100 Best Name Collections At the Moment, A-Z

100 Best Baby Name Collection Today


For parents who will reply to a new baby in 2016, here are Nameberry's choices for the 100 best baby names and reasons for each choice.


Abel — Biblical boy name with a capable sound

Adelina — The next Isabella

Agnes —Vintage ‘A’ name set for a major comeback

Alice — Storybook heroine back in the top 100

Amias — Undiscovered masculine name whose meaning we love

Apollo — A Greek god at home in the modern world

Arden — Shakespeare’s forest makes this a literary nature name

Arlo — Upbeat Arlo is a folk singer and an animated dinosaur

Athena — As smart as Sophia

Atlas — Mythological name that holds its own

August — The Oscar of 2016

Aurora — Ancient name seeing a new dawn

Beckett — Literary name and Hollywood favorite

Benedict — Ben name glamorized by leading man Cumberbatch

Blaise — A saint’s name with a fiery image

Bodhi — Surprising spiritual name entering the mainstream

Brooks — Brooke is fading for girls, but Brooks is white-hot for boys

Cait and Cate — New ways to spin classic Kate, inspired by Jenner and Blanchett

Cassian — Roman rarity poised for 21st century discovery

Charlie — Modern parents increasingly prefer Charlie to Charles, or Charlotte

Charlotte — A Nameberry favorite turned royal baby name

Clementine — Edible appellation back in the U.S. Top 1000 list

Cora — The “Downton Abbey” name most likely to succeed

Cordelia — Lear’s loyal daughter, and a recent returnee to the U.S. Top 1000

Crosby — Irish surname name that’s part-crooner, part-NHL

Cy and Si — Claire Danes picked Cyrus, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel chose Silas, and Zoe Saldana simply Cy

Declan — Ryan and Brian’s little brother

Delilah — Biblical name rehabilitated

Delta — Southern belle baby name chosen by Dax Shepherd and Kristen Bell

Dinah — Undiscovered Biblical girls’ name

Dorothea — Distinctive classic rich with great nicknames

Edith — 2016’s Abigail, and Cate Blanchett’s youngest

Eloise — Childhood literary heroine ready for the real world

Elsie — Rising nickname-name chosen by Zooey Deschanel

Emmeline — Alternative to popular Emma and Emily, and Meryl Streep’s “Suffragette” character

Emmett — An “Em” name for a boy, boosted by “Twilight” and “The LEGO Movie”

Everest — Nature name with a hint of danger, featured on the big screen last year

Ezra — As Biblical as Noah, plus with the zippy ‘z’

Fable — Modern spin on Mabel just right for a writer’s child

Fay or Faye — A more inventive and vintage middle than May or Ray

Flannery — As literary as Harper, but far more distinctive

Flora — Halfway between Nora and Daisy, yet all the way more unusual

Flynn — Dashing Flynn, part-“Tangled,” part-Finn.

Ford — The chicest of the car names

Fox  — An animal name as snappy as Max, as modern as Bear

Frances — A classic that’s thrown off its dowdy image to feel fresh and wearable

Freya — A Norse goddess name long popular in the U.K., and newly discovered in the U.S.

Grey – Color name possibility for boys, rising thanks to — or despite — Fifty Shades

Hank — Casual Jack-like name chosen by Andy Roddick and Brooklyn Decker

Harold — Former grandpa name now following Henry into wider use

Harvey — A name that’s been out for so long in the U.S. that it’s suddenly very in

Hawk — Fierce nature name worn by Jeremy Renner in “The Avengers”

Hazel — Once an out-there star-baby choice, now a vintage favorite

Holiday — Cooler than Holly or Noel, more approachable than Christmas or Easter

Huck — This year’s Finn or Sawyer

Imogen — U.K. and Nameberry favorite slowly catching on in the U.S.

Inigo — Rare saint’s name that deserves wider use

James — The most enduring of boys’ names, now also a possibility for a daughter

Jane — Quirky television series “Jane the Virgin” makes classic Jane a cultural-crossing possibility

John — Top name for CEOs, appropriate for an upwardly-mobile child

Juniper — Jennifer’s daughter, and an energetic nature name on the rise

Justus — Ancient Roman name meets modern word name

Leilani — A Hawaiian name feeling more at home on the mainland

Leonora — Leonine girls’ name that’s familiar, yet rare

Linus — Finally out from under the blanket

Louisa — Lovely, literary, and back in the Top 1000

Luca — Handsome, Italian spin on Lucas and Luke

Lucia — A favorite with parents looking to bridge cultures

Luna — Spacey Harry Potter name that has stuck

Maeve — Authentically Irish, without the spelling and pronunciation challenges of some imports

Magnolia — The hottest new-old floral name

Magnus — A ancient royal name in Norway and Sweden, Magnus shares a meaning with Max that any little boy would love: the greatest.

Maisie — Sweetly vintage nickname name

Malala — Nobel Peace Prize-winner that deserves wider use

Margot or Margo — Sophisticated o-ending spin on classic Margaret

Marigold — A golden-hued “Downton Abbey”-inspired option

Marlowe — Harper, Harlow, and now Marlowe are last names succeeding in first place for girls

Matilda — Roald Dahl’s girl power heroine for a new generation

Nathaniel — Biblical favorite that never feels overused

Nova — New — literally! — and celestial

Ocean — Water-inspired nature names are hot, from River to Ocean

Olive — Starbaby favorite with ties to the natural world and a peacefull

Ophelia — Once-tragic Shakespearean name, now an alternative to Olivia

Orson — An ends-with-son name that isn’t overused

Paris — The City of Lights shines on, classic for boys or modern for girls

Poe — Poetic surname name boosted by new “Star Wars” hero

Poppy — Flower power pick big in the U.K., finally catching on in the U.S.

Rafferty — Cool and confident surname name for boys

Robin — Back on the boys’ side

Romy — Former one-person name ready for wider use

Royal — A name that rules, with ties to the World Series champs

Rufus — Neglected boy name that feels fresh and fashionable

Saint — A celebrity baby name sure to find wider use

Saoirse — Irish import boosted by rising actress Saoirse Ronan

Sophia and Sofia — The name heard ‘round the world

Stellan — One of the best n-ending names for boys

Susannah — Classic spin on Susan currently given to fewer than 100 girls

Titan — Powerful mythological name now in the US Top 1000

Xanthe — Mythological but modern, with the “x” factor

Zephyr — Breezy nature name with stylish “r” ending