As the end of 2020 looms (finally), let’s lift our spirits by looking back over a year of brilliant Babyberry names!

　　It may seem like the year when the world ground to a halt, but for many of our members 2020 has brought the arrival of a new family member. In total, 175 babies (86 girls and 89 boys) were featured in our birth announcements this year.

　　Nameberry style frequently proves itself to be ahead of the curve. Our very first announcement was for a little Vera back in 2008, when it was outside the Top 1000 in the US (now #257 and rising!) And the most popular Berrybaby names of all time include super-stylish rising stars like Felix, Jasper, August, Hugo and Ezra for boys; Olive, Matilda, Vivienne, Clementine and Daphne for girls.

　　So the top Nameberry names and trends of 2020 will surely be ones to watch for the decade ahead!

　　

Top Nameberry Names of 2020

The top girl name this year was sleek and streamlined Maeve, used four times in total (twice as a first name, and twice as a middle). Adelaide, Edith, Elowen, Freya/Freja and Ruby also appeared twice in the first name slot – making them the joint most popular first names for girls.

　　Catherine/Katherine and Genevieve were the next most popular girl names overall, each with three uses. And there were some true hidden gems among the girl names used twice by our members in 2020. Beatrix, Florence, Lilac and Magdalen/Magdalene join Elowen on the list of names beloved by Berry parents, but below the #900 mark in the US (for now!)

　　For boys, James, Oscar/Oskar and William were the top names overall, with four uses each. Strong and simple Jack was the most popular first name for boys, with three uses. And Fox and Jude also received three uses each, split between the first and middle slot.

　　Together with Fox, other surprising boy names used more than once by Berry parents this year include Ambrose, Duncan, Flynn, Soren and Reuben/Ruben – all below the Top 500 in the US.

　　

Twin, Triplet and Sibling Names

Our members welcomed thirteen sets of twins and four sets of triplets in 2020. We consider the Berries the pros at naming multiples in style – always perfectly matched, but never matchy-matchy. Here are all the twin and triplet sets from this year’s Nameberry birth announcements.

　　

Twin Names

August Ellison “Auggie” & Sullivan Thomas “Sully”

　　Edith Aaren “Edie” & Amelia Claire “Ames”

　　Emmanuella Miriam Serafina & Martina Ruth

　　AnnunciataIsle Maverick Skye & Israel Jet

　　Jack Leon & Dylan Olivier

　　Jonah Blake & Sophie Maren

　　Kitty Emma Alexandrina & Roxana Margaret Magdalene

　　Leonid Pythagoras “Lenya” & Endymion Zakynthos “Dymi”

　　Linus Eric & Jude Brian (nicknamed Dude and Lion by siblings)

　　Maeve Lucilla Skye & Phoebe Florence Cove

　　Olive Clementine “Oli” & Genevieve Noël “Evie”

　　Oscar Edward & Wesley Albert

　　Sage Apollo & Orion Kennedy

　　

Triplet Names

Clover Elspeth, Elowen Snow & Finnegan Jude

　　Finn Roland, Parker William & Lucca Duncan

　　Freya Mabel, Maeve Kristina & Elijah Magnus

　　Vienna Emily, Phoenix Sigmund & Beck Roswell

　　And there are some equally stylish siblings sets among the singleton arrivals too. There are, of course, far too many stunning sibling names to list them all, but here is just a small selection of some of our favorite sibling groups in a variety of styles.

　　

Sibling Names

Augusten & Ignatius

　　Autumn & Lark

　　Axel, Zion, Iva & Jett

　　Betty & Maple

　　Boaz & Viggo

　　Ciaran & Cormac

　　Dahlia, Lionel & Honor

　　Elijah, Afton, Poppy & Neve

　　Fletcher, Morgan, Judah, Tulsi & Omri

　　Forde & Banks

　　Grant, Reid & Cole

　　Holland & Arden

　　Horatio & Anastasio

　　Indigo, Lola & Mabel “Billie”

　　Jabez, Esther & Gideon

　　Laoise, Cadhla, Clodagh, Aodhla, Odhran & Ruadhan

　　Lily, Chase, Zack, Drew & Stella

　　Maebry, Winslet & Emrys

　　Mairead, Fergus & Morwenna

　　Marcus “Mars”, Julius “Jules” & Delilah “Lila”

　　Marguerite “Margot” & Beatrice “Bea”

　　Max, Finn, Gus & Rosie

　　Nicodemus & Amalthea

　　Ophelia, Ramona & Daisy

　　Otis, Iona & Posy

　　Ronan, Theodore, Abraham “Bram” & Soren

　　Rune, Sora, Vienna, Phoenix & Beck

　　Scout & Cruz

　　Sylvie & Flora

　　Walter, Stanley, Edgar & Heidi

　　

Top Nameberry Trends To Watch

Berry parents have a knack for tapping into key trends before they hit the mainstream. With that in mind, here are six Nameberry trends we’ll be watching over the coming decade.

　　

Multiple Middle Names

The multiple middle name trend is hot across the pond – and, increasingly, with celebrity parents too. And we’ve noticed more two and even three middle combinations cropping up in our birth announcements this year. Here are just a few stellar examples.

　　Amory Keith Rudolph

　　Callum Parkin Fox

　　Casper Daehlin Sinclair

　　Elim Nathaniel James

　　Hugo Fox Francesco

　　Iris Araminta Rose

　　Liv Marlowe Automne Ysée

　　Matilda Wilhelmina Emilia

　　Mirabelle Lilac Anastacia Eve

　　Morwenna Ottilie Alba

　　Oskar Karl Wolfgang

　　Phoebe Florence Cove

　　River Daisy Bloem

　　Theodore Ezra Atticus

　　

Naming Gets Personal

Talking of middle names, 2020 has (for obvious reasons) been the year of the meaningful middle. We’ve seen plenty of middle names with positive meanings to reflect the turbulent times, like Beatrix and Felix “joy”, and Florence “flourishing” used as a feminine, masculine and gender-neutral name.

　　But we’ve also seen lots of inspiring personal hero names used in the middle spot, like Heber, Luther, Pythagoras, Wycliffe and Rey.

　　

Consonant Names for Girls

Of the 28 girl names used more than once by our members this year, only six end in the mega-popular vowel sounds “ah” and “ee”. And four of the six most popular first names also end in a consonant sound: Adelaide, Edith, Elowen and Maeve.

　　The most popular first letter for girls’ names was not, as you might expect, A or even E (although those were in second and third place). M was our most common initial, with 27 appearances, and L, C and R girl names were also strongly represented in our announcements.

　　

Nordic and Germanic Chic

Perhaps partly to explain for the preponderance of strong consonant sounds is the Berries’ love of steely Scandinavian and Germanic names for both sexes. Stylish choices for girls include Astrid, Bloem, Ottilie, Liv, Maren and Saskia. For boys, Magnus, Otto, Sigmund, Tillman, Viggo and Wolfgang all made for cool and surprising picks.

　　

Midcentury Names Return

Our members were early adopters of now fashionable vintage favorites like Violet, Ivy, Penelope, Theodore, Arthur and Jasper. So we’re always interested to see which neglected vintage gems are revived by Berry parents!

　　Following the 100-year-rule, fresh 1920s names like Dorothy, Irene, Wallace and Roland featured strongly, but so too did some sweet midcentury revivals. Think old-school cool names like Timothy, Peter, Lionel, Allan, Franklin and Keith for boys; Ann, Jane, Deborah, Joy, Gloria and Josette for girls.

　　

Next Wave Nature Names

For the next wave of cool nature names, Berry parents are looking beyond flowers to fruit, tree, herb, animal, water, mineral and sky names for inspiration.

　　Among the fresh nature names below the US Top 500 we spotted this year: Beck, Bear, Fox, Jet and Olivier for boys. And for girls: Clover, Delphine, Isle, Lark, Lilac, Maple, Marigold and Snow.

　　Congratulations to all the proud new parents! And special thanks to Brynn McKeon for her brilliant work compiling our Babyberry name data.