Last week, we delved into the Most Popular Names on Nameberry A-F, to see if the names users were searching for reflect real-life usage, future favorites, or a moment in time.
From evergreen classics like Caroline to NYT puzzle clue Deenie, Nameberry’s leading names are always changing, swayed by pop culture, current events, and by mentions in newsletters and blogs.
This week, we’re exploring the Most Popular Names on Nameberry, starting G-M.
* This data is current for July 2026, but the popularity of a name on Nameberry is liable to change and update.
Elaborate or succinct: G names are either (visually) long, or succinct and to the point. Gus and Gideon. Genevieve and Grace. George and Gabriel. Notably, however, they all feel substantial.
9/10 of the G names also feature in the US Top 350, with Grace, Gabriel, and Grayson in the Top 100 and Gemma, George, Graham, and Genevieve in the Top 200.
Gus is the outlier here, ranking outside the Top 1000 in the US. It had featured consistently from 1880 to 1975, then briefly reappeared in the mid-2010s. Last year, it was chosen for 145 boys, but with August- names on the up and its rise in England and Wales, is this a sign Gus may return to the charts in the coming years?
All about Henry: the most popular H name is a sturdy classic, unlikely to drop off the radar any time soon. One thing that makes Henry stand out, however, is that it comes with plenty of variations and diminutives which are just as popular — and which are now used separately. Harrison and Hallie make the Top 10, but other forms include Harry, Harriet, Hattie, and Hendrix too.
Notably classic and vintage. Even the unisex Harper has the grounding link to writer Harper Lee, which makes it feel less like a recent popular choice.
Famous (and some infamous) namesakes: Harper Beckham, Heath Ledger, Harrison Ford, Harvey Weinstein, Hallie Parker (from The Parent Trap).
7/10 of the names in the Top 10 are girl names. While there is a (nearly) equal number of I- names in the US Top 100 (41 in total), when you calculate the total number of babies with a popular I- name (157861), girls account for 84%, while boys account for 16%, so it’s not surprising there are more I- names for girls.
Half of the names start with Is-, and four of the girl names could get you popular nicknames Izzy or Issy (Isolde, Iris, Isadora, and Isabella).
7/10 of the names feature in the US Top 1000, and of those that don’t, two may be considered rarer variants of popular options (Isolde, Isadora), while the third is a Top 100 name in the UK. Their popularity on Nameberry may indicate future real-life usage.
That strong EYE sound is a favorite, appearing in half the names when said in English.
J Names have a timeless, classic feel: Jude, Jasper, Josephine, James, Julian, Jack, and Jane all feel like they have history and contemporary popularity. In fact, all but Jude and Jane feature in the Top 130, and all feature in the Top 250.
Juniper is a Nameberry rising star, ranking at #100 in 2025. As such, there are two word names on the list, Jasper being a gem and Juniper being a plant.
While Julieanna and Jespie are outliers, they are variations of more popular names: Jespie is a Scandinavian form of Jasper, while Julieanna is a feminine form of Julian. Jane and Jack also both relate to John.
The Julieanna spelling may have gained popularity thanks to social media personality, Julieanna Goddard (YesJulz).
Jespie featured in this article about Names to Watch Out for in 2026, and apparently, people have taken note. It was also chosen by content creator Skye Maree Knijff for her son last year.
The letter K is often associated with Kreative style names, like Khosen, Kover, Kairo, and Klarity, but those are notably absent here.
Anglicized Irish names: Kian, Kieran, and Kevin have become familiar across Europe, the US, and beyond, but started out as Cian, Ciarán, and Caoimhín — forms that are still used in Ireland and the UK.
Multicultural Names: Kaia is used as a Norwegian and Estonian diminutive of Katarina, a variation of Gaia in various languages, and a form of Caius. Kian can be both an Irish name (as above) or a Persian name, while Kai can be Hawaiian, Chinese, or Germanic — as well as a nickname to Biblical Malachi/Malakai.
Actors Kit Connor and Kit Harrington may have helped to shine a light on this vintage nickname (which also ranks in the England and Wales Top 200). It was also selected by TV and social media personality Sadie Robertson Huff for her daughter in 2025. A recent year has seen it rank neutrally in the US (not too far outside the Top 1000).
Liam, Luca, Lily, and Leo are all Top 20 choices.
Lion names are in at the moment, with Leo and Leon being among the most popular. Leopold technically means “brave people”, but its spelling was altered to be more leonine, while Llewellyn means “leader’s image” but is also influenced by the Welsh word llew, meaning, you guessed it, “lion”.
Both Llewellyn and Leopold are rare in the US currently, but their Nameberry popularity may reflect parents searching for ways to make their “Leo” stand out.
Starry and bright: Leo and Lyra are both constellations, while Lucy has a bright, light meaning. Other popular L names like this include Layla, Luz, Luna, Lyla, Leia, and Lena.
Lyra has likely gained popularity after the release of His Dark Materials, the TV series based on the books by Philip Pullman.
Latham is an outlier, being an English surname meaning “the barn” or “dweller at the barn”. The name of various places in the US and Australia, could Latham have been inspired by cricketer Tom Latham? Alternatively, it may have been inspired by the Arabic name Laith. (You’ll never guess what it means 🦁)
Of the six girl names in the Top 10, four share that same MAY sound. Sweet and cosy, Maisie, Maeve, Mabel, and Mae have a modern-vintage feel that’s truly on trend at the moment. In fact, Mabel is a Top 20 choice in the UK and is projected to enter the US Top 100 in the future too. Maeve appears in the Top 100 in the UK, the US, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.
Milo, Miles, and Micah celebrate that M-eye sound, also found in the likes of Maia, Miley, Malachi, Messiah, Makai, Myla, and Myra.
Margot, Mateo, and Milo share the M-o pattern, also appearing in Marcello, Mauricio, Mario, Marco, Massimo, Maximo, Marlowe, Meadow, and Monroe.
The Top M- names on Nameberry reflect real-life popularity in the US and UK: all of the M- names feature in the US Top 500, with only Mae not appearing in the Top 350. Maeve, Miles, Micah, and Mateo are in the Top 100.
Mabel, Margot, Maisie, Maeve, and Milo feature in the UK Top 100, while Miles, Mateo, Mira, and Mae are in the Top 400.
I’ll be back next week to report on the next part of the alphabet, but for now, some questions for you!
What names surprised you most? Had you read up on any of them?
What are your(personal) favorite names, beginning G-M?
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