(NEXSTAR) – There are more “Britneys” and “Shanias” in the world than there were six months ago, according to a new analysis from BabyCenter.
BabyCenter, a parenting resource website which tracks this type of thing, has identified several baby-naming trends for newborn “Generation Beta” babies in the first half of 2025, including a fondness for names that were popular in — or are associated with pop culture from — the 1990s.
For instance, the name “Britney,” spelled the same as Britney Spears, climbed more than 1,200 spots (to No. 3958) in popularity among U.S. parents registered at BabyCenter.com. The last significant spike in that name’s popularity came in 1999 and 2000, around the same time as Spears’ debut album was released, according to both BabyCenter and the Social Security Administration.
“Shania,” which also saw spikes in the mid- to late-90s during Shania Twain’s heyday, is also on the rise among BabyCenter users, climbing 856 spots among BabyCenter parents to No. 1915.
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In addition to Shania and Britney, BabyCenter identified the names “Kelsey” and “Briana,” which peaked in popularity in the ‘90s, as those making a comeback among American parents. The site did not, however, identify any names that were popular in the 1990s but still somewhat rare in 2025 (such as Zachary, or Alanis, or Justin), so it’s unclear if the trend holds true for “90s” names in general.
BabyCenter also highlighted “Sabrina” as having a bit of a renaissance — pointing to the popularity of the late-90s sitcom “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” — but did not acknowledge any influence that current pop star Sabrina Carpenter may have had on the findings.
While it’s too early to tell whether the Social Security Administration’s data supports what BabyCenter is seeing, baby-naming experts have acknowledged that trends can indeed be very cyclical. Colleen Slagen, the baby name consultant behind NamingBebe.com, told Nexstar in 2024 that some experts believe there’s a “rule” regarding baby-name revivals, but it might not be applicable in this particular case.
“Some people say there’s something called the 100-year rule,” Slagen said. “They say the names [from 100 years ago] are coming back.”
It’s also quite possible that names from 100 years ago sometimes become popular simply because parents are seeking lesser-common options, rather than parents being influenced (at least consciously) by a current trend or era in time (e.g., the ‘90s).
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Along with “90s” names, BabyCenter’s data showed an increase in popularity among names inspired by birds (“Cardinal,” “Robin,” “Dove”) and recent Oscars winners/nominees (“Keiran,” “Adrian,” “Cynthia”).
Another interesting observation is a rise in names inspired by consumer brands associated with wealth or opulence, such as “Manolo,” “Bentley,” “Laurent” or even “Tiffany,” which, coincidentally, was a name that was also more popular in the ‘90s.
More information, including stats on the names of hundreds of thousands of Generation Beta babies born to parents registered at BabyCenter, can be found its official website.
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