Top 2024 baby names influenced by ‘Dune,’ Caitlin Clark, tech layoffs and even the solar eclipse

Parents welcoming children in 2024 are ditching baby books and turning to the headlines to name their newborns.

Parenting site BabyCenter analyzed the real-time data for hundreds of thousands of names shared by parents in their user community to determine how today’s trends are inspiring preschool roasters.

And while the year’s not over yet, BabyCenter’s baby name trends specialist Rebekah Wahlberg revealed that pop culture has already started to impact the lineup, with the release of movies and TV shows including “Dune: Part Two,” “Percy Jackson” and “Bridgerton” having inspired the sudden rise of some unique character names.

Chani — the name of Zendaya’s “Dune” character — has risen more than 3,300 spots for girls this year, ranking 6,382, and her secret Fremen name Sihaya was registered for the first time since 2012, falling into place at 11,062.

The name Percy has soared for both boys and girls — up 296 spots to No. 1,304 for boys and up 700 spots to No. 6,327 for girls — while the full name Perseus has jumped 206 places to No. 1,394 for boys.

Other Greek gods featured in the series have also inspired parents such as Ares — up 58 spots to No. 367 — and Hermes — which was registered for the first time in two years, landing at 6,900.

Thanks to the dear gentle readers and watchers of “Bridgerton,” names such as Anthony (up five spots to No. 60), Eloise (up 20, No. 118), Francesca (up 84, No. 551) and Gregory (up 40, No. 754) have all become favored.

Back to reality, University of Iowa alum-turned-pro basketball player Caitlin Clarke’s record-breaking year has inspired a rise of popularity in women’s sports and her name.

The name Caitlin rose 1,599 spots in the baby name ranks for girls, landing at No. 3,657, while Clark shot up 15 spots for boys to No. 510.

This year’s spectacular views of the much-anticipated solar eclipse also made surprising waves through the lists of popular names.

Sol — the Spanish translation for “sun” — has jumped up 213 spots to No. 773 for girls. Sunny (487) is up 92 spots for boys, Stella and Aurora are seeing peak popularity at No. 42 — up 11 spots — and No. 11 — up three spots — for girls, respectively.

Coming back down to Earth, some parents seemed to be inspired by the tech world.

The name Satya — likely inspired by Microsoft OpenAI CEO Satya Nadella — has recently spiked in baby name registrations, up 177 spotsto No. 3,578 for boys.

Meanwhile, other famous tech gurus seem to be slipping in popularity after a year of massive layoffs.

Amazon’s round of layoffs saw the name Jeff — as in Bezos — go down 1,478 spots and Andy (presumably for Amazon exec Jassy) drop 29 spots.

Meanwhile, Google’s personnel changes likely pushed the name Sundar (after executive Sundar Pichai) down 611 spots.

Parents not inspired by cultural trends are instead reportedly choosing baby names that sound “cool” as a TikTok or Instagram handle or even searching through cemeteries.

As far as the most popular baby names overall so far in 2024, Olivia topped the list as the most popular for girls for the sixth consecutive year.

Last year, Noah ended Liam’s five-year streak as the top name, according to BabyCenter, and continues to hold the top spot so far this year.

The top 10 girl names of 2024 so far

• Olivia
• Emma 
• Amelia 
• Charlotte 
• Sophia 
• Ava 
• Isabella 
• Mia 
• Luna 
• Ellie

Ellie slid in to replace Evelyn as the only new entrant to the top names for girls.

The top 10 boy names of 2024 so far

• Noah 
• Liam 
• Oliver 
• Mateo 
• Elijah 
• Lucas 
• Levi 
• Ezra 
• Leo 
• Asher

The name Ezra for boys has continued to climb in recent years, rising one spot in 2024 after going from No. 12 to No. 9 in 2023. Meanwhile, Asher was added as the newest entry to the top 10, filling the last spot.