evocative Zaia.

Zayla debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2021 and is rising. The name might be thought of as the popular Ayla or Layla with the trendy letter Z at the beginning. Variations include Zaila, Zaylah, Zaylani, and the male Zaylan.

Arleth has made the US Top 1000 twice — in 2005 and 2021 — thanks to telenovela star Arleth Terán.

Hawaiian names have officially made their way to the mainland, with Leilani, Kehlani, Alani, Kailani, and Kaylani all ranking within the Top 300. Now Kahlani — one of several pseudo-Hawaiian names popping up across the country — has entered the US Top 1000 in 2023.

Eighties spin on megapopular Whitney that currently ranks higher than the original. Whitley fell out of the Top 1000 for several decades but resurfaced in 2018.

Denisse was the fastest-rising name for girls of 2020 — influenced by Denisse Novoa, a contestant on the 2019 season of the popular reality TV show Exatlón Estados Unidos. Traditional spelling Denise also made a comeback. It looks to be short-lived, though: both spellings fell again in 2021.

This evocative place-name is rising in popularity -- despite (or perhaps because of) the unfortunate association with an airplane that went missing in March 2014.

This Dana-Donna variation has started to carve out its own place on popularity lists; an interesting alternative to Daniella as a namesake for a relative named Daniel.

A recent addition to the name lexicon with some real potential.