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Baby Names 2016: This Summer's Hottest Names Are Pretty Quirky

See which names ranked number one on Nameberry's top 20 list!
A cute baby laughs while being carried by her father.
Layland Masuda via Getty Images
A cute baby laughs while being carried by her father.

Nameberry’s list of summer’s hottest baby names proves that parents still love the creative and quirky.

The baby name site determined the most popular names by comparing page views from the first month of summer 2016 to the same month last year. The names that experienced the biggest increase in page views then made the top 20 list.

The most outstanding summer names, by far, were the girls’ names Thomasin and Leire, which leaped more than 1,000 per cent and 850 per cent, respectively. While both look and sound odd at first glance, a deep dive into their meaning reveals why parents might be drawn to these names.

According to Nameberry, Thomasin is the feminine version of Thomas. Considering gender-neutral baby names exploded in a big way last year, it makes sense that there would be a renewed interest in this unique English name.

As for Leire (pronounced LAY-ree), this moniker is the name of a monastery in Basque. Place names have always been trendy, but have likely maintained their steady popularity thanks to the number of celebrities who chose these types of names for their kids. Alicia Keys, for instance, has a son named Egypt, while Reese Witherspoon has a son named Tennessee.

While Nameberry’s boys’ names were more modern than quirky, Kylo was the big standout, jumping nearly 1,500 per cent this year! This name gained huge popularity among parents in early 2016, following the release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which features the evil character Kylo Ren.

BabyCenter was actually the first to note the name’s popularity back in March. According to the site, the moniker rose 67 per cent since 2015 on the list of boys’ names.

The two other big trends among Nameberry’s hottest summer names were old school monikers and nature names. Interestingly, it appears that parents are interested in old classics again such as Ruby, Bernice and Jude.

Parents have also turned to quirky monikers inspired by nature, such as Eden, Wren and Cala for girls and Oak, Colm and Orion for boys.

Click here to see Nameberry’s full list of hottest summer baby names.

Love summer baby names? Flip through the slideshow below for more unique picks!

Girls' Names

Unique Summer Baby Names

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