BabyCenter Released Their Top Baby Name Trends For 2025
And many of the trends have to do with celebrities, pop culture, and the weather.
For the past 20 years, BabyCenter has been collecting data from the new parents who make accounts at their website, allowing them to collect tons of baby name trend information in real time — and before the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases their name statistics each spring. It means that each fall, we get some really fun insights into baby names trends that will reach into next year, including the biggest pop culture references, letter trends, and themes.
Trends based on big 2024 sporting events
The happenings of the world around us affect the names we give to our babies — and this year, the Paris Olympics were inspiring to millions, including new parents.
What does that mean? French names seem to be all the rage!
For boys, two of France’s most popular boys names are gaining traction in the U.S. Raphael is up 121 spots in the U.S. to number 328 on BabyCenter’s list while Louis is up 87 spots to number 267. Beaux (up 148 spots), Remi (up 87 spots), and Gustavo (up 239 spots) are also gaining popularity.
For girls, the very popular French name Louis is up 63 spots, rising to number 816 at BabyCenter. Other French girls names are also on the up and up, including Elodie (up 449), Arlette (up 338), and Jolie (up 287). Love all of those, honestly!
One of the biggest headlines in 2024 sports, besides the Olympics, was women’s college basketball and the WNBA — and that’s reflected in the baby name trends. Super star Caitlin Clark’s name is up over 2,000 spots, which might start a comeback for the popular 80s and 90s name. Kamilla Cardoso, who went from playing for the South Carolina Gamecocks to joining the pros on the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, is also tipping the scales. Her name went up 53 spots to number 1,210.
The Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, are also affecting babies across the country. Travis Kelce, Isiah Pacheco, and Creed Humphrey are seeing their first names get more popular with parents.
Trends based on notable 2024 weather events
The earth had a big year, too, if you ask us. The world was wowed by an eclipse, a comet, and much more Northern Lights than usual, among other celestial events. So it’s no surprise that names like Sol (up 334 spots), Eclipse (up 4,421 spots), Luna (number 10), Aurora (number 12), Nova (number 17) and Orion (up 137 slots to number 301) are all moving toward the stars.
On the other hand, the names Milton and Helene are both likely headed for the dog house after causing major destruction across the country. While we don’t have data yet, hurricanes that bring harm have historically significantly affect baby name charts — do you know any 20-year-olds named Katrina?
Trends based on famous (and infamous) people
A few baby names always rise and drop because of the names in the news, and 2024 was no different.
A few pop stars have had an affect on us all. Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish are seeing their first names rising — Sabrina is up 109 spots to number 342, Billie is up 37 spots to 842. BabyCenter predicts that Chappel will rise in 2025 along with the singer’s popularity.
Taylor Swift is so big now that if she even mentions a name on her newest album, they’ll get a baby name bump. From The Tortured Poet’s Department, both Peter and Robin rose as boys’ names.
On the flip side, Justin Timberlake’s fall from grace due to a DUI isn’t helping out his first name. Justin fell 59 spots in the rankings to number 277 — we wonder if that will ruin the tour?
Trends based on movies and television
Fans of The Bear are naming their boys Carmen — the Italian name is up 1,413 spots in a year.
Fans of Ripley are now naming their boys Ripley, too. The name is up over 400 spots.
And people are really connecting with Deborah Vance from Hacks, as her name rises more than 300 spots for 2024. Could this be the start of a new trend in younger grandmother names, like Nancy, Linda, Susan, and Barbara?
So there you have it — you could get inspiration from this list, or avoid names that you think might be getting too popular. As always, just pick a name that you love, and realize that it’s meanings and associations could change at any moment. Just ask anyone named Alexa who was born before 2014.
