The Most Influential Celebrity Baby Names of 2015
The most popular names in the U.S. today prove that celebrities influence baby name trends. Nicole Richie’s Harlow, Gwen Stefani’s Kingston, and half of the names chosen by the Jolie-Pitts have gained in use, thanks to the famous families. High profile birth announcements can take an already rising name and put it on every parent’s shortlist, like Channing Tatum’s Everly. Or it can transform an obscure choice, like Marlowe, into everyone’s new favorite.
As this year draws to a close, let’s take a look at the celebrity baby name choices likely to influence baby naming in 2016 and beyond.
Charlotte — The biggest story of 2015 was the birth of Her Royal Highness, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge, shown above. Just days after Charlotte’s birth was announced, we learned that the name had cracked the U.S. Top Ten. It’s a classic choice, not a trendy one, but it’s still a name to watch in 2016.
Josey — Naya Rivera calling her baby boy Josey was good news for parents who have long lamented the boy-names-on-girls trend. In 2015, we declared that parents were reclaiming many of those names for boys, with choices from Sasha to Lyric appearing on birth certificates for the sons of the famous, and this year, it’s gone even farther.
Poppy — Jenna Bush Hager named her new daughter Poppy this hear, as did Nate Berkus. Evidence that vintage flower names are in vogue, with more parents considering antique lovelies like Marigold and Magnolia in addition to new favorite Poppy, has been mounting in the U.K. for years and is now catching on in the U.S. too.
Calvin — Both Grimm’s Claire Coffee and Bones’s Emily Deschanel named their sons Calvin this year. A new wave of old man names is making a comeback, and Calvin could be the hottest of them all.
Edith — Cate Blanchett’s Edith is evidence of another new trend: Sometimes a letter is hot, but in this case it’s two – the digraph th. Fast-rising Theodore, Theo, and Thea have all been heard on celebrity birth announcements. But some of the most stylish names put the th in the middle or the end, like Blanchett’s Edith.
Saint — If Charlotte was the baby name of early 2015, Saint West is the story of the winter. Kim and Kanye’s choice echoes a trend we predicted for 2015: defining names. More recent arrivals with names that are equally grand: Lily Cole’s Wylde and Kimora Lee’s Wolfe.
Sparrow — O-ending names for girls have been catching on ever since Will and Jada welcomed Willow way back in 2000. 2015 was their year, with girls named Sparrow (daughter of Eivin and Eve Kilcher) and Harlow Monroe (Kimberly Caldwell’s daughter).
Edie — This year, we changed our lives by decluttering — not just our closets, but our baby names too. Simple, even spare choices like Keira Knightley’s Edie and Andy Roddick and Brooklyn Decker’s Hank skipped the formal in favor of short, straightforward names meant for everyday use. Other names in this category include Max, Art, Ozzie, and Cy.
Love — Terrence Howard’s Qirin Love used an old middle name, which is all the rage. We’ve also seen such unexpected choices as Snow, Moon, Ocean, Sky, Rein, Blue, Red, and Day used for celebrity babies in 2015.
Luna — The hottest direction in naming is up, whether that’s celestial objects, like Leonor Varela’s Luna, or ways to get there, like Sam Worthington and Lara Bingle’s Rocket. Criminal Minds’s A.J. Cook is mom to Phoenix Sky.
Charlie — Jeff Goldblum’s Charlie Ocean pulls together all of the 2016 trends. Charlie is a postgender name, used in almost equal numbers for boys and girls. Dave and Odette Annable named their daughter Charlie Mae earlier this year. It’s a simplified name, like Edie and Hank, free of clutter. And, after a year that saw terrorism ravage Paris, it expresses support for France — #jesuischarlie! We’re sure to hear more of upbeat, unisex Charlie in 2016.
—Abby Sandel, Nameberry
Photo: Getty Images
