Most Popular Baby Names Of 2015 Look A Lot Like Last Year’s List, But With More Inspiration From Instagram
It’s December, and you know what that means: It’s time for Baby Center to release it’s most popular baby names of the year. Apparently, 2015 was not a year of great change, as both Jackson and Sophia returned as reigning champs. But that’s not to say this year’s list was completely void of surprise.
As seen last year, Celtic and British-themed names were popular for boys born in 2015. The Irish names Aiden, Liam, and Caden all made a reappearance to the top 10 list. Traditional English surnames Jackson and Mason also found a place in the top spots, as did the Scottish moniker Logan. Biblical names were also a popular choice for boys born in 2015, but gone are the John and Matthews of the former years, replaced with Noah, Ethans, and Jacob. Existing the the top 100 list for boy names are Colin, Ryder, and Sean, only to be replaced by Mateo, Ezra, and Damien.
While biblical names continued to be popular for boys, they were absent from the list of 2015’s most popular girl names. There also seemed to be no clear trend for girls either, with the top 10 names being derived from various European cultures, including Greek, German, and Italian. Rather, this year’s popular baby girl's names tended to go for a soft phonetic sound, which, according to Psychology Today, may suggest parents' desire to have a more feminine daughter. Another reason for the lack of change may lie in the fact that research has shown children with more popular and common names tend to have an easier time than those with more unique names.
Gender neutral girl's names, such as Sydney, Piper, and Cadence saw an exit of the list this year while more traditional names such as Eleanor, Jocelyn, and Hazel made their debut.
Other trends seen in the top 100 most popular baby names for this year were names inspired by pop culture — the names of characters from TV shows, such as House of Cards, Scandal, Orange is the New Black, and Empire, peaked in the charts. Empire’s “Lucious,” for example, entered the baby name database for the first time in three years, most likely due to the show’s popularity.
In a surprising twist, Instagram filters also seem to have inspired many new popular baby names, with Lux, Ludwig, Amaro, Juno, and Valencia all gaining in popularity, The Week reported. Solar system-based names, such as Venus and Jupiter, increased in popularity as well, along with regal-sounding names, such as Duchess and Reign.
Top 10 Baby Names of 2015
Girls
1. Sophia
2. Emma
3. Olivia
4. Ava
5. Mia
6. Isabella
7. Zoe
8. Lily
9. Emily
10. Madison
Boys
1. Jackson
2. Aiden
3. Liam
4. Lucas
5. Noah
6. Mason
7. Ethan
8. Caden
9. Logan
10. Jacob