The biggest trends in baby names in 2026 so far

If you’ve been muttering “Golden” since last summer, you’re not alone. And while the Huntrixes are preparing for their reunion, parents across the country are celebrating their baby Rumis – one of the most popular names this year.

For more than 20 years, BabyCenter has helped thousands of parents register their children’s names on the BabyCenter app in real time. That means we see what names are trending and falling, and we’re sharing the latest here.

If you’re looking for inspiration — or just want to know what’s happening in the world of baby names — you’re in luck.

Names from KPop Demon Hunters going up, up, up

From singing in theaters to birthday parties to hunting demons, the iconic Huntrix idols are everywhere. Here are their names, along with the names of the award-winning voices behind these music stars.

Rumi is rising in popularity, jumping 714 places to number 1,190. And Arden (Cho, the name of Rumi’s voice actor) has 212 girl spots to number 954.

Zoey is a popular name in the US that has been on the decline in recent years – a trend that is returning this year, as the name climbs 10 spots to number 49. And Rei (Ami, the woman behind Zoey’s singing voice) has a place of 295 at No. 4,251.

In addition, Jinu climbs 1,907 spots for boys to rank 4,537 and Celine climbs 9 spots to rank 233.

Baby names are entering their tender age

Parents are going for names that start or end with vowels and have soft consonants (think: ones that don’t stop when you say them, like S, F, M, N, L, and R).

You can see this playing out in popular baby names right now – Eliana, Leo, and Elias are all soft names climbing into the top 10. Additionally, Milo climbed 37 spots in 2026 to enter the top 100 boys’ names for the first time, at No. 93.

For boys, there are also Yesayas (from 294 to No. 611), Zamir (from 364 to No. 772), Alonso (from 164 to No. 779), Amos (from 303 to No. 922), Ilyas (from 104 to No. 931), and Lennon (to 67).

For girls, there is Solana (up to 138 to No. 408), Rhea (up to 130 to No. 473), Rosalina (up to 160 to No. 632), Rosalia (up to 205 to No. 605), Elara (up to 184 to No. No. 905), and Zeina (up to 145 to No. 889).

And several names are rising for both men and women: Ariel has 33 spots for girls to reach No. 302, and 153 spots for boys up to number 628; while Isa is in the top 125 spots for boys that No. 650, and 111 spots girls that No. 852.

Parents are saying adios to girl names that start with ‘Ad’

Girls’ names starting with “Ad-” no longer do for parents – here are some that are falling: Ada (down 22 spots to No. 227), Adelyn (down 196 spots to No. 526), Adalee (down 150 spots to No. 1,051), Adele (down 343 spots (4 spots 2 to No. 1,611), Adilene (down 108 spots to No. 1,666), Adina (down 145 to No. 1,705), and Adhara (down 604 to No. 1,821).

Dangerous names are burning up the charts

2026 is the year of the fire horse, so it’s only fitting that strong names associated with fire and light are having their day in the sun.

For boys, Phoenix is ​​6th place to No. 260; Apollo (the sun god of the Greeks) is at the 38th place to the 339th place; Elio (an Italian name from the Greek for “sun”) is up 111 spots to number 351; and Kasai (a Japanese name that is said to mean “flame”) is ranked 246 to 425.

For girls, Ember is 20 places up to No. 88; Elaine (a French form of Helen meaning “ray” or “sunbeam”) has 90 points to No. 348; Seraphina (from the Hebrew name of an angel meaning “fiery”) has 80 dots to the number 577; and Marisol (often translated as “sea and sun” in Spanish) is 22nd to No. 656.

A few gender-neutral names are on the rise, too: Sol, which means “sun” in Spanish, is up 48 spots to No. 645 for girls and 104 spots to 1,288 for boys. And Blaze moves up 17 spots to No. 664 for boys, and 404 spots to No. 4,609 for girls.

Your favorite watch list is calling – it has your baby’s name on it

The desire to listen is haunting the baby name charts, parents are finding the most popular name from their favorite movies from the 1990s and 2000s. Either you are discovering these classics for the first time or you are keeping the fandom alive and rewatching your favorites.

Friends arrived on YouTube for the first time last year, and the Geller brothers are reaping the benefits: Monica is climbing 122 spots to No. 931, and Ross is up 756 at No.

High School Musical celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and the names of the Disney Channel movie are soarin’, flyin’, and breakin’ free: Gabriella is up from 1 spot to No. 84, Troy climbed 38 spots to No.

Scrubbing and Malcolm in the Middle They’ve all been revived this year to great acclaim – and parents are choosing their favourites. From ScrubbingDorian (last name JD) is ranked 118th at No. 587 for boys, and Carla ranks 51st at number 1,075 for girls. From Malcolm in the MiddleReese is ranked 124th at No. 565 for boys, and Lois is ranked 202 at No. 1,947.

Grey’s Anatomy and eternal lovers who celebrated a big event last year – 20 years on the air. See if you spot one of your favorite characters in these rising names: Callie is up 15 spots to No. 178, Derek is 26th to No. 530, Miranda is ranked 161 to No.

Top 10 names of 2026 so far

There are some shakeups in the top 10 girls names this year. Olivia and Amelia are firmly holding places 1 and 2. But there is a newcomer in the top five – Eliana spiked four spots this year to the position No. 3, bumping Sophia to No. 4. Charlotte and Isabella are steady at No. 5 and 6 again. Emma fell three spots to number 7, while Aurora and Ellie traded places to become number 8 and 9, respectively. And Evelyn has climbed four places to re-enter the top 10 at number 10, beating Mia (No. 12) out.

The top 10 girl names right now are:

1. Olivia
2. Amelia
3. Eliana
4. Sophia
5. Charlotte
6. Isabella
7. Emma
8. Aurora
9. Ellie
10. Evelyn

As usual, the top 10 boys’ names are seeing little movement. The top eight is exactly the same as the end of 2025. But there are several newcomers to the top 10: Elias has moved up six places to start at No. 9 and Leo will return to No.

The top 10 baby boy names right now are:

1. Noah
2. Liam
3. Oliver
4. Elijah
5. Mateo
6. Levi
7. Lucas
8. Ezra
9. Elijah
10. Leo

The way

BabyCenter’s baby name data is volunteered by parents who post their babies’ names in real time, revealing how popular the names are. This article’s rankings are current as of June 9, 2026.