Hot New Names of the 2010s

Mordechai and Mordecai are equally valid — both are used as transcriptions from the Hebrew bible, and one did not originate before the other. But although popular culture tends to prefer the (slightly simpler) Mordecai, Mordechai has always been the more common version for babies born in the US.

While Yusuf is the more popular Arabic form of Joseph, Yousef is the Persian variant and is sometimes used as an Arabic transcription. Currently in the Top 500 in the UK and the Top 1000 in the US, it is still a familiar choice.

Maliah is a spelling variation of former First Daughter's name Malia and has seen some use since it first appeared on the US Top 1000 in 2009.

Alianna barely wedged its way into US Top 1000 in 2015, and almost fell off with a Number 998 finish in 2016. The second n doesn't add much, so Aliana or even Eliana might be better options.

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.

Surname name Grayson has become quite popular in recent years, bringing with it Gray, Grey, Greyson, and, yes, Graysen.

This modernized version of Yehudah is the source of on popular choice Judah and is traditionally given to boys born at Chanukah — a Jewish festival of lights and rededication which is celebrated in the winter. Yehuda first appeared on the US Top 1000 in 200 and, as of 2023, it has ranked consistently since 2014. The Yehudah spelling has never ranked, while Judah is used six times more often than Yehuda.

A spelling variation of Kylie, an Aboriginal name first popularized by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It’s now associated with Kylie Jenner, whom parents might be attempting to distance themselves from with this version of the name.

The invented Daleyza was the fastest-rising girls' name in the US in 2013, thanks to the adorable young daughter of Larry Hernandez, star of Larrymania. If you've been out of the world of baby names for a while, you may be surprised to learn that Daleyza is now one of the most popular girl names starting with D.

Lylah could be seen as a variation of Delilah, Leila or Lila or (like Lyla) a female variation of Lyle. Either way, we think you're best going with one of those other names to avoid your daughter's name looking like alphabet soup.

There is much disagreement about the origin, meaning, or even existence of this name. Some sources cite Jesiah as the name of several minor Biblical figures, others say it's a variation of Josiah, still others call it a modern conflation of Josiah and Jesse.

Trendy Cason is becoming popular enough to have a variety of offshoot spellings in the Top 1000.

Corbin joined the US Top 1000 during the latter half of the 20th century, first introduced to parents through actor Corbin Bernsen. It reached a peak in 2014 at number 203 and has been making a steady decline ever since.

Less popular than Camden by a lot and Kamdyn by a little. The prominent trend of substituting other vowels with a y continues to propel new spellings of names up the popularity list, which was the case when Camdyn made its first appearance on the US Top 1000 in 2010.

Bright and pretty, resembling Aaliyah, Delilah, Amaya and Sarah, Sariyah is a celestial and stylish choice,

Combines the prefix of Brayden and the trendy -lee suffix, and has the marks of the popular Bailey.

A combination name and an English surname, Brynleigh has trendy sounds and two possible nature meanings. Less popular than its counterparts, Brinley and Brynlee, it is nevertheless still in the US Top 1000.

This invented spelling is much less popular than its biker counterpart. Regardless, it is on the rise and has been in the US Top 1000 since 2012.

Popular in Puerto Rico since the 2000s and now in the US too, Dariel is a modern, elaborated form or Darrell or Darren, inspired by the likes of Gabriel and Daniel. Darrell (which might also be the inspiration behind Darren) derived from a Norman French surname, d'Airelle, referring to someone who came from Airelle in France.

This extra-trendy -ee suffix helped Hadlee ride the wave of Hadley's popularity into the US Top 1000 in 2013.