by Taylor Johnson
Summer is filled with barbecues, trips to the beach and beautiful sunsets, it’s no wonder summer provides inspiration – even to expecting families naming their children. Some names like Aqua and August are easily identifiable as summer season names, but others may surprise you.
Whether your child is due during the summer solstice, or you just love this time of year, you can scrap the winter-inspired names for something more in line with the season.
While others set out to discover the song of the summer, genealogy analysts at MooseRoots, a Graphiq vertical search engine, sought out to find the summer’s hottest five baby names for boys and girls. Collecting the Social Security Administration’s 2015 popularity data, they curated a list of summer names based on their meaning and relevance to the season and then ranked the list according to the names’ popularity in 2015. The list begins with the top five girls names, and is then followed by the boys.
#10. Lucia
Gender: Female
2015 Popularity Ranking: 225
Frequency per 1M Babies: 744
The feminine form of Lucius, Lucia has Italian origins and is likely the derivative of the Latin word meaning “light.”
#9. Summer
Gender: Female
2015 Popularity Ranking: 195
Frequency per 1M Babies: 864
If summer is your favorite season, why not name your child after it? Summer is a common female name in the U.S. but it saw its highest popularity ever in 1977, when it was the 119th most common female baby name.
#8. Isla
Gender: Female
2015 Popularity Ranking: 141
Frequency per 1M Babies: 1,169
Pronounced ‘eye-la,’ Isla comes from the word Islay, an island off the western coast of Scotland.
#7. Mary
Gender: Female
2015 Popularity Ranking: 124
Frequency per 1M Babies: 1,345
Mary, a name that has withstood the test of time, continues toremain popular in 2015. The New Testament form of Miriam derives from elements meaning “drop of the sea.”
#6. Julia
Gender: Female
2015 Popularity Ranking: 89
Frequency per 1M Babies: 1,730
Julia is the feminine form of the name Julius, the Roman term once used for the month of July.
#5. Kai
Gender: Male
2015 Popularity Ranking: 145
Frequency per 1M Babies: 1,391
Kai, a common male name derived from the Hawaiian word meaning “the sea,” has seen a steady increase in popularity in the U.S.
#4. Parker
Gender: Male
2015 Popularity Ranking: 72
Frequency per 1M Babies: 2,656
Parker has become increasingly more common since 1974, and has experienced its highest level of popularity in the last few years.
#3. Julian
Gender: Male
2015 Popularity Ranking: 45
Frequency per 1M Babies: 3,948
Julian is another derivative of the Latin name Julius. Over 8,000 newborn boys were given the name in 2015.
#2. Isaac
Gender: Male
2015 Popularity Ranking: 31
Frequency per 1M Babies: 4,874
The Hebrew name Isaac dates back to biblical times and means “to laugh.” The name has been ascending in popularity, and had the highest state-specific ranking at No. 10 in Nebraska.
#1. Dylan
Gender: Male
2015 Popularity Ranking: 27
Frequency per 1M Babies: 5,048
The most popular summer-inspired baby name for boys in 2015 was Dylan. Dylan is of Welsh origins and is connected to the Celtic word meaning “sea.”
Learn More About These Baby Names on MooseRoots
