by Pamela Redmond Satran and Esmeralda Rocha

　　The most popular baby names of 2018 on Nameberry are led by the two names that held the top spots at the end of 2017, Olivia and Atticus.

　　In second place, though, things get really interesting. Amara, the multicultural girls’ name with roots in three continents, leapt onto the Top 10 for the full year 2018, and now is all the way up at Number 2 for girls.

　　Amara first entered the US Top 1000 names at the turn of this century, and now is poised to break into the Top 200. It’s also on official popularity lists in England and Germany. If you think of it as a modern blend of Amanda and Mary, you can understand where it gets its star power.

　　Among boys’ names, the Number 2 name is Milo, up from sixth place in the year-end tally. Another multicultural choice, Milo was the name of an ancient Greek Olympic wrestler and is grandfather to also-stylish Miles. Like Amara, Milo stands around Number 200 of the official US list. It’s even more popular in England, Germany, and Sweden.

　　Overall, the top girls’ names for the first half of the year show a decided trend towards longer, more formal, vintage names. Florence, Cordelia, and Anastasia have replaced Ellie, Jade, and Khaleesi. Genevieve, Beatrice, and Freya are among the biggest risers while Zoe, Molly, and Mia were among the fastest-falling girls’ names.

　　On the boys’ side, Nameberry’s visitors are also loving sophisticated Continental names in 2018, but prefer short and punchy choices. Elio, Otis, Otto, and Atlas are new to the boys’ Top 100, and among the fastest risers are Lewis, Owen, Lachlan, and Caspian, taking over from Zachary, Xavier, and Nathaniel.

　　Nameberry’s most popular names list is based on number of views each name page received for the first half of 2018. It gauges interest in these baby names, though it is an indicator of future trends and official name popularity.

　　The 100 most popular names for boys and girls on Nameberry for 2018, so far, follow. Asterisks indicate names new to the list in 2018 versus 2017. And don’t forget to read all the way to the bottom of the post to enter our surprise contest!

　　girls

　　Olivia

　　Amara

　　Cora

　　Isla

　　Charlotte

　　Aurora

　　Amelia

　　Rose

　　Ava

　　Genevieve

　　Maeve

　　Penelope

　　Iris

　　Violet

　　Ophelia

　　Eleanor

　　Esme

　　Luna

　　Imogen

　　Eloise

　　Aurelia

　　Alice

　　Ada

　　Arabella

　　Evelyn

　　Lucy

　　Ivy

　　Hazel

　　Adeline

　　Isabella

　　Thea

　　Jane

　　Nora

　　Emilia

　　Elizabeth

　　Anna

　　Elodie

　　Evangeline

　　Eliza

　　Adelaide

　　Freya

　　Sadie

　　Julia

　　Emma

　　Claire

　　Phoebe

　　Lila

　　Beatrice

　　Elise

　　Maisie

　　Lydia

　　Seraphina

　　Clara

　　Stella

　　Aria

　　Mae

　　Mia

　　Maya

　　Matilda

　　Audrey

　　Chloe

　　Astrid

　　Willa

　　Josephine

　　Mila

　　Willow

　　Sienna

　　Maia

　　Margaret

　　Clementine*

　　Caroline

　　Florence*

　　Grace

　　Lyra*

　　Sophia

　　Celeste

　　Gemma

　　Isabel

　　Juliet

　　Elsie

　　Emily

　　Poppy

　　Eliana

　　Elena

　　Emmeline*

　　Ella

　　Zoe

　　Zara

　　Naomi

　　Molly

　　Anastasia*

　　Madeline

　　Hannah

　　Daisy

　　Evie

　　Margot*

　　Scarlett

　　Tessa*

　　Mabel*

　　Cordelia*

　　boys

　　Atticus

　　Milo

　　Jasper

　　Jack

　　Asher

　　Silas

　　Theodore

　　Wyatt

　　Henry

　　Declan

　　Finn

　　Oscar

　　Oliver

　　Leo

　　Felix

　　Bodhi

　　Aryan

　　Arthur

　　Levi

　　Axel

　　Soren

　　Ryker

　　Thomas

　　Ethan

　　Sebastian

　　Liam

　　Elio*

　　James

　　Kai

　　Charlie

　　Alexander

　　William

　　Louis

　　Charles

　　Callum

　　Benjamin

　　Caleb

　　Jude

　　Julian

　　Ezra

　　Eli

　　Harry

　　Elijah

　　Cassius

　　Ronan

　　John

　　Zachary

　　Xavier

　　Emmett

　　Caspian

　　Andrew

　　Owen

　　Archer

　　Lachlan

　　Matthew

　　Hugo

　　Lewis

　　Samuel

　　Luke

　　Tobias

　　Roman

　　Jacob

　　Nathaniel

　　Isaac

　　Atlas*

　　Harrison

　　Wilder*

　　Simon

　　Nolan

　　Magnus

　　Lucian

　　Gideon

　　Jayden*

　　Lucas

　　Gabriel

　　Daniel

　　Otto*

　　George

　　Knox

　　Graham

　　Theo*

　　Rhett

　　Elias*

　　Thanos*

　　Everett

　　Noah*

　　Kane

　　Xander

　　Maverick

　　Beckett

　　Josiah

　　Sawyer*

　　Griffin

　　Otis

　　Isaiah

　　David

　　Miles

　　Nathan

　　Rowan*

　　Dashiell*

　　Bonus: We’ll send $101 to the first person who correctly guesses the Number 101 name for both girls and boys. Guess only one girls’ name and one boys’ name in the comments section. Go!