Which boy names emerged in the U.S. baby name data in 2024 for the first time ever?
A total of 628 boy names debuted in the data last year, and the most impressive debut was made by Lahiam. Here are the top debuts overall:
- Lahiam, 152 baby boys
- Xyleek, 115
- Ezelio, 53
- Kenzai, 37
- Rahzi, 34
- Akaay, 32
- Zeovanni, 32
- Kisen, 31
- Acyris, 26
- Zyro, 24
- Arcaius, 22
- Neeom, 22
- Zyleel, 21
- Khamazi, 19
- Zyleek, 19
- Soan, 18
- Mattisyahu, 17
- Jasyi, 16
- Zamariel, 16
- Manoe, 15
- Vedang, 15
- Eirian, 14
- Mcaiden, 14
Colombian social media influencer Katy Cardona (who has over 10 million followers on TikTok and over 3 million on Instagram) had a son named Lahiam in March of 2024.
Here are some more debuts:
| 13 baby boys | Aviance, Bayker, Emren |
| 12 baby boys | Nivam, Omiras, Syierre, Ziovanni |
| 11 baby boys | Aliam, Dovy, Izam, Keiver, Meylan, Rivian, Rumani, Sabar, Tezekiah |
| 10 baby boys | Acyrus, Adwait, Arzen, Jeider, Jhyzir, Kameiro, Kazai, Kyis, Naunihal, Ohtani, Ravilucca, Renlen, Santori |
Ohtani was inspired by baseball pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani, the three-time MVP who won his first World Series last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. (His first name returned to the data in 2023.)
Finally, here’s a sampling of the rest of the debuts:
- 9 baby boys: Alessi, Giomani, Kavello, Rudeus, Seoul, Stolas, Zaelix
- 8 baby boys: Azuryn, Banjo, Briadam, Cassio, Dieumerci, Ezzeldin, Kovey, Nischay, Ozian, Solano
- 7 baby boys: Altai, Arize, Bellingham, Esoni, Frantzley, Gursher, Hakari, Kodis, Lyham, Omiri, Rennox, Woodmael, Yloan
- 6 baby boys: Axios, Bandit, Camzen, Dunia, Ezrian, Franyel, Grizz, Gurtegh, Invictus, Josthin, Kallo, Lawakua, Mpano, Oceanus, Ripper, Ritsu, Sangwa, Vajra, Xolo, Yelson, Zelle
- 5 baby boys: Atreides, Beaudie, Charter, Crow, Damjan, Elionai, Fatehbir, Galahad, Gratian, Jingze, Kanekoa, Lienzo, Methuselah, Nofal, Olukolade, Pressure, Rexley, Searcher, Stunner, Teotl, Thrasher, Vedavid, Whip, Xol, Yitbarek, Zanvil
Briadam was likely influenced by Cuban-American diver Briadam Herrera, who was featured on two seasons of the reality competition series Exatlón Estados Unidos.
Atreides probably refers to Paul Atreides, the main character of the recent movies Dune and Dune: Part Two, which were based on the 1965 book Dune by Frank Herbert.
(A few extra facts: Seoul is the capital of South Korea, Dieumerci means “thank God” in French, Grizz is the mascot of the Memphis Grizzlies, Invictus means “unconquered” in Latin, Kanekoa is a Hawaiian deity, Lawakua means “strong-backed” in Hawaiian, and Teotl refers to “a divine or sacred force” in Nahuatl.)
If you can explain any of the other debuts, please leave a comment!
Sources: SSA, Wikipedia, Online Nahuatl Dictionary, Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian Language Dictionaries
Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri
I’m especially curious about Zyleek/Xyleek and whether there are also some Zyliques out there.
A lot of puzzlers in here. Annoyed that I can’t figure out Xyleek.
– It looks like Neeom might have been made up (???) by an astrologer who made an Instagram Reel filled with half-true information about names associated with Shiva, the Hindu deity. This fact check has me rolling: https://x.com/MisraNityanand/status/1771816757914730549 — plus this reaction https://x.com/OmMitrasya/status/1771818448403763549.
– Arcaius may be the name of a character in a fake (???) game series modeled off MMORPGs called Pangaia. There’s some cool character art, but I can’t tell how popular the “game” is. In any case, LOTS of boys’ names starting with A and ending with S that have popped up in the data this year, including Acyris, Akaius, Amyris, Asaias, Aureus, Axios, Atreides…
– Soan and Manoé are both commonly used in France. Not sure what got them to spark in the US beyond their appealing sounds.
– Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon, who died Jan 2, 2024, led the second-largest yeshiva in the world in Lakewood, NJ.
– Vedang Raina is an Indian actor who starred in The Archies, a movie released in late 2023.
– Rivian is an electric car brand.
– Kameiro is the son of YouTube family The Rush Fam (3M subs) and FamousTubeFamily (10M subs), though their viewership appears to have peaked a few years ago.
– Ravi Lucca is the son of Brazilian Instagram influencer Thayna Thalita (704K followers). In Brazilian Portuguese, Ravi is pronounced like Javi.
– Rudeus is the protagonist of Japanese novel series Mushoku Tensei, the same source as Sylphiette.
– Stolas is a character in the animated show Hazbin Hotel, described as “an owl-like prince of Hell.”
– Solano is a county in California, but I’d guess it’s more likely given in reference to St. Francis Solano or Blessed Solanus Casey.
– The Altai Mountains are a beautiful range in Mongolia. The name is derived from Altan, the Mongolian word for “golden.”
– Bellingham is likely given in reference to British soccer star Jude Bellingham.
– Franyel is the name of a few different major league baseball players.
– Mpano is a Kinyarwanda name that means “gift.” It may be given in reference to singer Yvanny Mpano, who had a popular song released in 2024.
– Ritsu is a character from mobile game (and attending anime & manga adaptations) Ensemble Stars! He is described as “not a vampire, but suffers from a hereditary condition that resemble vampiric characteristics.”
– Sangwa may be a Congolese name.
– Vajra is a ritual weapon in Tibetan Buddhism and Hindu mythology. Vajra is the Sanskrit name for the Tibetan word Dorje, which showed up in the Sonoma County data recently.
– Zelle is a payment app.
– Like Obaida, Nofal may be given in reference to a leader of the al-Qassam Brigades. Ayman Nofal died in October 2023, during the war in Gaza.
– Vedavid is the son of Indian actress Yami Gautam and director Aditya Dhar.
– Yitbarek is Amharic.
– Zanvil is a Yiddish name, likely given in reference to Israeli Hasidic singer Zanvil Weinberger.
– Frantzley and Woodmael are Haitian names.
– Gursher, Gurtegh, Fatehbir are Punjabi Sikh names.
I am stumped on Xyleek as well! I can see evidence of the usage on social media, but I have no idea what the original source was.
Thank you, alex, for doing all that research — that’s so helpful! (It would be fascinating if that’s the source of Neeom!)