Modern Baby Names

Jaelyn is a name popular in many spellings and variations, including Jaelynn, Jaylin, and Jalen, and used for girls as well as boys.

Of all the astrological names —think Leo, Aries, Gemini— Scorpio probably has the most dramatically potent presence, which could prove something of a burden to a young boy.

Though some forward-looking parents are now choosing wood-related names like Oak, Pine, and Ash, this generic option would be even more avant garde.

Combination of Tristan and Christian that is beginning to catch on.

This name from the Shona language is a new entrant to the Top 1000 in the US.

This attempt to masculinize Jules has made its way into the Top 1000. We recommend using the more traditional spelling, as this one will likely appear dated in a few years' time.

This extra-N variation matches up with the current preferred spellings of Oaklynn, Raelynn, and Adalynn, however it has always been outranked by popular Brooklyn. Though both spellings have trended downwards since their peak in 2011, Brooklyn maintains its place in the US Top 100, while Brooklynn lags behind in the #300s.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have done it again for their third child: Chosen a name that feels iconic yet strangely inevitable. They named North and Saint's younger sister Chicago, after Kanye's hometown. The name Chicago derives from a Native American word for "wild garlic," which once grew plentifully in the Illinois city, the third most populous in the US.

Luxury baby name associated with Jacques Cartier's eponymous jewelry company.

Icelyn and its more popular sister Icelynn have been among the fastest-rising girls' names in the US in recent years.

Jianna was one of the fastest-rising names of 2020 after the deaths of Kobe and Gianna Bryant. It continued to rise in 2021.

With Henley and Kinsley two of the most popular new ley-ending baby names for girls, why not Hensley? We can think of several reasons, but if you like this style of name, Hensley is as attractive as any.

Lexington is trending as a unisex name, used just about evenly for the genders. For Americans, it's got a patriotic feel, given the importance of Lexington, Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War. Lexington, Kentucky, in horse country, is another well-known city with the name. Short form Lex is user friendly.

There's something about the K initial that modern parents just can't resist and Kruz is a trendy reboot of the already very cool Cruz. Derived from the Spanish word for "cross", Kruz could be included in the new generation of Christian word names with a twist, joining Kross, Tru, Zyon, and Chozen on future class rosters. Given to around 170 boys in a recent year, the traditional spelling is used nearly six times as often.

The K-spelling of Carter has been in the boys' Top 1000 since 2005. In 2014, Karter cracked the girls' Top 1000, too. Karter joins the plethora of surnames turned boys' names that are now entering the world of girls' names as well. This particular one also has the trendy Kardashian-Esque "K" beginning. The Carter spelling entered the Top 1000 for girls around the same time but currently sits higher up in the charts, hovering just around the Top 500.

A trendy choice that takes a little from Riley and a little from Kayleigh, to create the rather appealing meaning, "beam of light in the meadow".

Divorces Aspen from its nature and ski resort associations. Aspyn first broke into the Top 1000 in 2020.

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.

Depending on how you look at it, a variation of the word name Colt or an abbreviated form of Kolton.