Baby names in 2026 may be influenced by these pop culture moments: report

(NEXSTAR) — Picking the name your child will bear for the rest of their life can be difficult. Do you go with something mainstream like Liam, a name trending amongst other parents of your generation, or one so different, it’s basically extinct?

Maybe, instead, you’ll consider the pop culture moments of 2025. That includes the shows you’re binging, the music you’re streaming, the athletic feats you’re witnessing, and plenty of other entertainment influences.

BabyCenter, a parenting site that tracks the names parents are considering and selecting for their newborns, predicts several such pop culture phenomena will influence the baby names of 2026.

While most of the trends suggest which names will gain in popularity, some pop culture moments suggest a name may become less popular. So far, that includes Blake and Justin, as well as boy names ending in y, like Kody, Murphy, Gray, and Grey. BabyCenter didn’t have a reasoning behind the decline in names ending in y, but the first pair of names may be connected with an ongoing lawsuit.

Here’s a look at the moments, shows, and people that could influence the baby names of 2026.

From TV to birth certificate

The site reported Wednesday that multiple names to appear in hit shows this year are already on the rise. Fans of the Apple TV hit series “Severance” will recognize Helena, which has climbed to No. 313 on the list of girl names so far.

Three names from the HBO Max series “The Pitt” — Samira, Heather, and Cassie — have also been gaining traction. One of those names has otherwise been on a crash course to extinction since peaking in popularity in the 1980s. Cassie, meanwhile, hasn’t ranked among the top 1,000 baby names for girls in the U.S. since 2009, Social Security data shows.

Other names you may not have heard in a while, unless you watched “White Lotus,” that BabyCenter predicts will trend upward next year include Belinda and Chelsea for baby girls and Valentin and Fabian for baby boys. Isabel and Susannah have also seen increased interest, jumps BabyCenter attributes to “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” Belinda, specifically, hasn’t been among the 1,000 most popular baby names in the U.S. since 2013, per data from the Social Security Administration.

Boy bands and Beyoncé

Maybe you’re more inclined to pick a name from the music industry. BabyCenter reports names of popular boy band members are trending. That includes Howie and Nick of the Backstreet Boys (though Nick could also apply to Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees or Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, depending on your generation) as well as Lance and Joey, prominent members of NSYNC. K-pop stars Jin of BTS and Jun of Seventeen could also influence 2026 baby names.

BabyCenter suggests names related to Beyoncé’s album “Cowboy Carter” have become more popular. Rose and Jane, a song title and a lyric, respectively, have spiked, as have Miley (Miley Cyrus appeared on a song) and Willie (two Willies, Nelson and Jones, were also featured on the album).

Baby ballers

Some of the biggest names in basketball are becoming the biggest names for newborns, too. That includes the names of some Oklahoma City Thunder players who helped the team win the NBA Finals earlier this year, like Jaylin, Dillon, Jalen (this may also be a popular name thanks to Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles winning the Super Bowl in February), and Isaiah. WNBA All-Stars seeing their names climbing the BabyCenter charts include Courtney, Kelsey, Natasha, and Erica.

Books, the papacy, and aesthetics

Literary names gaining popularity include nods to authors like Ernest, Ishmael, Sylvia, and Octavia, as well as characters like Sawyer, Finn, Holden, Jay, Daisy, Buchanan, and Baker. The viral cottagecore aesthetic could bolster Sienna, Eloise, Juniper, Flora, Reed, Rowan and Heath, according to BabyCenter.

Following the death of Pope Francis in April, BabyCenter has seen more parents using his name or a number of variations — Francis, Francesco, Frankie, Franz, Francine, Frances, and Francesca — for their newborns.

What are the most popular names of 2025?

As of November, BabyCenter shows the most populary names selected for newborns this year aren’t much different than the top baby names of 2025.

For boys, the top five names are Noah, Liam, Oliver, Elijah, and Mateo. For girls, it’s Olivia, Amelia, Sophia, Emma, and Isabella.