Girl names that debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 2021

lotus bud

Which girl names emerged in the U.S. baby name data in 2021 for the first time ever?

A total of 603 girl names debuted in the data last year, and the most impressive debut was made by Namaari. Here are the other top debuts:

  1. Namaari, 43 baby girls
  2. Parklynn, 36
  3. Sayori, 35
  4. Arianelly, 26
  5. Sanem, 23
  6. Nezuko, 20
  7. Adrielly, 17
  8. Imaray, 17
  9. Franyeli, 15
  10. Kaiori, 15
  11. Kaliani, 15
  12. Treu, 15
  13. Xylo, 15

Namaari was a character in the animated Disney movie Raya and the Last Dragon (2021). (The name Raya also saw a rise in usage last year.)

I’m not sure yet what was influencing Treu, but it was also one of last year’s fast-rising boy names.

Here are some more debuts:

13 baby girlsArzoey, Daneliya, Zyn
12 baby girlsEmrielle, Hiraya, Namani, Pruitt, Rivia
11 baby girlsDaneiris, Emris, Ixia, Knoxleigh, Kyori, Novamarie, Oyku, Zunaisha
10 baby girlsDini, Harir, Jehiely, Keilanni, Kolly, Kuvira, Meiomi, Nylynn, Renfri, Rinn
9 baby girlsArlenny, Azley, Celaena, Elysani, Emmaluna, Europe, Giannagrace, Giorgiana, Khazi, Lailonni, Livvi, Miyanni, Shreyanvi, Solaire, Xori, Xureila, Yoadan
8 baby girlsCallum, Eclipsa, Ellowen, Emoriee, Este, Hartford, Himawari, Hiraeth, Invy, Isani, Jaior, Kasper, Khemistry, Kyloni, Lupine, Nabi, Nareth, Oak, Rhue, Romyn, Saivi, Savae, Siylah, Solaia, Suleidy, Summerreign, Willowgrace, Wrenlie, Xilenia, Yeilany, Zaiyana, Zaloni

Renfri is a character from the Netflix series The Witcher. And Este may have been inspired by the Taylor Swift song “No Body, No Crime,” which features a character named Este (named after musician Este Haim).

Finally, here’s a selection of the rest of the debuts:

  • 7 baby girls: Alileth, Aristella, Dandelion, Dutton, Eluney, Elvana, Everlynne, Joseane, Kiyomii, Mazeleigh, Neon, Parklyn, Sevgi, Styles, Swae, Virsavia, Yemariyam, Yimo
  • 6 baby girls: Arka, Avaluna, Azuria, Bruchie, Cleobella, Culture, Darlet, Ettalie, Glacier, Ice, Jerusalema, Jynx, Kauai, Mawata, Melkam, Nelliana, Onyxia, Quimby, Rayzel, Rischel, Sevy, Tatev, Thendral, Yemi, Zamoura, Zaza
  • 5 baby girls: Aonani, Azami, Bellezza, Callidora, Camoura, Cleissy, Dvosia, Ekhlas, Falasteen, Hiyabel, Icylinn, Iveel, Jonesy, Kiswa, Kohinoor, Leiko, Lisaira, Maeverly, Maravilla, Nolvia, Nymira, Ozzlynn, Praisely, Rimna, Rissy, Savia, Sibi, Solaria, Sylphrena, Sypha, Sunisa, Thyrie, Vignette, Woodlyn, Yule, Zae, Zuna

Sevgi is Turkish for “love,” Maravilla is Spanish for “wonderful,” and Sylphrena (like Kaladin) is a character from the Stormlight Archive series of epic fantasy books by Brandon Sanderson.

If you can explain any of the other debuts, please leave a comment!

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri

17 thoughts on “Girl names that debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 2021

  1. WOW!
    I love unique names and this is the jackpot in that category!! Are there particular regions the names are in or just scattered all over the country (Utah names is what comes to mind as some of the most unique)
    I’m going to have fun with this list! I love Glacier Ice, I’d never do that in real life, but I do love it for a name, or perhaps as a foreign spelled name that sounds a bit more “mysterious” I think (probably not the right word)
    Breen (Norwegian)
    Jökull (Icelandic)
    I might pass on the Irish (Oighearshruth) and Scottish (Eigh-Shruth) though lol
    Geleira is pretty (Portuguese)

  2. – Sayori is a character in the video game Doki Doki Literature Club, an update for which was released in 2021.
    – Sanem is the protagonist of a Turkish romcom TV show Erkenci Kus.
    – Nezuko is a character from the manga Demon Slayer. A Demon Slayer movie was released in late 2020 and became the highest-grossing anime film of all time.
    – Imaray Ulloa is an influencer (Instagram/YouTube) from Miami.
    – Xylo is a singer whose most popular song was released in 2019.
    – Rivia refers to the homeland of Geralt of Rivia, the main character in The Witcher.
    – Kaiori and Kyori may refer to Kaori, a character from the manga/anime Your Lie in April, though I’m not finding a specific reason the names would have increased in popularity in 2021. The spelling Kaori increased from 45 girls in 2020 to 93 in 2021.
    – Öykü seems to be the nickname of a popular child YouTuber from Turkey, Oyuncak Avi.
    – Jehiely is the name of a popular YouTuber and Tiktoker. I wonder if she has anything to do with the fast-rising name Jehilyn.
    – Kuvira is a character from the animated TV show The Legend of Korra.
    – Meiomi is a mass-market wine.
    – Celaena is a character in the young adult high fantasy novel series Throne of Glass.
    – Elysani may refer to Elysanij, a singer from Puerto Rico.
    – Xureila is a YouTuber.
    – Yoadan Ephrem is an Ethiopian model and fashion designer with a large Instagram following.
    – Eclipsa is a character in the cartoon Star vs. the Forces of Evil.
    – Himawari might refer to a character from Naruto or to a young adult novel called Himawari House, though it asn’t released until November 2021.
    – Falasteen reflects the Arabic pronunciation of Palestine and may have been given as a patriotic name during the Israeli bombing of Palestine in May 2021.
    – Icylinn is an influencer (YouTube/Instagram).
    – In addition to the debuts of Camoura, Zamoura, and Lamoura, Kamoura increased from 18 to 30 girls. Interestingly, Amoura was used a bit less than last year.

  3. Lupine is (maybe) the middle name of Jenny Slate’s daughter Ida, born in 2021. The source is one TV interview, and the way she pronounced it, it could be “Lupin”, but the press all spelled it Lupine.

    Hiraeth is Welsh for “longing, nostalgia”.

  4. Kiyomii makes me think of the Korean word ??? (kwi-yo-mi) which means like “cutie”. There’s a famous song that has accompanying gestures called the Kwiyomi/Kiyomi Song.

    I think Culture is probably related to Cardi B’s daughter Kulture, although she was apparently born in 2018 so this may be a low continuation of that popularity.

    I have to say, as a Celena, I actually really like Celaena!

  5. Darlet: Darlett is a character in the anime show Attack on Titan, which debuted in the US in 2020. Darlette also returned to the charts after a long gap.

  6. I went to school with a girl named Europe – I’m somewhat surprised it’s just now debuting for the first time.

  7. Jynx is one of the original 151 Pokemon, but I suspect the name debut is because the 2021 League of Legends animated series Arcade, which featured a character named Jinx.
    The Pokemon might have made some people not know how to spell the actual word/name though?

  8. – Adrielly Lima is a Brazilian model with over 1 million followers on Instagram.

    – Franyeli Guerrero is a woman with 35,000 followers on Instagram. Franyely Rodríguez is a Venezuelan soccer player for CD Castellon. Franyeli Garcia is a journalist for the Spanish version of Xinhua.

    – Xylo is the daughter of rapper and “Love and Hip-Hop Atlanta” star Lil Scrappy and his wife Bambi. She was born in August 2020.

    – Arzoie is the daughter of Indian actor Aparshakti Khurana and his wife Aakriti Ahuja. She was born in August 2021.

    – Daneliya Tuleshova is a Kazakh singer. She placed 6th in America’s Got Talent in 2020.

    – ZYN is a brand of smoke-free nicotine pouches.

    – Namani is a British rapper. Franck Namani is a luxury clothing brand.

    – Jeremy Pruitt is an American football coach who was fired from the Tennessee Volunteers in January 2021.

    – Ixia is a genus of flowers native to South Africa.

    – In May 2021, Erika and Troy Campbell had their daughter Nova Marie in a truck on a Canadian highway. Kasmonyae Harris, a star on 16 and Pregnant, has a daughter named Nova Marie, who she gave birth to in 2020.

  9. – A military base housing U.S. troops near the city of al-Harir was attacked by a drone in July 2021.

    – Jehiely Mora Vergara is a woman from Georgia, USA with 157,000 followers on Instagram. She is one half of the Jehiely N Alex YouTube channel.

    – There is an online clothing store called Kollyy. Their account on Instagram has 512,000 followers.

    – Nylyn Eady was a U.S. soldier who died while on his holiday break in January 2021. Nylynn Cosmetics is a skincare company based in Lewisville, Texas.

    – Rinn is the name of a planet in the Star Wars universe.

    – Baseball catcher Buster Posey has twin daughters named Ada and Livvi, who were born in July 2020.

    – Miyani is a character in Guild Wars 2.

    – Solaire of Astora is a character in Dark Souls.

    – Xori is a musician known for their lo-fi music. Their song “Dreamin”, released in 2018, has 7+ million streams on Spotify.

    – Callum is a character in The Dragon Prince. Callum might also refer to British boxer Callum Smith.

  10. – Invy is a nightclub in Indianapolis.

    – Isani appears to be a Korean brand of clothing from the 90s (?)

    – Kasper Dolberg is a Danish soccer player. Len Kasper is a sportscaster.

    – Nabi is a 2021 Korean song by Peggy Gou and OHHYUK. Nabi is also an Arabic term for “prophet”.

    – Eiro Nareth is a guitar player and composer with 1,250,000 subscribers on YouTube.

    – Rhue is a brand of hair products. Their Instagram account has 13,000 followers.

    – Pravin Saivi is an Indian singer.

    – Solaia is a type of red wine.

    – Kristen McMullen, a Florida woman, died after giving birth to her daughter Summer Reign while in the hospital for COVID-19.

    – Xilenia Mena (Xile) is a model who has 281,000 followers on Instagram.

    – Zaloni is a company that provides DataOps software.

  11. – Pleurota aristella is a species of moth.

    – Dutton is the son of the county singer Chris Lane and Lauren Bushnell.

    – Elvana Gjata is an Albanian singer.

    – Joseane Vega is a TikToker.

    – Kiyomii is a luxury clothing brand. Kiyomi is also the name of a Korean singer and the name of a Death Note character. Kiyomi Uchiha is a character from Naruto.

    – Mazelee is the name of a family channel ran by Alena Maze and Joseph Lee. They have 440,000 followers on Instagram.

    – Styles could be from Harry Styles.

    – Swae could be from rapper Swae Lee.

    – Yimo the Tapir is a collection of Malaysian animated shorts, with 3.9M followers on TikTok.

    – Azuria is a type of tinted glass.

    – Bruchie Herbst is a makeup artist.

    – Cleobella is a clothing brand.

    – Ice Davis is the son of rapper Gucci Mane and his wife Keyshia Ka’oir Davis, who was born in December 2020.

    – The Jerusalema Challenge is a dance challenge which went viral in 2020 and 2021.

    – Kauai is probably from the Hawaiian island of the same name.

    – Mawata Kamara is a nurse who was featured in multiple news stories in 2021.

    – Nelliana is a stylist who has 5,000 followers on Instagram.

    – Onyxia is a boss in World of Warcraft Classic.

    – Quimby might be from Ramona Quimby. Beverly Cleary, the creator of Ramona Quimby, died in March 2021.

    – Rischel Friedmann or Rischel Kotler is a Jewish refugee who fled from the Nazis and went to Japan. Her relative thanked the Japanese government in 2020.

    – Sevy is a nickname for baseball pitcher Luis Severino. Sevy Marie Eicher is an artist with Down syndrome.

    – Tatev is probably from the Tatev Monastery in Armenia.

    – Thendral Vanthu Ennai Thodum is an Indian drama that premiered in August 2021.

    – Yemi Alade is a Nigerian singer.

    – Zamoura is a brand of moisturizing cream.

    – Hend Zaza is a young Syrian table tennis player who competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

  12. – Aonani is a species of ponies from the video game Pony Town.

    – There is a model of car by Mazda called the Mazda CX-9 Azami LE, which was released in January 2021. Azami could also be from a character in Rainbow Six Seige or from a character in Naruto.

    – “Bellezza” means “beautiful” in Italian, and is used as a name by many brands.

    – Callidora Black is a minor character in Harry Potter.

    – Ekhlas Ahmed is a refugee and activist.

    – Jonesy could be from a Fortnite character, an actor and comedian, or an underwear shop.

    – The Kiswah is the cloth that covers the Kaaba.

    – The Kohinoor is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world.

    – Leiko Wu is a Marvel character. Leiko Ikemura is a Japanese-Swiss artist.

    – Maeverly is an online boutique. Maverly Designs is an online jewelry store.

    – Beasts of Maravilla Island is a video game that was released in June 2021.

    – Johan & Ozlynn are a couple with an Instagram account that has over 5 million followers.

    – Savia is probably from the Savia plant genus or from the Savia brand of aloe vera drinks.

    – Sibi Blaži? is the wife of actor Christian Bale.

    – Solaria is a company that sells solar panels.

    – Sypha is a character from Castlevania.

    – Zae Romeo is a singer who was on The Voice in 2021.

    – Zuna is a German rapper.

  13. – Hartford Charlie Rose is the name of former Vanderpump Rules star Stassi Schroeder and her husband Beau Clark. She was born in January 2021.

  14. – Kaori is the name of the daughter of Kevin Hart and his wife Eniko. She was born in September 2020.

    – Rhue/Rue could be from model Baby Rue or Rue, who is a character in the series Euphoria.

  15. My daughter is Lupine and she was born in 2020. I named her that because lupine’s are my favorite flower. Such beautiful wildflowers, that and it means wolf like which is a beautiful and fierce animal

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