5 of the Hottest Baby-Naming Trends of 2015

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Though the popular standbys Sophia, Emma, Olivia, Jackson, Aiden, and Liam still dominate the baby name roster for 2015, developments further down the list reflect everything from royalty, to celestial bodies, to Instagram filters. The parenting website BabyCenter took a deep look at the list of 340,000 names chosen by parents on their site and uncovered these hot new trends. 

1. INSTAGRAM BABIES

You know you’re going to be posting a lot of pictures of them, why not name them after your favorite photo editing tools and filters? Lux, Juno, Reyes, Ludwig, Amaro, Valencia, Willow, Hudson, and Kelvin all climbed up the list this year.

2. ROYAL BABIES

Of course Charlotte, the name of the newest English royal, comes in high on the list (#14), but the general concept of nobility runs through the rest of the list as well. Royalty, Royal, Duchess, Princess, Regina, Reign, King, Noble, Sovereign, as well as Kaiser, Sultan, Caesar, and even Emperor increased in popularity.

3. YA FICTION BABIES

Some of the hottest books (and movies based on those books) of the year have given a boost to the names of their characters. Hazel and Augustus (John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars), Mia and Adam (Gayle Forman’s If I Stay), Aysel (Jasmine Warga’s My Heart and Other Black Holes), and Eleanor (Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor and Park) have all had an uptick. Authors' names have had an effect, too: Rainbow is up 30 percent. 

4. CELESTIAL BABIES

Having a child can make you ponder the wonders of the universe, and while you’re pondering you might be inspired by the celestial bodies floating around out there. Venus, Gaia, Soleil, Cassiopeia, Moon, Luna, Stella, and Jupiter have been making a mark on baby name territory.

5. VIDEO GAME BABIES

Gamers have been looking to kickass warrior heroines to name their little girls. Joule (ReCore), Meryl (Metal Gear Solid), Helena (Dead or Alive, Gears of War), Rayne (BloodRayne), Jade (Beyond Good & Evil), Joanna (PerfectDark), Jill (Resident Evil), and Kat (Gravity Rush) have all moved up this year.

Visit BabyCenter to learn about other trends and see the lists of top names.