The top girl-name debuts in the U.S. baby name data last year were:
- Zhavia, 306 baby girls
- Kattaleia, 52
- Ezlyn, 50
- Anifer, 37
- Jhavia, 22
- Kiyanne, 21
- Maevery, 21
- Zaviah, 21
- Ainoha, 18
- Yarishna, 18
- Fiadh, 15
- Dehlani, 14
- Jentree, 14
- Laureline, 14
- Cevyn, 13
- Stoni, 13
- Alishka, 12
- Aloy, 12
- Elanese, 12
- Imrie, 12
- Shaarvi, 11
- Wynnter, 11
Some of the other debuts include: Annifer, Dava, Enzleigh, Katyayani, Lunamae, Mazuri, Attley, Coralena, Loujain, Townes, Gurmehar, Orabella, Vaia, Aerolyn, Elegance, Nyayla, Tillian, Universe, Yosra, Zhaviah, Zyna, Alouette, Anyfer, Bilge, Cardi, Chicago, Elite, Geles, Gentree, Ikora, Lunagrace, Menorah, Modesire, Pyrrha, Riverrose, Siloam, Versace, Willianny, Zelilah, Annajames, Arrowyn, Bellanova, Chancellor, Cloud, Ellanese, Enzo, Erabelle, Ffion, Fiammetta, Foreign, Ixora, Krew, Lunamaria, Mattel, Miqueen, Noir, Novamae, Peru, Sumnima, Tomiris, Uinise, Videlle, York
Zhavia (and Jhavia, and Zaviah) were influenced by singer Zhavia Ward, who was on the TV show The Four in 2018. Do you have explanations for any of the other debuts?
P.S. Wondering what a “debut” name is? Debut names were too rare to appear in the SSA data in any previous year (1880-2017). In order to debut, they need to be given to at least 5 babies of one gender or the other within a single year.
Source: SSA
Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri