Nameberry’s list of top baby names 2019 is in for the first quarter of the year, with two surprising new names taking the lead.
Posie, a charming vintage floral name that has never ranked among the US Top 1000, takes Nameberry’s Number 1 spot for girls so far in 2019.
Milo, an ancient name that has been vaulting up the official US popularity list since 2001, is the new Number 1 name for boys.
We calculate our popularity list based on which names attracted the most of the 11 million views of our name pages so far this year.
Nameberry’s Top 5 baby names for girls and boys in 2019 are:
Top Girl Names
1. Posie2. Isla3. Olivia4. Aurora5. Maeve
Top Boy Names
1. Milo2. Jasper3. Atticus4. Theodore5. Asher
Posie replaces Olivia, the Number 1 girl name for 2018, while Milo takes the place of Atticus, 2018’s Number 1 for boys. Aurora and Maeve are other new entrants to the girls’ Top 5, while Theodore is a new Top 5 name for boys.
Posie, which can also be spelled Posy and Posey, represents the confluence of several baby name trends. It’s a vintage name, a nature name, and a nickname-name. Posie can be used on its own or might be a short form of such fashionable proper names as Penelope or Josephine. Fewer than 50 baby girl received all three spellings of the name in the US in 2017.
Milo, which has roots in both Latin and Old German and can mean either soldier or merciful, is the name of an ancient Olympic wrestler and of Milo Ventimiglia of the popular TV show This Is Us. It ranks Number 224 in the US.
Beyond the Number 1 names, we see these names ranking at the top of their fashionable categories:
Popular Names Most Likely to Keep Succeeding: Olivia and Jack
Olivia has been a favorite with Nameberry visitors and parents around the world for many years now, ranking among the US Top 10 since 2001 and standing at Number 3 on Nameberry’s 2019 list. Jack is the top boys’ name in Scotland and Ireland and ranks Number 7 among boys’ names for 2019. Other classics with staying power: Charlotte at Number 10 and Oliver at Number 14.
Top Ancient Names: Aurora and Atticus
Names from Ancient Rome and Greece and from ancient mythology around the world are fashionable right now. Aurora, goddess of the dawn and Number 4 on the girls’ list, and Atticus, an important Roman literary figure and Number 3 for boys, lead the pack. Other ancient names destined to be hot in 2019 are Freya, Norse goddess of love, beauty, and fertility whose name ranks Number 18 or girls, and Cassius, an Ancient Roman historian as well as the would-be assassin of Julius Caesar and the Number 30 boys’ name.
Leading International Names: Maeve and Finn
The Irish imports Maeve and Finn, both names of important figures of Irish mythology, rank highest in this category. Maeve is the Number 5 girl name for 2019 so far, with Finn Number 8 for boys. Also popular is Amara, the Number 7 girls’ name with roots in several cultures from Indian to African to Italian. Aarav, a Hindi boys’ name meaning “peaceful,” ranks 11 on Nameberry’s 2019 list and Number 536 in the US.
Most Fashionable Classic Names: Cora and Theodore
The ancient Greek Cora has been jumping up both the Nameberry and the US popularity lists in the past few years, standing at Number 6 for 2019. Theodore, another historic Greek name that can be shortened to Theo or Ted, is Number 4 for boys. Runners-up in this category are Eleanor, Number 15, and Henry, Number 9.
New Favorite Biblical Names: Adah and Asher
The trendy Ava has given way to the more substantial Adah, the name of the first female in Genesis after Eve as well as of the wife of Esau. Adah is Number 24 on the 2019 girls’ list. Asher is a Nameberry favorite name – it’s Number 5 on the 2019 list but has ranked as high as Number 1 – that’s in the US Top 100. In the Bible, Asher is one of the 12 sons of Jacob.
Most Eloquent Literary Names: Ophelia and Silas
Though Shakespeare’s Ophelia and George Eliot’s Silas Marner are both tragic characters, their names are finding new favor. Silas, 2019’s Number 6 boy name, is a New Testament saint’s name derived from Sylvanus, the Roman god of trees. Ophelia, Number 12, is rooted in the Greek language but was invented by an Italian poet in the 16th century and adopted by Shakespeare for Hamlet. A strong runner up is Lyra, the name of the heroine of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, ranking at Number 47 among girl names for 2019.
Go here to see all Top 1000 2019 baby names for each gender.