Pop culture strongly influences parents’ choices in 2025. TV series, music, literature and sports are pushing new names into the baby charts, bringing notable changes in the preference rankings.
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Noah and Olivia once again dominated the list of the most popular baby names in 2025, closely followed by Liam and Oliver on the top for boys and Amelia and Sophie on the top for girls, according to new data released by BabyCenter.
Although the most popular name for both genders remained the same as last year, BabyCenter noted that there were “major top 10 changes on both sides”. For example, Eliana and Aurora entered the Top 10 of names for girls, at places 7 and 9 respectively, knocking Ava and Luna out of the ranking, which the parenting platform describes as “celestial favorites”writes USA Today.
Among the boys, Luca entered the Top 10, replacing Leo.
“The Top 100 also got an update,” BabyCenter added, with seven new girl names including Juniper, Oaklynn, Sienna and Eloise bringing “a mix of cottagecore, vintage and modern touches” to the list. Meanwhile, for boys, names like Malachi, Ali and Arthur entered the Top 100, signaling “a return to strong classics with spiritual and ancient roots”according to the organization.
Top 10 most popular girl names in 2025
Olivi
Amelie
Sophos
Emma
Isabella
Charlotte
Eliane
Ellie
Aurora
me
Top 10 most popular boy names in 2025
Noah
Liam
Oliver
Elijah
Mateo
Levi
Lucas
Ezra
Asher
Luke
Pop culture strongly influences trends
The findings also highlighted an increase in names inspired by pop culture trends, parents “taking direct inspiration from their favorite playlists and shows”the organization said, adding that “NBA and WNBA athletes pile influence on name choices, and book lovers bring classic literary choices back to life”.
Country-inspired names like Rose, Jane, Miley, Willie and Austin reflect that “increasing influence” on which “the country aesthetic has it” thanks to artists like Beyoncé with the album “Cowboy Carter”.
Nick, Lance and Howie gained popularity after the Backstreet Boys residency at the Sphere and with Y2K nostalgia.
Names inspired by TV series include Helena from “Severance”; Samira, Heather and Cassie from “The Pitt”; Belinda, Chelsea and Valentin from “The White Lotus”; as well as Isabel and Conrad of “The Summer I Turned Pretty”.
The names of the players of the 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder such as Jalen, Jaylin, Isaiah and Dillon have increased in popularity.
And WNBA stars like Courtney, Kelsey and Natasha are increasingly influencing name choices.
Sawyer and Finn from “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”; Jay, Daisy, Buchanan and Baker from “The Great Gatsby”; as well as Holden from “Watching in the Rye Field” they are classic literary names that have climbed the charts.
Robin Hilmantel, senior director of editorial strategy and growth at BabyCenter, said the list reflects that “the first year of the Beta Generation babies”.
“Our data shows how deeply pop culture—down to popular aesthetics on TikTok—is expanding the circle of influence of new parents”Hilmantel said. “The process of choosing the name has become much more creative, but still adheres to old rules – such as that if a name is involved in controversy, it will quickly disappear from the spotlight.”
