CA Scandal-Makers & Movie-Makers Shape 2022's Most Popular Baby Names

CALIFORNIA — Twitter boycotts aren’t the only sign of trouble at the house of Musk. The name ‘Elon’ took a nosedive among the most popular baby names of 2022.

The BabyCenter’s list of the 100 Most Popular Baby Names of 2022 is out, and, as is so often the case, the Golden State had an outsized impact on the trends this year. From “coastal grandmother chic” to the plummeting popularity of names such as Kanye, Elon, Johnny, Amber, Will and Jada, California notables are having an impact.

So, what is there to learn from the baby naming trends of 2022? Parents are definitely taking their cues from headlines and the entertainment industry, and they are leaning toward names with a Western or dreamy flair.

“After almost three tumultuous years of coping with the pandemic, parents are settling into a new normal, and they’re even showing hints of positivity. Utopian names (Miracle, Heaven, Destiny) are on the rise, alongside celestial names that celebrate the wonder of the night sky (Nova, Aurora, Luna),” wrote the parenting gurus at BabyCenter.

“Names from the hit animated movie Encanto (Maribel, Isabela) and the fan-favorite western show Yellowstone (Dutton, Kayce) also spiked in popularity. Monikers that channel the coastal grandmother trend (Mae, Hazel) are on the rise, as are the names of world-class tennis stars (Serena, Roger). On the other hand, we saw declines in names associated with celebrities who made headlines for all the wrong reasons (we’re looking at you, Will, Jada, Chris, Amber, Johnny, Elon, and Kanye).”

The most popular baby girl names of the year are:

1. Olivia
2. Emma
3. Amelia
4. Ava
5. Sophia
6. Isabella
7. Luna
8. Mia
9. Charlotte
10. Evelyn

The most popular baby boy names of the year are:

1. Liam
2. Noah
3. Oliver
4. Elijah
5. Mateo
6. Lucas
7. Levi
8. Asher
9. James
10. Leo

The most popular names did not change a lot from last year. Olivia and Liam are still on top for the second year in a row. The top five baby girl names remained the same, and the only change to the top 10 girl names was the addition of Evelyn, dropping Harper out of the top 10.

The main characters from the film “Encanto” aren’t the only ones inspiring parents. Zendaya from Marvel’s Spider-Man shot up 375 spots. Other spidey franchise names to climb the list include Parker, May, Maryjane, Ned and Otto.

Among the biggest climbers, Athena and Iris moved up 24 spots each, and Freya (the Norse goddess) jumped 22 places, bringing it into the top 100 names.

Girl names falling in popularity include Ellie, Riley, Emily, Bella, Savannah, Aubrey, Hannah and Madison. The name Amber fell 176 spots and Jada tumbled 257 spots.

For boy names, Myles was the most notable climber along with River. They both moved up 31 places followed by Legend which climbed 28 spots, and Atlas and Waylon also surged in popularity while Cameron, Andrew, Logan and Jack all fell.

The richest man in the world's moniker really tumbled, falling 450 spots on the list. Kanye fell further. That name dropped 3,410 spots in 2022. After Will Smith's Oscar slap, the name Smith fell 730 spots.

BabyCenter has been tracking the most popular baby names every year since 2004. The 2022 Most Popular Baby Names analyzes the top 100 names submitted by 416,000 BabyCenter parents through Nov. 1, 2022.