The Top Baby Names of 2015

An online parenting resource tracked this year's hottest baby name trends.

ByABC News
December 1, 2015, 10:43 AM

— -- What are the top baby name trends of 2015 in the United States? The answers may surprise you.

Online parenting resource BabyCenter just released its findings for the top baby names of 2015, as well as some interesting trends that have risen this year that show where parents turned to for inspiration for naming their new babies.

BabyCenter's data showed that gender-neutral names were on the rise this year. Names like Wyatt, Piper, Riley and Carson all moved up in the baby name database from previous years.

The digital parenting resource also discovered that planets and stars are a hot trend with parents this year, with parents more frequently naming their babies celestial names such as Venus, Jupiter, Sunny and Stella.

"In the sixties, celestial baby names had a hippy vibe, but today’s parents are more inspired by planetary science and space travel,” Linda Murray, global editor in chief of BabyCenter, said in a news release.

One of the most interesting baby name trends of the year is credited to the popular social media application Instagram. BabyCenter data shows that Instagram filters are now gaining popularity as baby names. Ludwig, Amaro, Hudson, and Kelvin all moved up on BabyCenter's baby name database for popular baby names for boys, and Valencia, Juno and Willow moved up on the baby name database as popular baby names for girls.

“This is the first time we’ve seen technology break through as a source of name inspiration,” Murray said. “Photo-sharing is a daily and emotional part of Millennials’ lives, and those two ingredients can trigger love for a name.”

Year after year pop culture remains a staple in the inspiration behind some popular baby names. Last year, BabyCenter determined that TV shows such as "House of Cards," "Scandal," and "Orange Is the New Black" were the cause for increases in names that relate to TV show characters and the actors who play the characters. This year is no different.

BabyCenter revealed one popular baby naming trend of 2015 comes from the hit show "Empire." The "empire effect," as BabyCenter is calling it, caused names from the show’s family to shoot up BabyCenter’s baby names database.

The name Dre moved up 77 percent, Lyon moved up 61 percent, Hakeem moved up 55 percent, and the name Lucious entered BabyCenter’s baby names database for the first time in three years.

In regard to the top baby names of 2015, BabyCenter's data shows multiple repeats from the data in previous years, which the digital resource center says is no surprise.

“Our data shows that the top-10 list stays relatively stable for three to five years," Murray said. "Sophia has been a powerhouse for six years, thanks to the variety of spelling options and the multi-ethnic, multi-language appeal of the name. I predict Jackson’s popularity will be more fleeting. We’ll likely have a new number-one boys’ name next year,” she continued.

So without further ado, here are the top baby names of 2015.

Top 10 Baby Names of 2015

Girls

1. Sophia

2. Emma

3. Olivia

4. Ava

5. Mia

6. Isabella

7. Zoe

8. Lily

9. Emily

10. Madison

Boys

1. Jackson

2. Aiden

3. Liam

4. Lucas

5. Noah

6. Mason

7. Ethan

8. Caden

9. Logan

10. Jacob

In addition to tracking the top baby names in the United States, BabyCenter also collected data for baby names in Malaysia, Australia, Brazil and the United Kingdom.