Which girl names increased in usage the most from 2020 to 2021?
Here’s a table of the fastest-rising girl names of 2021. On the left are the top 25 increases in terms of absolute numbers of babies, and on the right are the top 25 increases in terms of relative numbers of babies.
| Rank | Girl name | Absolute rise | Girl name | Relative rise |
| 1 | Isla | 950 | Thyri | 1,033% |
| 2 | Willow | 766 | Xaila | 800% |
| 3 | Eleanor | 693 | Esmeray | 586% |
| 4 | Nora | 674 | Melek | 547% |
| 5 | Maeve | 603 | Enola | 500% |
| 6 | Leilani | 584 | Kaileen | 475% |
| 7 | Eloise | 569 | Ivoree | 400% |
| 8 | Ivy | 551 | Eveny | 400% |
| 9 | Ayla | 544 | Kove | 400% |
| 10 | Nova | 537 | Yomii | 350% |
| 11 | Hazel | 477 | Salah | 317% |
| 12 | Oaklynn | 405 | Zeanna | 317% |
| 13 | Oakley | 398 | Bloom | 290% |
| 14 | Iris | 397 | Jasira | 280% |
| 15 | Lainey | 374 | Ayzel | 267% |
| 16 | Wren | 361 | Janari | 260% |
| 17 | Violet | 360 | Khylani | 260% |
| 18 | Lily | 357 | Yomi | 260% |
| 19 | Raya | 357 | Aylee | 257% |
| 20 | Luna | 355 | Aara | 257% |
| 21 | Eliana | 355 | Jehilyn | 256% |
| 22 | Daphne | 348 | Evren | 256% |
| 23 | Stevie | 345 | Zohemy | 255% |
| 24 | Sage | 344 | Lilibeth | 254% |
| 25 | Magnolia | 339 | Haisleigh* | 250% |
*Also at 250% were Lakeyn, Nimrat, Vamika, and Zienna.
Some possible explanations…
- Thyri is a character on the TV series Vikings.
- “Yomii” is a song by rapper Moneybagg Yo (lyric: “Let’s have a lil’ girl and name her Yomii”).
- Raya is the title character in the Disney movie Raya and the Last Dragon (2021).
- Lilibeth is very close to Lilibet, the name of the daughter (b. June 2021) of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
If you can explain any of the other rises, please leave a comment!
Image: Adapted from Turkey-2036 by Dennis Jarvis under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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