Sophia
Sophia takes first place, for the eighth consecutive year, for the most popular first name for baby girls. This classic, elegant and international name descends from Greek origins and means "wisdom". It’s most popular year was 2012, with over 12,000 baby girls in the U.S taking this name.
Olivia
Jumping a spot from 2016, Olivia is the feminine form of Oliver, which means "Olive tree". From Greek origins, this popular first name was used in many artistic works from the likes of Shakespeare. It has been a popular name for many years, with famous celebrities such as Olivia Newton-John or Olivia Wilde donning the name.
Emma
Descending from German, Emma has been a popular name since the 19th century. It means “whole” or “universal”, as derived from the Old German. Many celebrities carry this name with pride, notably Emma Watson, a strong voice for young women all around the world.
Ava
A variation of the name Eve, Ava stems from the Latin “avis”, meaning “bird”. The name gained popularity at the start of the 21st century, with celebrities like Ava Gardner who popularized the unique girls’ name. Ava is often regarded as a “short and sweet” type of name.
Isabella
A Hebrew name that is a variation of Isabel or Elizabeth, meaning “devoted to God”. There have been many royal Isabella’s in England, France, Portugal and Hungary’s courts. This name is known for its many pretty nicknames such as Bella, Izzy or Isa.
Mia
Another “short and sweet” name, Mia is Latin and is a short version of Maria. Its origins mean “wished-for child”. It’s also been popularly associated with the Italian word mia, which means “mine”. The famous Kate Winslet named her daughter Mia.
Aria
Its Teutonic origins relate Aria to a bird. In Hebrew, Aria is derived from Ariel, which means “lion of God”. The literal meaning of aria in Italian is “air”. Aria also has a significance in terms of music, as it refers to a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without orchestral accompaniment, usually part of a larger work.
Riley
Coming in at the 8th ranking, this Irish-originated name means “valiant” or “showing courage”. It’s known to be a gender-neutral name as many males and females share it.
Zoe
An original Greek name meaning “life”. Zoe’s are regarded with much importance for many religious people because, in the Greek translation of the Bible, Eve became Zoe. There are multiple celebrities supporting this name: Zoë Kravitz, Zoe Saldana, and Zooey Deschanel, who carries one of the many variations of the name.
Amelia
A Latin name deriving from the Germanic word amal meaning “work”, and connoting industriousness and fertility. Amelia is a blend of the medieval names Emilia and Amalia and is also known to mean “defender” or “striving”. This name was held by an amazing woman, Amelia Earhart, the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Sources and References
BabyCenter (Data collected from more than 500,000 parents).
