As another difficult year draws to a close, we celebrate the precious moments of love, joy and hope that Nameberry’s newest arrivals brought in 2021.

　　Birth announcements for 146 new Babyberries – 86 girls and 60 boys – were featured on our forums and Instagram over the past year. The warmest of welcomes to all of our littlest members!

　　The care and creativity that went into their names simply shines through. There were 159 unique girl names used by Nameberry parents in 2021, as well as 117 unique boy names. And only nine girl names and four boy names were used more than once in the first name slot – an amazing variety!

　　Nameberry style frequently proves itself to be ahead of the curve. The most popular Berrybaby names of all time include cool classics like Eleanor, Penelope, Theodore and Henry, as well as rising stars like Phoebe, Clementine, Felix and Gideon.

　　So the top Nameberry names of 2021 will certainly be ones to watch for future years. Let’s take a closer look at the numbers!

　　

Top Girl Names 2021

Previously plain, now understatedly cool and chic: the streamlined classic Jane was the surprise #1 girl name with Nameberry parents this year. Jane was used five times, all in the middle slot – easily ousting Rose as the most popular middle name for girls.

　　In first name position, the top girl names of 2021 were Clara, Eleanor, Estella, Iris, Flora, Sylvie, Tallulah, Wilhelmina and Willa – all used twice by Berry parents this year. Of those, only Eleanor features in the US Top 100, and Tallulah and Wilhelmina are absent from the Top 1000 entirely.

　　But the most surprising girl name to see multiple uses by our members? That honor goes to Soleil, the French word for “sun”, which was used twice as a meaningful middle name.

　　Intriguing unique girl names include other rare nature names like Fawn, Lunaria, Wildrose and Zinnia; word names like Deliverance, Fable, Holiday and Sonata; and legendary names like Nimue, Olympias and Venus.

　　

Top Boy Names 2021

Mirroring trends on the girls’ side, the #1 boy name with Berry parents in 2021 was solid classic John – used four times as a middle and once as a first.

　　In the first name slot, the top boy name of the year was Frederick, with three baby boys receiving the name. Griffin, Roland and Shiloh were also popular with Berry parents, with two uses each. And a special mention goes to Leo, which was given twice as a middle and once as a first.

　　The dark horse of the year on the boys’ side was Blue – or should that be Blu? Each spelling appeared once in the middle name spot. Could it be the next cool single-syllable middle to watch?

　　Unique boy names chosen by Nameberry parents in 2021 included literary picks like Caspian, Gilbert, Hawthorne and Wilder; smart surnames like Atley, Hollis, Mercer and Steele; and cool international names like Joaquin, Orso and Torben.

　　

Twin Names 2021

Twin names are twice the fun (and twice the pressure!) We love seeing the cute and creative pairings our members come up with – always nicely matched, but never too matchy matchy.

　　Here are all of the stylish twinsets announced by Nameberry parents in 2021.

　　Amelia Jane & Eleanor May

　　Annabelle Lucy & Arthur John

　　Augustin Henry Quist & Laurence Exton Seth

　　Beatrice Sophie Primrose & Theodore Lucas Alfred

　　Brandy Palmer Ryan & London Isobela Saige

　　Evangeline Luna & Roland Craig

　　Frederick Hugo Thomas & Iris Adriana Frances

　　Isla Juliet & Oakley Juliana

　　Jonah Layne & Caspian Beau

　　Mirella Soleil & Sonata Lune

　　Orso Emilio Blue & Sage Damiano Maxim

　　Tallulah Valentine & Lavender Estelle

　　Twila Opal & Livia Quinn

　　

Nameberry’s Newest Arrivals

We usually publish all of our latest birth announcements on the Nameberry blog each month, but I was a little busy last month having a baby of my own!

　　So, without further ado, here is a bumper crop of beautiful Babyberry names announced in November and December, plus some highlights from the sweet and meaningful stories behind them.

　　To read more about these choices – or to share your own child’s naming story for inclusion in our next Babyberry blog post – head over to our birth announcements forum.

　　

Girl Names

Alara Jasmine

　　“Our half English, half Turkish beauty!”

　　Brandy Palmer Ryan, twin of London Isobela Saige

　　Iris Adriana Frances, twin of Frederick Hugo Thomas and sister to Aurélia Anthea Norah and Alistair Rhys Robert

　　"Adriana is my husband’s grandmother’s name and Frances is adapted from my grandfather’s name."

　　Iris Belinda Rosemary, sister to Arthur Robert and Jasper Steven

　　“We were deciding between two names and her daddy chose Iris for her. Her middle names are after her grandmothers who are so excited to have a granddaughter to spoil now.”

　　Lena Noelle, sister to Ada Marie

　　“The name Lena hit many items on our name wishlist, being short and easy to spell, and as a bonus was a family tree name! We were looking for a middle name that reflected the season and happily landed on Noelle, which in addition to being beautiful is actually the name of a dear friend, making it even more meaningful.”

　　London Isobela Saige, twin of Brandy Palmer Ryan

　　Minka Villanueva, sister to Obadiah and Beatrix

　　“When looking at Polish names (our last name is very Polish as my husband’s grandparents immigrated from Poland) I discovered Minka and it was the only girl’s name we considered. It means ‘strong-willed warrior’ or ‘with gilded helmet’ and reminded us of the armor of God in the book of Ephesians.”

　　Nadia Eden, sister to Josie Hart and Teagan Paul

　　“After a decade of infertility and two losses, baby Nadia Eden came at 35 weeks just five days before her daddy’s 35th birthday. Not even knowing our story, and how fitting the meaning ‘hope from God’s garden’ would be, we fell in love with her name about nine years ago.”

　　Venus Marigold Moon, sister to Levi Wilder and Eero James Twilight

　　“Named for the evening star and the mother of Rome, not to mention one of our favorite places to visit in the world – the Castle of Venus in Erice, Sicily. We decided to just go for it, though we know others might think it’s a little intense. We also liked that the V tied it back to our eldest, Levi, and of course she’s the fifth member of our family.”

　　Willa Everly, sister to Lincoln Israel

　　"I liked the symbolism of using the name that had come to me out of left field, rather than my lifelong favorite. I had always dreamed of having a daughter, but I didn’t want to put the weight of all those dreams on her – I wanted her to feel free to surprise me, just like her name did. This was also in early spring when the willow trees were just getting their new green leaves."

　　Wren Isabella, sister to Ivy Alexandra and Sky Elizabeth

　　“The name Wren was suggested to me so many times and my partner and I instantly fell in love with it. Her middle name Isabella was my grandma’s name and it just fits so perfectly with the name Wren."

　　

Boy Names

Bastien Alexander

　　“Bastien, because this name has a connection to the song of our first dance at our wedding. It also has a special meaning for my brother, who is the godfather. Middle name Alexander is after the great grandfather of my husband. It’s also the name of one of my closest childhood friends.”

　　Frederick Hugo Thomas, twin of Iris Adriana Frances and brother to Aurélia Anthea Norah and Alistair Rhys Robert

　　"We always choose one middle name from each side of the family. For Freddie, Hugo is my great grandfather’s name and Thomas is my husband’s great uncle."

　　Harris Wilder, brother to Fiona Mae and Cormac Alexander

　　“Harry is a beloved family name, and Harris gives him a more formal name to use as he sees fit in adulthood. We also love that Harris has ties to Scotland, fitting in with older siblings Fiona and Cormac.”

　　Hawthorne Ren, brother to Atticus Rohan

　　“His first name was chosen for the subtle literary reference to tie in with our first and for the beautiful symbolism of love represented by the hawthorn tree. Ren was chosen because it honours two cultures connected to our families, Japan and India. Ren is Japanese for love and lotus, the national flower of India.”

　　Leander Lev, brother to Lincoln Aaron, Ivan Erastus, Adelia Mae, Oliver Michael, Ruby Aveline, Cal Tanner and Oslo Sullivan

　　“To us his name represents a double dose of lion/courage, and a warm heart, qualities we hope to teach him in these crazy times.”

　　Malachy Keir Schneider

　　"My husband is Irish so we wanted to choose an Irish name for our baby. I loved the name Malachy because I could use the nickname Kai, which means the sea. I’m from Australia so this was really nice!"

　　Sasha Gabriel, brother to Juno Matilda, Kit Valentine and Anouk Helena

　　“Sasha has been a longtime love of mine. I love its soft yet energetic sound, and the Russian connection feels especially fitting because I studied it at university, where my husband and I met and married.”

　　Huge congratulations to all of my fellow 2021 parents, and here’s to many more beautifully named Babyberries in 2022!

　　

About the Author

　　

Emma Waterhouse

　　Emma Waterhouse joined the team in 2017, writing about everything from the top baby name trends 2023 to how not to choose the next big baby name. As Nameberry's head moderator, she also helps to keep our active forums community ticking.

　　Emma's articles on names and naming trends have been featured in publications including the Huffington Post, People, Today's Parent, Fatherly, and Good Housekeeping.

　　A linguist by background, Emma speaks several languages and lives in England's smallest county with her husband and four young children. You can reach her at [email protected].

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