In today’s day and age, everything is political — even baby names. A study by Nameberry dives into red state and blue state baby names, and the results have caused quite a stir online. Although the study was originally published in August 2024, it’s getting widespread traction all over the internet recently. While many people probably assume that parents in red states choose more traditional names and parents in blue states choose more unique names, it turns out the opposite is actually true.

The data, which was collected from 2023 social security card applications and the 2020 US presidential election, was analyzed by Nameberry, and the findings are fascinating. The analysis looks at which of the Top 500 baby names in the US were chosen in predominantly red or blue states. It’s not just the top names in each state — instead, it’s about the names with the highest disparity in red states versus blue states.

Nameberry creator Pamela Redmond said, “Our findings show an America deeply divided on baby names in ways that point to larger and more profound conflicts in American culture and ideals.”

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Here are the main takeaways from the study:

• The reddest baby names shun traditional naming conventions around gender, spelling, and first/last names.
• The reddest names “set forth an American ideal deeply rooted in the land and family heritage.”
• The bluest baby names “celebrate America as a melting pot while also honoring tradition.” Many of these names reflect the diverse population of blue states.
• The bluest names tend to be traditional first names that draw inspiration from historical, religious, and international sources.

The Bluest Baby Names

Here’s a quick explanation of how to read these charts, using Fiona as an example: 77.7% of baby girls named Fiona in the US in 2023 were born in blue states, while 21.3% of baby girls named Fiona were born in red states.

Other baby girl names that are much more popular in blue states than red states include: Brooke (70.5%), Rachel (70.5%), Celine (70.3%), Adelina (69.9%), Maia (69.6%), Maya (69.3%), Viviana (69.3%), Esme (68.6%), Fatima (68.6%), Kaia (68.2%), Colette (68.2%), Anya (68%), Maeve (67.9%), and Sienna (67.8%).

Other baby boy names that are much more popular in blue states than red states include: Colin (72%), Francis (71.8%), Angelo (70%), Remy (69.6%), Desmond (68.4%), Felix (68%), Frank (68%), Zayn (67.9%), Gianni (67.9%), Hugo (67.8%), Sean (67.8%), Rhys (67.8%), Rory (67.5%), Kian (67.3%), and Connor (67%).

Takeaways:

The name disparities in blue states can primarily be explained by ethnic differences — and 70% of the bluest baby names have theological ties. Many of the bluest names are rooted in Jewish (like Moshe and Miriam), Muslim (like Muhammad, Yusuf, Ibrahim, Maryam, Ali, and Aisha), Italian (like Santino, Viviana, and Nico), and Irish (like Maeve and Rory) culture — and 84% of these names come from non-English languages.

The Reddest Baby Names

Other baby girl names that are much more popular in red states than blue states include: Palmer (60%), Haisley (59%), Armani (58.5%), Sutton (58.5%), Marlee (58.4%), Charlee (58.4%), Brynlee (58.2%), Remington (58.1%), Hallie (58%), Evelynn (57.4%), Paisley (56.4%), Navy (56.1%), Emory (56%), Macie (55.4%), and Allie (55.3%).

Other baby boy names that are much more popular in red states than blue states include: Jensen (60.9%), Lawson (60.7%), Hayes (60%), Colter (59.7%), Waylon (59.4%), Shepherd (59%), Banks (58.9%), Karson (58.3%), Kayson (58.3%), Beckham (58.2%), Knox (58.2%), Daxton (57.8%), Tucker (57.6%), Kashton (57.4%), and Dallas (57.3%).

Takeaways:

Some of the biggest trends among the reddest names are last names as first names (like Collins, Cohen/Kohen, Baker, and anything ending in -son), romanticized rural imagery (like Stetson, Paisley, Shepherd, and Colter), nature motifs (like all of the Oak- varieties, Palmer, and Banks), and military/gun-themed (like Gunner, Knox, Remington, Navy, and Saylor). Spelling is also up for interpretation with many of the reddest names, which is why we see so many different versions of Oakley/Oakleigh/Oaklee.

Public Reactions

People have had a variety of reactions to the name data — some find it fascinating, others find it funny, and still others are upset that even names have become “politicized.”

One woman wrote, “Why are we making baby names political? It’s hard enough without the ‘red name, blue name’ thing.”

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Since the information started going viral recently, there have been even more reactions. One recent tweet that referenced the data said, “We have actual American White ethnic names now. It took 250 years but it happened.”

“I must be getting older,” one person tweeted. “All these names read like a Hunger Games character list.”

The data even reached other countries, where people were baffled by some of the red state names. One man wrote, “It’s interesting, too, because they’re genuinely AMERICAN white ethnic names — I have never met or heard of a single child called any of them here in NZ. Or in any other country I’ve been to. Kind of mind-blowing.”

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When it comes to baby name inspiration, looking at the month the baby is born in (or conceived in) is a great place to start. If January is that month, parents have a plethora of January baby names that they can choose from. There are monikers that pay homage to the fresh start that January brings, names that honor the baby’s January star sign, options that take note of the season, and more.

Choosing a child’s name can be difficult, but this list will give you plenty of meaningful options to consider.

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This past year was a major one for pop culture, with new memes to share, the rise of several celebrity and musicians’ careers, and plenty of movies and events worth celebrating. Now we can relive 2024 with these pop culture baby names that reference some of the biggest moments of the year. We can even take these memories into the future with us if we have a baby boy or girl we want to give one of these monikers to.

After all, baby name inspiration can come from anywhere — and 2024 gave us a lot to work with.

More from Mom.com: 20 December Baby Names That Honor the Season

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Giving your baby boy or girl a meaningful name can be a tough task. There are seemingly endless options and homages you can make. But how about considering the baby’s conception or birth month or season when deciding on a moniker? Babies with some sort of connection to the last month of the year have a ton of December names to choose from. There are options related to Christmas, the cold, snowy weather, the baby’s star sign, and so on.

Need a little inspo? We’ve gathered 20 December name choices for you here.

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December 21, 2024, marks the winter solstice — aka the first official day of winter. And if you have a baby conceived or born around the solstice, or the day just means a lot to your family, it could be really cool to give the child a name with connections to solstice.

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the winter solstice marks the day of the year when there’s the least amount of daylight. It also signals that the following days will start to finally grow longer and also that winter is officially here. Sure, it feels like winter has been happening already since it’s freezing in many parts of the country, but the season’s official start comes midway through December. The date changes every year, but it’s usually around the 21st or 22nd.

And now you can mark the special date with these fitting baby names.

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It’s always interesting to look at baby name patterns to see which monikers are more popular than others. Patterns can inspire us when choosing our own babies’ names. But they can also be an indicator of which names may be more uncommon and therefore unique — if that’s the vibe we’re going for.

Fortunately, for anyone considering a seasonal or date-themed baby name, BeenVerified did a recent study that looked at those name trends over the last decade. The study examined the days, months, and seasons most commonly used by parents when picking monikers for their new babies. Some months and days have a ton of representation, but others don’t get any.

To see which 20 names were popular enough to make the cut, keep reading.

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For any parents out there looking for baby name inspiration, perhaps looking at the most popular names of billionaires will be helpful. That’s not to say that these people became super rich due just to their name, but it is interesting to look at the most commonly used monikers.

Digital marketing expert Julian Goldie examined data from Bloomberg.com‘s top 500 global billionaires list to see which names were most frequently used. Unsurprisingly, the entire top 10 is made up of male names, as men have traditionally been afforded the types of opportunities that can lead to becoming a billionaire.

But since the Bloomberg list is constantly changing as it updates people’s net worths in real time, the list is subject to change. And we’ve added a few female billionaire names to this article for further baby name inspiration.

Keep reading to see which monikers were the most popular.

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Parents expecting babies in November have an important decision to make: What will they name their little bundle of joy? One way they can make sure their child has a meaningful moniker is by using one of these November baby names. They’re themed around significant events or holidays in the month.

And while some of these options are more on the nose, others are subtle references that most people wouldn’t pick up on. So it’s like a fun little secret between you and your child to honor their birth month.

Keep reading to see the top 20 choices.

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The weather impacts our lives daily, so it’s not surprising that it can also impact baby name trends. Recently, BeenVerified studied Social Security Administration data from the past 10 years to see which weather- and climate-themed names showed up most often.

And while some children were given very straightforward weather- or climate names like Gale or Breeze — others expanded upon them. For instance, the name Skyler was popular instead of just Sky.

We’ve ranked the weather- and climate-themed names from the study from least to most popular.

More from Mom.com: 20 Most Popular State-Themed Baby Names for Boys & Girls

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October is a super-fun month because it’s spooky season. And for parents having babies during this time of the year, they may want to pay homage to the season with their child’s name. But even for parents who aren’t Halloween lovers, there are plenty of options on this October baby name list to inspire the cutest and most original monikers.

From star signs to TV and movie characters, here are 20 October-themed baby name options to choose from.

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