The most popular baby names of 2021 so far

This year’s list of popular names includes unique monikers such as Leriel, Crimsyn and Waylon

Most popular baby names so far in 2021 (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

New parents are getting creative with their baby name choices, with words of gratitude seeing an increase in popularity early on in the year.

While there are still months before the end of the year, during which we can expect to see influences based on important cultural moments, parenting resource website BabyCenter has been tracking the popularity of names so far into 2021.

According to the website dedicated to all things babies, which continuously updates its ranking of popular baby names, this year has seen an increase in the names Blessings and Serenity for female children, with both names making it onto the top 100 in March, in 18th place and 67th place respectively.

The most popular baby names overall have also experienced a shake up, with Olivia taking the position of number one for girls, while Sophia, a favourite for numerous years, has dropped from first to fifth in popularity.

Followed by Olivia is Emma, with Amelia, and Ava rounding out the top five baby girl names, while the list also sees more unusual names such as Paisley, Litte, and Piper.

With September here, fall-themed names such as Autumn have also made an entrance onto the list, with the name coming in 86th.

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For male children, a different name than 2020’s most-popular made its way to the top, briefly, with Noah beating Liam earlier in the year. As of September, however, Liam is back in the number one place.

Oliver has also made it into the top five, as have Elijah and Lucas, while more unique names such as Eero have seen an increase of more than 3,000 spots since last year.

Royal baby names have stayed strong contenders, a theme that is only expected to continue based on the moniker Meghan Markle and Prince Harry chose for their newborn daughter, Lilibet “Lili” Diana.

Currently, Charlotte, Camila, and Elizabeth are in the top 100 names for girls, while the boy’s list includes royal-related names such as William, Henry, and King.

Biblical and religious names have also proven to be popular this year, with Eli, David, Ezekiel, Isaiah, John, David, Josiah, Benjamin and Matthew among the names making it into the top 100 for boys.

BabyCenter bases its annual lists of popular names on the thousands of babies born each year to parents registered on the BabyCenter website. To reflect true popularity, the website combines names that sound the same but have multiple spellings.

You can find all of the most popular baby names of 2021 so far here.