Babycenter’s data is based on user submissions, and gets updated continually; the rankings reflect what parents send in for their baby names in real time. So while that means it’s up-to-the-minute, it’s not necessarily exhaustive. The Social Security Administration (SSA) baby name data, meanwhile, reflects the names of every new baby in the nation. That’s released annually (in May of the following year) and only publicizes data about the top 1,000 names. So Babycenter data can provide more of a snapshot— including outliers—of what’s trending in the baby name universe.
But cosmic scales are tipping across both databases. Leo continues to be a top 10 boy name on Babycenter, while Luna secured spot No. 10 on the girls list. More “out there” names are seeing traction, too: Four U.S. parents named their baby girls “Eclipse,” no doubt a reference to April’s awesome total solar eclipse. Eclipse did not crack the SSA’s top 1,000 in 2023—but that could change for 2024!
Some already popular names saw gains too. On Babycenter, Aurora jumped from spot No. 14 in 2023 to spot 12 this year, while Nova climbed from No. 24 to 17. (Per the SSA, Aurora got No. 22 and Nova snagged No. 35.) And while still pretty rare, the names Sol and Orion each got an astronomical rise. Sol (sun in Spanish) rose 334 spots to clock in at No. 695 on Babycenter (though it did not rank with the SSA top 1,000), while Orion shot up 137 spots to No. 301 on Babycenter and number 373 for the SSA. Halo was one of the SSA's names with the biggest popularity increase from 2022 to 2023, rising 203 spots to rank at 567. On Babycenter, Halo is now ranked No. 466, ascending 18 spots towards the heavens this year.
Other cosmic names parents are seizing on:
- Apollo: Babycenter No. 338; SSA No. 432
- Aries: Babycenter No. 819; SSA N/A
- Mars: Babycenter No. 1282 (rising 113 spots); SSA N/A
- Celeste: Babycenter No. 256 (rising 48 spots); SSA N/A
- Celine: Babycenter No. 253 (rising 52 spots); SSA No. 300
Should we be surprised parents are looking to the stars for inspo? For the last decade, parents have been gravitating towards “unique” baby names. New parents are mostly millennials and older members of Gen-Z, generations often characterized as highly individualistic. They want something different, and that seemingly spans their little ones’ names.
Millennials also happen to love astrology. (Count us, too: We’re pretty much addicted to our horoscopes over here at Well+Good.) So it only makes sense that our quest for originality joined forces with all things astronomical. Now, when can we expect our first baby Mercury Retrograde?
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