Hot New Names of the 2010s

Kingsley is a sophisticated Harry Potter name that entered the US Top 1000 in 2013.

If you feel, as many parents do, that Gabby or Gabi is too harsh a short form for the mellifluous name Gabriella, try Brie, Brielle, or Briella.

Reese Witherspoon's Deacon has opened this churchy direction for occupational names. It reentered the US Top 1000 in 2015.

Classic Mary has many international variations and the strong, pretty Maryam is the Arabic, Persian, and Urdu form. Popular in many countries across the world, from Azerbaijan to France, The Netherlands to Iran and from England to Russia, Maryam is the form of Mary that appears in the Quran.

One of the surname names for boys on its way to becoming unisex, this name broke into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013 for girls. While it sounds masculine to us, because of its two-syllable er-ending sound so trendy with boys’ names, many parents apparently disagree.

A unisex name, Rylan plays on many popular baby names, including Ryan and Riley. For boys, the trendy Rylan is in the US Top 500, while for girls, it fell out of Top 1000 in 2023, having been a regular feature since 2009.

Baylor's 2014 ascension to the US Top 1000 for boys is probably thanks to its fashionable two-syllable, r-ending, occupational surname feel. Think of it as Taylor with a twist.

This surname gained momentum in the 1990s, when it was particularly in vogue for males. However, it seems to be experiencing a surge for females—it was one of the fastest-rising names of 2013, jumping 266 spots back into the Top 1000.

A spelling variation of Weston most associated with the Westin hotel chain. To avoid looking like an advertisement, we think it’s best to stick with the more traditional spelling.

One of many influential names invented by George R.R. Martin for "A Song of Ice and Fire." Lyanna Stark was the courageous, high-spirited younger sister of Ned Stark, whose broken engagement to Robert Baratheon set off a civil war. Young Lyanna Mormont of Bear Island -- a very memorable character in HBO's "Game of Thrones" -- was named after Lyanna Stark.

The name of a historic Irish leader, Gannon has a solid, yet spirited feel. It was one of the fastest-rising names of 2014, but that trend didn't continue. One pop culture influence was the name of Teen Mom 3 son Gannon Dewayne McKee.

Updates Allison—which everyone will misunderstand it as. But it's definitely a fresh spin on the Ellie names, and a rising surname name choice for girls. It made its first appearance on the US Top 1000 in 2013.

Following in the footsteps of Weston, Braxton, Clayton, and Paxton, Daxton has been climbing the US charts since the late 2000s. While recent years have seen it decline slightly, it remains a Top 500 choice, with the cool possibility of nickname Dax.

A variation of mega popular name Emma and all of her cousins, Emmie came back to the US Top 1000 for the first time in 80 years in 2016. It's phonetically the same as more popular Emmy, but this option may avoid the award show connection. We could see it rising in future years.

A fresher spin on Jaxon, with built-in cool nickname Nix, and a great way to honor an ancestral Nick. But the association with disgraced former president Richard Nixon remains strong, which might explain why this otherwise bang-on-trend surname name has remained under the radar, peaking at #482 in 2017.

Though this is a popular name for men in the Bible, today it's used with this spelling for nearly equal numbers of girls and boys. The Azaria variation is much more often given to girls.

Like the masculine form Galileo, Galilea is a variant of Galilee, a region in Northern Israel of great Biblical significance. Given the current popularity of soft Italian girls’ names, this name’s long historical roots, its beautiful sound and the potential for cute nicknames (Leia, Lil, Ally, etc) it’s no surprise that this name has been on the rise in recent years.

When the Eddie Murphys named their fourth daughter Zola, it affirmed the up-and-coming status of the name, which has African roots, but also literary links to Emile Zola. Zola may also be recognizable to some as the adopted daughter of Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd on the hit, long-running show Grey's Anatomy.

Long an extremely popular name in Spain, Iker (usually pronounced EE-kuhr in the English speaking world) is the rare Basque name that's starting to make it big in the States also, thanks to soccer player Iker Casillas. Indeed, it's been one of the fastest growing boys' names of the decade.

Maxton is a new member of the ever-expanding Max clan of baby names, hitting the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2011. It joined newfangled Maxon and stylish cousin Paxton, though it did drop out of the charts in 2023.