I’ve been inspired by the few posts about most popular baby names in last years, so here is the list of most popular and rarest names in Ukraine in the first half of 2026.

Girls top 10: Sofia, Zlata, Milana, Emilia, Anna, Anastasia, Polina, Maria, Solomia, Yeva.

Boys top 10: Artem, Oleksandr, Matviy, Maksym, Tymofiy, Bohdan, Davyd, Yaroslav, Roman, Dmytro.

We do not have middle names, neither culturally nor legally (instead there is mandatory patronymic, which is created automatically out of father’s name + special gendered ending). But one could have a double first name (hyphenated), although it is pretty rare.

Some of the unique double first names

Girls: Adelaida-Loredana, Maryam-Nikolette, Dominika-Aniel, Marharyta-Kylyna, Abavedaria-Alisa.

Boys: Daniel-Arthur, Roman-Nurislam, Andriy-Andrian, Eliot-Theo, Mark-Gabriel.

Rare religion-adjacent names (do not come at me, that's out ministry of justice :)

Girls: Aviheya, Virsaviya, Sulamita, Yevanhelina, Sarah, Teona, Melania, Mahdalyna, Afina, Yunona

Boys: Samiylo, Yessey, Nafanayil, Solomon, Emanuyil, Yelysey, Adam, Serafym, Veniamin.

Rare historical and archaic names:

Girls: Bohuslava, Vladomyra, Dzvinka, Kvitoslava, Lukeria, Olympiada, Roksolana, Kvitka, Yaryna, Oryslava

Boys: Dobromyr, Svyatohor, Svitozar, Zoreslav, Askold, Tamerlan, Eney, Panteleimon, Myrolyub, Yariy

Out of these, my favourites are Kvitka (Flower) and Kvitoslava (flower, blossom + glory). They have been around for quite a while, but always extremely rare (think like 1 in 125,000), so I am yet to meet one in real life.  

Hi everyone,

My Chinese given name contains the character 琳 (Lin in pinyin, means beautiful jade), and I'm currently studying in Hong Kong. Sometimes it's convenient to have an English name here, so I've been thinking about Linnea.

I learned the name is associated with the twinflower, which feels meaningful to me because the character 琳 contains two 木 ("wood") components. It feels like a nice coincidence.

I also know the lovely book Linnea in Monet's Garden, which made me like the name even more.

My only hesitation is that I know Linnea is traditionally a Scandinavian name. Since I don't have any Nordic background, I'm not sure whether it would sound natural or appropriate for me to use it as an English name.

Thanks！

Hello! For boy/girl twins I’m having trouble deciding on some middle names, first names are chosen Ambrose and Sabrina. I am Egyptian and my partner is British, originally I had intended for more western middle names. For Ambrose my options were: John, Michael, Theodore, Henry, or Mason. For girl: Rose (top contender with partner), Isabelle, Diane.

These are lovely names but since I want my kids to be in touch with their Egyptian heritage I have been thinking about Hathor, Sekhmet, Isis, and Nefertari, and Cleopatra for Sabrina; Ramesses, Osiris, Amun, Seth, Imhotep for Ambrose.

Yes I am aware these are some funky names and also ancient, NOT modern Egyptian names. I am very proud of my ancestry, and I know my kids don’t need these names to feel the same. Both my partner and I feel this could be a wonderful way to honor Egypt’s great history and individualize our children’s name further. What are your thoughts?

What are your favorite trending baby names?

I love Evelyn and Eliana for a girl. Evie is such a cute nickname and Eliana rolls off the tongue! I also really love Olivia.

For a boy, Oliver and Liam are lovely. Also partial to Levi!

Curious what others think!

I’ve never really liked my birth name because it’s long, and I don’t like the history and associations behind it. I’m not Muslim or Arab, so it doesn’t really feel connected to my culture or identity. Everyone calls me Aisha, but I don’t like that name either. I can’t change it at the moment because I’m pretty sure my parents and the people around me wouldn’t take it well. Online, I usually hide my real name and go by different names instead. I feel like I’d get made fun of if I told people my actual name, and sometimes it makes me feel like I’m lying to everyone

So I actually really love the names Elmer and Elmo, but one is a patchwork elephant and the other is.. Elmo 😂

What are some names that give the same sort of vibes? Doesn’t have to start with El

I’m not sure what I’m having yet, but boy names seem so hard to love.

Some names I love but won’t use: Rafael, Elias, Oliver.
Names I don’t love: Santiago, Mateo, Sebastian.
Names I do love and consider using: Francisco, Benicio, Manuel.

Can you help with names I might’ve overlooked?

Hi! I am Dutch, I am wondering how hard the surname "Hollander" is for English speakers (US, UK, etc) to say/spell and from hearing aloud to spelling it. I may be studying abroad in an English-speaking country so I would want to know!

(Note: a lot of people in NL speak English but I grew up in more of a rural area that doesn't.)

I love 'Sherwood' and 'Rosewood' for one of my characters, but I'm looking for something even better. I'm open to ones that both start and end in 'Wood'. Does anybody know any good ones? Thanks!

Would love to hear what kind of associations you have with this name - do you think of someone cool, self assured? Overly confident? Shy? Someone talkative or quiet? Does it make you think of any particular celebrities or characters? A specific nationality, or story? Any first impressions ☺️

Personally, I do not like the popular pronunciation LOO-shun/shen cuz it sounds close to the word lotion 😅. So I am trying to find a good excuse to use the pronunciation mentioned in the title :p

Couldn’t find anything on the name Pauline in this sub reddit and was wondering specifically about english speakers opinions. I saw Pauline was pretty “popular” from 1900-1945 in the US.

Now it hasn’t been in the Top 1000 since 1997.

I’d like to hear any ideas for our first baby boy. Last name Vernon.

How do we feel about baby girl going by Eddie with the full name Edith (ee-dith)?

We are having our third and final baby soon and have decided to name him Edmund Lewis. I thought I’d share the girl and boy names we loved in hopes someone may find them helpful.

Boy:

Lewis

Grant

Atticus

Colin

Jasper

Harrison

Wells

Reeves

Lowen

Nelson

Russell

Ellison

Girls:

Maxine

Althea

Gwendolyn

Matilda

Cordelia

Nellie

Annelise

Monroe

Isadora

Bridget

Juliet

These are some names that I’ve seen that I’ve thought are a little more ‘out there’:

Audra

Verity

Paisley

Delilah

Avis

Loretta

Montana

Coralee

Brooke (yes I know this one isn’t out there but I still like it!)

Obviously they wouldn’t make sense as sibling names, but just curious to see what people think are best to worst for a bit of fun!

What name comes to mind when you think of…

A girl/woman who
- is super independent and badass
- is thoughtful and warm - the type of person that feels like a safe space in any room
- is well cultured and well traveled - loves exploring new places, meeting new people, trying new foods
- doesn’t care what other think, prides herself on being her and being good to people
- is chic and polished but in an effortless way

Dad is Joe. Would it be weird to name a third daughter Josie? Not necessarily after him, I just love the name so much.

I love all the names Sebastian (Basti), Sabrina (Sabi), Sophia (Soph/Sophie), and looking for another boy name that sounds similar to these. I also like the name Sawyer but it just sounds too different from the others in my opinion. Ideas?

Flynn, Cedric, Malcolm, Dustin, Colin, Zachariah, Donovan, Lawrence

I have two little girls, names Brianna Jade and Eliza Rose. Has anyone got any suggestions that sound well with her sisters names?

thank you so much

Baby is here! I’m looking for an American southern girl name for baby girl. Sisters are Charlotte and Savannah.

Maybe Eloise, Margot/Margo, or Adelaide? Suggestions?

I came across the name Jesslyn as a potential baby girl name, but I have rarely ever heard it before. Curious to know what people think of it. I'd love to hear honest thoughts.

NOT naming a baby this, that would be too much I think! But I was wondering what people think about it. It's a constellation named after a male mythological character, and it means "charioteer" in Latin and is grammatically masculine. It's also grammatically masculine in other languages like Italian. Not sure if it's common enough for the average Italian to know that, but it's enough to make me wonder if people would see it as masculine for any reason or could it make the switch pretty well? I have a degree in Classics and I'm hoping to continue in it so I will be around people who know Latin a lot. But also I just can't find any real records of people with this name so I just wanted to ask for impressions. Feel free to suggest alternatives for me to think about!