We wish we’d thought of the Nameberry Awards.
But the entertaining and illuminating awards given by popular vote to the best names in a range of categories was the brainchild of Genevieve, over on the Nameberry forums.
How it worked: Berries nominated names in each category. Then the entries were organized into polls and people voted as well as commented on their choices. Here’s one example.
We see Nameberry favorites such as Charlotte and Genevieve, Henry and Theo showing up in the results. But there are many surprises as well: Rowan chosen as a top unisex name for both girls and boys, for instance. Indiana voted the top celebrity baby name for girls.
But rather than describing the results to you, we’ll just bring you the winners and runners up in all the categories. The Nameberry Awards go to:
Best Top 100 Girls’ Name
1. Lucy
2. Charlotte
3. Amelia
Best Top 100 Boys’ Name
1. Henry
2. James
3. Noah
Best Girls’ Name Outside Top 1000
1. Freya
2. Elodie
3. Mabel
Best Boys’ Name Outside Top 1000
1. Linus and Caspian (tie)
2. Lachlan
3. Phineas
Best Unisex Name for a Girl
1. Harper
2. Rowan
3. Meredith
Best Unisex Name for a Boy
1. Rowan
2. Spencer
3. Avery and Quinn (tie)
Best Girls’ Name Chosen by a Celebrity
1. Indiana Rose
2. Penelope Scotland
3. Adeline and Maple Sylvie (tie)
Best Boys’ Name Chosen by a Celebrity
1. Leo Grey
2. Miles Alexander
3. Samuel
Best Girls’ Name from a Book
1. Primrose
2. Juliet
3. Hermione
Best Boys’ Name from a Book
1. Theodore/Theo
2. Oliver and Sebastian (tie)
3. Rhett
Best Spanish Girls’ Name
1. Paloma and Catalina (tie)
2. Elena
3. Esperanza and Anabella (tie)
Best Spanish Boys’ Name
1. Mateo
2. Hugo
3. Alvero and Cruz (tie)
Best French Girls’ Name
1. Genevieve
2. Amelie
3. Delphine and Esme (tie)
Best French Boys’ Name
1. Beau
2. Lucien
3. Blaise
Best Italian Girls’ Name
1. Francesca
2. Aurelia
3. Aurora
Best Italian Boys’ Name
1. Luca
2. Matteo
3. Enzo
Best Vintage Girls’ Name
1. Violet
2. Eleanor
3. Cordelia
Best Flower Name
1. Violet
2. Rose
3. Magnolia and Iris (tie)
Best Feminization
1. Charlotte
2. Georgiana
3. Theodora
Thank you, Genevieve, and all the Berries who voted on the Nameberry Awards!