The Top Names of 2040: Predicted by Nameberry

📛Nameberry🍒, the premier go to for all things 👶baby 📛names and 📛name trends 📊  — just released their 🔮predictions for the future 🔝Top 🔟10 📛Names now until ⏩2040! 🤯 

How is this possible? 🤔 📛NB🍒 recently launched a, "new baby-naming tool, Berry Trends, which predicts the future popularity of names by applying machine learning technology to historic data. Owen Satran, who also created the Nameberry games and maps, built this tool by creating a proprietary algorithm that analyzes official and private data using an academic predictive formula. This is the tool that baby namers — and baby name experts — have always needed. Government statistics measure a name’s popularity last year, not today when you’re choosing a name, or in five years when your child is in kindergarten, or in 15 years when they’re in high school. And even Nameberry’s best predictions were based more on guesswork and trend analysis than on the vast amount of data and sophisticated algorithm that went into creating Berry Trends."

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Without further ado, here are 📛Nameberry🍒's predicted Top 10 girl and boy names for 2040:

📛NB🍒: The headlines: Charlotte is projected to vault to #1 next year and stay there for the foreseeable future. And today’s #1 Olivia falls off the Top 10. The Top 5 girl names of 2040 all rank in the Top 10 now. Eleanor, Violet, and Aurora lie just outside it.

Lucy and Isla are the surprise entrants to the Top 10. Lucy has been on an upward trajectory for 50 years but has never been a Top 10 name. Isla zoomed straight up the list in the noughties with the fame of actress Isla Fisher, but has transcended that association to become a star in its own right. Olivia’s fall is the smallest surprise in this data.

📛NB🍒: The biggest story on the boys’ side: Liam holds fast to his current #1 boy rank over the coming decades, becoming as durable a favorite as John, Michael, and Jacob. The boys’ list is in general more stable than the girls’. Seven of the boys’ the names in our projected 2040 Top 10 are there now, and Elias and Levi lie just outside it.

The one big outlier is Cooper, but it’s been rising consistently since the 1980s so the model suggests it will keep gathering steam.

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☔IRN📛's 🗣️Take: "Eh... 😕 I'm not surprised.  All of the names projected to be in the top 10 for girls and boys by 2040 are fine. But... that's the problem. There is no real change. 😒 Not one name stands out because it's so 🥳exciting, 🦄different or bold (on the girl's side, 📛Isla perhaps but it is hardly a new name to be seen, e.g. 🎥actress 📛Isla Fisher). I ✨wish the name 📛Unique at least was on the 💗girl's list. 😞 And although I 🙅🏾‍♀️ hate the name 📛Truce even that would be nice to even see on the 💙boy's list. 😅 I would think 14 years from now the most popular names would be more 🫢provocative and 🤩impressive, not the same names I've heard all my life. 🫠 I hope 📛Nameberry🍒's 🔮predictions are wrong ❌ but only ⏳time will tell what 📛names will be trending 📈 in ⏩2040. I hope that I am not 🙏🏾 praying for the return of Puritan names 😬 because as 🤪unhinged as most are — at least those names are 👀 eye-popping and truly unparalleled."🤷🏾‍♀️ 

NAME OF THE DAY: Dolly

To celebrate the life of the iconic and 🥰cherished  🤠country 🎤singer, 🦋Dolly Parton — who unfortunately just passed away (RIP) — I will be speaking on her ☺️ sweet name (yes! it was her real name) that fit her persona perfectly 👌🏾: 📛Dolly  

📛Dolly Rebecca Parton was the late 🎵Jolene (📖The Minute She Heard This Dolly Parton Song, She Knew What to Name Her Baby) singer's full name. 

Behind The Name says: "Doll and Dolly were used from the 16th century, and the common English word doll (for the plaything) is derived from them."

📛Nameberry🍒 points out Dolly (meaning: gift of God) is: "Typically short for Dorothy or its sister, Dorothea, Dolly has been used on its own since the seventeenth century, so common then that it became a generic term for a favored girl. In the US, it was a Top 300 name around the turn of the last 20th century." 

BTN adds that: "In modern times Dolly is also sometimes used as a diminutive of Dolores." A variation of Dolly includes an 'e': 📛Dolley (a la Madison ) 

📛NB🍒 describes the name Dolly as, "Sweet and cosy with a touch of sass," going on to say, "this nickname-y choice was a familiar option up until the sixties in the US. Then, for a while, it was a bit of a one-person name, associated with singer Dolly Parton, but more recently, it's been singing a fashionable note again along with sisters Dottie and Millie. While some may read it as just a touch too cutesy, Dolly does fit right in with Birdie, Scottie, Maisie, Etta, Goldie, and so on, and was a Top 400 choice in the UK in a recent year. Its return to the stage in the US has been quieter, but 127 girls were called Dolly in the latest count: more than double the number who were given the name in 2020." 

In 2025 Dolly was given to 113 baby girls 💓 (FYI, Parton never had children of her own but she had the name pre-chosen if she had a 👶🏼 daughter with her late husband Carl Dean: 📛Carla! 🥲) in the United States according to SSA and was #1781📊 in popularity:

📍California and 📍West Virginia are where the most Dollys dwell. 🏡

🗣️Comments via BTN on 📛Dolly:

I love 💓 the name 📛Dolly! I mean, could a name get any cuter⁉️ 🙅🏾‍♀️ It's so ✔️cute, ✔️feminine and ✔️pretty. When I first heard of Dolly Parton, I always figured it was her stage name 🤷🏾‍♀️ because she was the first Dolly I ever heard of. Well... the first Dolly I truly heard of was a toy action figure girl/woman when I was younger. 👧🏾 I 🤔can't recall who she was/her brand 😭 (she wore an all pink suit) but I named her 📛Dolly. 🤗

In researching this piece, I wasn't aware there are so many 📛Dollys actually. 😯 I really thought 🦄Dolly Parton was the lone 📛Dolly of the world. 😆

I truly think the name 📛Dolly will definitely 📈rise in popularity with Parton's passing and that would be really great — who wouldn't want to be named such, after such a special (📰Next tropical storm to be named in the Atlantic will be 'Dolly') woman? 😌

📌For 🎵fans of 🕊Dolly Parton, share memories of the late singer, by visiting: 🦋dollyparton.com

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛DOLLYS:

📛Dorothy "Dolly" Collins 🎤 (late singer) 

📛Dorothy "Dolly" Haas 🎥 (late actress)

📛Dorothy "Dolly" Wells 🎥 (actress)

📛Dorothy "Dolly" Hall 🎥 (film producer)

📛Nora "Dolly Buster" Baumberger 🔞🎬⭐🎥 (adult film star & filmmaker) 

📛Dolly-Rose🌹 Campbell 🎥 (actress)

📛Rose🌹 "Dolly Doops" Pruett🎤 (singer)  

📛Dolly Read Martin 🎥👠 (actress & model) 

📛Dolly Sohi 🎥 (late actress)

📛Dolly Shahine 🎤 (singer) 

📛"Dolly Style" 🎤🎤 🎤 (girl group consisting of: Mikaela Samuelsson, Vilma Davidsson & Caroline Aronsson) 

📛"Dolly White" 🎤 (rapper)

📛"Dolly Babe" 🎤 [born Latiffini Brannon] (rapper)

📛Dolly Rathebe 🎤 (late singer) 

📛Dolly Vanderlip Ozburn ⚾ (former pro. baseball player) 

📛Dolly Jacobs 🎪💓 (aerialist & daughter of famous 🤡clown Lou Jacobs) 

📛Dolly O'Connell 💓(daughter of 🎥actor Jerry O'Connell & 🎥actress Rebecca Romijn)

📛Dolly Banks 💓 (daughter of 🎥actress Morwenna Banks)

📛Dolly Jain 🧵 (fashion designer) 

📛Dolly Ayash 📺 (tv show host)

📛Dolly Alderton 📘 (author)

📛Dolly Gallagher Levi 🎭🎵 (character in the play The Merchant of Yonkers & musical Hello Dolly!)

📛Dolly Dearest 😱 (doll character in horror movie Dolly Dearest)

📛Dolly 😱 (masked doll character in horror movie Dolly)

📛"Dolly the sheep" 🐑🐑 (late, first cloned sheep) 

📛Dolly Pawton 🐶▶️ (dog influencer)

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛Dolly:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/D/DO/DOLLY/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Dolly: 👍 OR  💓 💓 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓/ 10  

NAME OF THE DAY: Hayden

With the untimely passing of 🎥📺actress Hayden Panettiere (RIP), I thought I would discuss her name: 📛Hayden  

📛Nameberry🍒 describes Hayden as: "a newly successful name for girls, which, like Brayden and Caden, used to be strictly for the boys. Young Heroes and now Nashville star Hayden Panettiere planted it in the girls' camp." 📛Hayden ranks #437 📊 in popularity as of 2025.

Behind The Name also points out Hayden's, "popularity at the end of the 20th century was due to the sound it shared with other trendy names of the time, such as Braden and Aidan." 📛Hayden ranks #161 📈 in popularity as of 2025. 

BTN gives the history of Hayden as: "from an English surname that was derived from place names meaning either "hay valley" or "hay hill", derived from Old English heg "hay" and denu "valley" or dun "hill"." 

The most Haydens live in 📍Texas and 📍Kentucky. 

I like the name 📛Hayden — for a girl 🩷 it should come off as masculine but it somehow comes off as cute 🥰 (as how the late Panettiere wore her first name). However, 📛Hayden for a boy 🩵 just reeks coolness. 😎 I like it slightly more used for boys just because it is such a manly name (and reminds me of my favorite 🙋🏾‍♀️ 'H' name [one of my favorite letters for any name to start with no explanation to why 🤷🏾‍♀️] for boys: 📛Hunter 🏹). 

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛HAYDENS:

📛Hayden Graye 👠 (model)

📛Hayden Hopkins 💃 (dancer)

📛Hayden Saragrace ▶️ (content creator)

📛Hayden Bereta 🩷 (daughter of ▶️ YouTuber Joe Bereta)

📛Hayden Victoria Hesterberg 🩷 (daughter of 📺actress Liza Huber & granddaughter of 🫧⭐soap star Susan Lucci)

📛Hayden Carson Begley 📺🩷 (reality tv personality & daughter of 🎥 actor Ed Begley Jr.)

📛Hayden Alan 🩷 (daughter of actor 🎥 Matt Alan)

📛Hayden Victoria Thompson 🩷 (daughter of former  US politician Fred Thompson) 

📛Hayden Lepsis🩷 (daughter of former 🏈 NFL player Matt Lepsis)

📛Hayden Barney 🩷 (daughter of former ⚾ baseball player Darwin Barney)

📛Hayden Jacklin 👧👧 (child model & twin sister of Hannah)

📛Hayden Romero 📺 (character MTV's Teen 🐺 Wolf season 5)

📛Hayden McClaine 📺 (character on tv series American 😱 Horror Story season 1)

📛Hayden Christensen 🎥 (actor) 

📛Hayden Thompson 🎤(late singer)

📛Hayden Summerall 🎤 (singer) 

📛Hayden Scott 🥁 (ex drummer for band AWOLNATION)

📛Hayden James 🎧🎶🎛️ (DJ) 

📛Hayden Fry 🏈 (late college football player & coach)

📛Hayden Paddon 🏎 (race car driver)

📛Hayden Sargis ⚽(soccer player) 

📛Hayden Sargeant 🏉 (ruby player)

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛Hayden:
https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/H/HA/HAYDEN/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Hayden: 👍 OR  💓 💓 💓💙 💙💙💙💙/ 10 

So I met Hennessy...

No, I did not meet 🎤rapper Cardi B's sister Hennessy (and yes, her full name is: 📛Hennessy Carolina. She was named after the cognac Hennessy by her father who was was drinking that while she was being born. Hennessy's real name inspired Cardi B's stage name [real name: 📛Belcalis Marlenis] as she was nicknamed: Bacardi, after the rum drink brand.)

▶️Cardi B reveals the real story behind her name and her sister Hennessy 😳😅

👀Reddit discusses Hennessy's name:

😆

I did however, meet a Hennessy in 🐔Chick-fil-A — who was my cashier. I didn't notice her name (she had a 📛name tag on her uniform but I somehow didn't 🧐see Hennessy on it thanks to my bad 👎🏽👎🏽 eyes 👁️👁️. If I had noticed initially I would have definitely commented to her, something [nice 👌🏾] about her name!) until after she took my order and I was looking over the receipt. Ironically the 🐔Chick-fil-A Hennessy was working, was in a📍Bronx location and Cardi's sister Hennessy is from the Bronx, NY.🗽She was also Hispanic like Hennessy Almanzar is. When I saw the cashier's name, I immediately thought of Cardi's Hennessy and how OMG! her name is Hennessy too! 🤯 

Now I went to high school 🏫with a girl name 📛🍹Margarita [or was it 📛Marguerite...🤔] (who went by Margie) so meeting a Hennessy isn't so shocking. But it's still a super distinct name you never think you'll randomly run into someone having!  

📛Hennessy is a wild 😜 name (the nickname Henny is troublesome. 😬 [👀 "Hennything IS POSSIBLE" Tonight" 👕😄] Nessy however is adorable. 😊) and naming one's child after an alcoholic drink is something else... 😅 but it sure makes for a very interesting name 🔙backstory📖!  

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛HENNESSYS:

📛"Hennessy" aka Mitch Hennessy 👴🏾 (character in the 🎥film The Long 💋Kiss Goodnight played by Samuel L. Jackson) 

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Hennessy: 👍 OR 🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎/10 

It's Grey Okay!: Cardi B Leaks Baby's Name?

According to 📰All Access Media (🔊@ 2:00)🎤rapper Cardi B seemingly leaked 🫠 her 4th child's name — via a post of the beautiful 💎bracelet that contains her other children's names.

The bracelet in question originally has the names of 📛Kulture😎 📛Wave🌊and 📛Blossom🌸:

But in Cardi's new snapshot of it, there is a new name: 📛Grey!🩶

If 📛Grey or 📛Greyson (I love this one more because of the 'son' 💙 part) is Cardi's second son's name I am on pins and needles wanting to know the origin story of it! Also, why not go with📛Gray? 🤔 

Cardi last year commented that her son's name was "cute" when fans thought it was Liem. If 📛Grey or 📛Greyson is his name, it is really cute, especially if grey is her favorite color or her son's father.👌🏾

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Grey: 👍 OR 🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶/10 

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Greyson: 👍 OR 🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶 /10 

📌Check out my ⏪past 📛name 🔮predictions for 👶🏽baby Grey⁉️ below⬇️:

https://itsrainingnames.blogspot.com/2025/12/cardi-bs-newborn-sons-name-is-not-liem.html