Want to know the top baby names for 2021 so far? Here is a list of the top boy, girl, and gender-neutral baby names of 2021 so far, complete with my commentary!
Which trending names of 2021 are your favorites and which would you like to be over? View the past 20 years’ name rankings.

Top Baby Names of 2021 (so far)

Male

Female

Gender-Neutral

1 OLIVER CHARLOTTE WILLOW
2 DECLAN AURORA EZRA
3 THEODORE VIOLET ROWAN
4 JASPER HAZEL JAMES
5 SILAS LUNA QUINN
6 LIAM AMELIA LOGAN
7 ASHER ARIA KAI
8 FINN AVA RIVER
9 OWEN SCARLETT AVERY
10 ETHAN ISLA LUCA

The top 10 seem to be pretty traditional in the male and female categories. James has been crossing over as a girl’s name for the past couple of years, especially when used as a middle name. Although Ezra is traditionally a Hebrew boys’ name, it is growing in popularity for girls, because of the -A ending.

11 ALEXANDER IVY SAGE
12 FELIX FREYA HARPER
13 HENRY NORA EDEN
14 GABRIEL WREN RILEY
15 ELIJAH EVELYN ARTEMIS
16 LEO OLIVIA JADE
17 NOAH AUDREY JULIAN
18 AUGUST IRIS FINLEY
19 LEVI ELEANOR DARCY
20 SEBASTIAN ABIGAIL BRIAR

As you can see, nature/flower names are holding strong as a baby name trend for girls. Biblical names are coming back for boys.

21 BENJAMIN OPHELIA CHARLIE
22 ATTICUS MAEVE RYAN
23 ARCHER ADELAIDE ASPEN
24 GRAYSON EVANGELINE SAWYER
25 MILO ALICE ADDISON
26 EMMETT ELIZABETH HAYDEN
27 ISAAC LILY AUBREY
28 JACK ELOISE ORION
29 EVERETT GRACE NOVA
30 WILLIAM GENEVIEVE DYLAN

I’m really loving the romantic Shakespeare names coming into style, Ophelia being one of my faves. Charlie is jumping the charts for girls and I predict will be in the top 20 very soon! Check out those Space Names: Orion and Nova!

31 ATLAS PENELOPE PIPER
32 ARTHUR ROSE ELLIOT
33 THEO SOPHIA BAILEY
34 RONAN CHLOE POPPY
35 SAMUEL LYDIA BLAKE
36 CALEB EMMA INDIGO
37 AIDEN ANASTASIA RORY
38 MILES CLARA EVERLY
39 ELLIOTT ADELINE RAIN
40 LANDON ATHENA BECKETT

Elliot has always been a fave of mine for girls ever since the TV show Scrubs. Notice that Elliott with two Ts is trending on the boy’s side while Elliot with one T is used for both.

41 AXEL ELIZA BLAIR
42 ARLO CLAIRE SKYE
43 ELIAS ELLA ECHO
44 ELI ARABELLA EMERSON
45 ANDREW MILA HARLOW
46 CALLUM STELLA JUDE
47 XANDER JUNIPER MORGAN
48 LUCAS ESME RAVEN
49 WYATT ASTRID SKYLAR
50 SOREN CORA PARKER

Twilight name Esme is holding strong for girls – will those ever drop out of popularity? E names in general seem to be trending on the girl’s side with Eliza, Ella, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Evangeline, and Evelyn all in the top 50.

51 AARON MIA ELLIS
52 THOMAS AURELIA ROBIN
53 NOLAN MAYA CARTER
54 HUDSON VIVIENNE AERO
55 ALASTAIR DAPHNE ARDEN
56 JACOB NAOMI CAMERON
57 TOBIAS RUBY ASHTON
58 SIMON SADIE HADLEY
59 NATHANIEL MARGOT JORDAN
60 ADRIAN SOPHIE ADALIA

We’re now seeing some traditional Hebrew/Biblical names on the girl’s side with Sadie, Sophie, and Naomi – while on the boys’ side we see some traditional Brit names like Simon, Adrian, Tobias, and Alastair. If you’re wondering why Adalia is in the gender-neutral column, it was originally a boy’s name. In fact, Adalia was the son of Haman in the Bible.

61 JACKSON ROSALIE ZEPHYR
62 VINCENT PHOEBE SALEM
63 LINCOLN ZOE SHILOH
64 DOMINIC LUCY SPENCER
65 RHYS LORELEI BENNETT
66 GIDEON ISABELLA EMBER
67 WESLEY KAIA FLYNN
68 MAX DELILAH PHOENIX
69 GAVIN EMILY BODHI
70 BEAU BEATRIX LENNOX

We’ve noticed that the name Lincoln is falling as fast as it rose – now down from #49 in 2020. Seeing some New-Agey names in the gender-neutral column with Zephyr, Salem, Phoenix and Bodhi. Some names that were super-popular five years ago like Emily, Lucy, and Isabella – are dropping now.

71 ACE HANNAH AUSTIN
72 KADEN DAHLIA OAKLEY
73 LEON DAISY TYLER
74 CONNOR ADA FALLON
75 OSCAR ELODIE HUNTER
76 JONAH VERA DORIAN
77 MICHAEL ELIANA EASTON
78 COLE THEA HOLLY
79 MICAH ODETTE DAKOTA
80 APOLLO CELESTE ASA

Another favorite O name, Odette, is rising in popularity. Odette is the name of the Swan Queen character in the ballet Swan Lake. Note the other French names in this segment: Celeste and Elodie. I predict French names will be rising on the charts through 2023. Although Holly has been used as a female name in more recent times, it’s also a nickname for the male name and surname Hollis. We also see two more flower names in this segment, Daisy and Dahlia!

81 EVANDER MATILDA REID
82 KNOX ELENA KENNEDY
83 HARRISON EVA REAGAN
84 HOLDEN AUTUMN EVAN
85 NATHAN MAGNOLIA JESSE
86 MASON MAISIE KIERAN
87 DANTE CLOVER ADLER
88 MATTHEW ADALYN ARI
89 GRIFFIN SAVANNAH AINSLEY
90 CHARLES MABEL WINTER

And yet ANOTHER flower name, Magnolia, appears in this segment – a name that could be a really nice alternative to the name Margaret with the same nickname, Maggie. No doubt that the name Maisie jumped onto the charts because of the Game of Thrones actress Maisey Williams, as her character’s name Aria/Arya has been topping the charts as well. Beware of using the name Kennedy – click through to the name detail to find out why!

91 SLOAN ELISE KYLER
92 ZACHARY JANE LENNON
93 CASPIAN CALLIOPE ARIEL
94 AMBROSE AMARA CARSON
95 IAN AARALYN LANE
96 FORREST IMOGEN REMY
97 MALACHI SAOIRSE CADE
98 DAMIEN SIENNA SASHA
99 DAVID DIANA DELANEY
100 AIDAN FLORENCE GREER

I just love that a traditionally Celtic name like Saoirse (pr SEER-sha) has made the top 100. Especially since it’s not easy to pronounce or spell for Americans. Caspian is a surprise on the boys’ side – where did that come from? The Chronicles of Narnia? The rock band? The sea? Calliope is interesting in the girl’s column. Hey, what about twins named Caspian and Calliope? I think that would work.

What are your impressions of the trending names of 2021? Join us in our Facebook Group to chat about them!

Headshot of Jennifer Moss

Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.