The Baby Girl Names of 2027 Will Be Celestial and Ethereal, Experts Say

When it comes to baby names, every parent is looking for that “sweet spot,” a name that’s just the right balance between trendy and timeless, unique and not-too-obscure.

It helps to start by knowing what names are popular to begin with: The Social Security Administration (SSA) tracks baby names, putting out a list each year of the 1,000 most-used names in the United States.

But that list, by definition, is always looking backward. These baby-name experts polled prospective parents, crunched the numbers, and identified the top trends for baby girl names in 2027, giving parents a look at what’s to come next year.

“Leading the 2027 name trends for baby girls is ‘Moonstruck Names,’” says Sophie Kihm, editor in chief of the baby-naming website Nameberry, which has its own list of 2027 baby name trends. “Most notably, Ailany—meaning ‘of the moon’—overtook Luna as the most popular lunar-themed name in 2025.”

Ailany is a phenomenon unto itself: It went from not ranking on the SSA list of the Top 1,000 names in 2022 to jumping from No. 857 to No. 101 in 2024 to hitting the No. 14 spot last year. The rise of Ailany is bringing a number of -lani and -lany names with it: Alani, Aylani, Elani, Jaylani, Kailani, Kailany, Kalani, Kaylani, Kehlani, Keilani, Khalani, Laylani, Leilani, Leilany, Leylani, Malani, Melany, Meilani, Nalani, and Naylani all ranked in the SSA Top 1,000 last year.

But if it’s not the sound of Ailany that made it popular, it’s the meaning. Moon-themed names are an offshoot of nature names, which have been seeing a rise in popularity for a while. “Ailany will continue to shine, and bring plenty of other ‘Moonstruck Names’ along with it,” Kihm says. “Moon names exist in every culture—typically for girls, as the moon is often characterized as female. Nameberry’s new Berry Trend Model predicts that the fastest-rising moon names in 2027 will be the Turkish Esmeray, Sanskrit Siya, and Arabic Sahari. Moon itself is en vogue as a middle name, as with Meghan Trainor’s Mikey Moon and Rory Culkin’s Havoc Moon.”

And, Kihm notes, if it’s not the -ani names, it’s the -omi and -ie names that are coming up fast. That “includes names with the trendy -omi suffix like Romi, Kyomi, and Zyomi,” she says. “And 1890s nicknames—the -ie ending last peaked in that decade—are also on the rise. Notably, Annie, Goldie, and Lettie.”

Babylist noticed that names that were once avoided for being too common in the ’80s and ’90s are sneaking back up again. “The names we’re noticing aren’t necessarily surging back to the top of the charts—at least not yet,” the site notes. “They may be entering the earliest stage of a comeback: the point when parents begin hearing a once-ubiquitous name as nostalgic instead of dated.”

Many parents are choosing this route for a middle name: BabyList notes a surge in the use of Rachel (up 92%), Michele (up 76%), Katherine (up 46%), and Nicole (up 16%) as middles. There’s also a mini-boomlet of unisex names and traditionally boy names being given to girls, like Cameron or Ryan. For those who like how these sound, head to the wayback machine and check out these names:

1. Samantha (No. 151 on the SSA list)
2. Ashley (No. 164)
3. Bailey (No. 209)
4. Mackenzie (No. 228)
5. Alexandra (No. 237)
6. Rosemary (No. 251)
7. Jennifer (No. 586)
8. Tiffany (No. 880)
9. Tara (No. 847)
10. Heather (unranked)

Los Angeles Dodger Freddie Freeman named his baby, born in April, London Rosemary Joy Freeman, making him the perfect example of someone who gave their kid a Millennial name in the middle slot. He and wife Chelsea also have sons Frederick Charles, Brandon John, and Maximus Turner.

When BabyCenter looked at the names its users were choosing, one throwback TV series was causing a bounce: Gilmore Girls. “Ahead of the newly announced documentary, fall rewatches are driving a major spike for Stars Hollow favorites, including Lorelai (up 12 spots) and Rory (up 31 spots) for girls,” the site reports.

And both BabyCenter and Nameberry have noticed that The Odyssey has caused a surge of interest in names that go back even further, to ancient Greece. Greek mythology names have been on the rise for a while, but The Odyssey is challenging parents to dig deeper. “Parents are going beyond Athena and Apollo toward names like Pallas, Perseus, and a reconsidered Helen and Homer,” Nameberry notes. For those who like the sound of it, these names are ready to be claimed:

1. Andromeda
2. Calypso
3. Cassandra
4. Circe
5. Daphne
6. Io
7. Iphigenia
8. Iris
9. Lydia
10. Penelope

According to BabyCenter, there’s only one first initial dominating the girl names of its users: ‘E.’ (My 11-year-old has a name that begins with ‘E,’ so I consider myself ahead of the curve.) “Names beginning with the letter ‘E’ make up 15% of the top 100 girl names,” the site reports. “[This is] the highest concentration of any first initial letter.” (For boys, it’s ‘J.’) For those who want to ride the ‘E’ train, try these on for size:

1. Emma (No. 3 on the SSA list)
2. Evelyn (No. 8)
3. Eliana (No. 10)
4. Eleanor (No. 12)
5. Elizabeth (No. 17)
6. Elsie (No. 123)
7. Evangeline (No. 147)
8. Elara (No. 211)
9. Esme (No. 298)
10. Elowyn (No. 299)
11. Elaine (No. 305)
12. Elodie (No. 310)
13. Estelle (No. 573)
14. Evelina (No. 778)
15. Eliora (No. 914)

I was always partial to Eilonwy, the heroine of The Black Cauldron, but that doesn’t seem to be showing up on the baby-name charts.

According to the SSA, these names are the fastest climbers between last year and the year before.

1. Klarity
2. Rynlee
3. Ailanny
4. Naylani
5. Madisson
6. Liora
7. Merritt
8. Jaslyn
9. Kyomi
10. Alara
11. Analeia
12. Eliora
13. Kollyns
14. Campbell
15. Odette

Which up-and-coming name is your favorite? Let me know in the comments.