Kai Cenat and Charli D’Amelio Are Influencing Baby Names

Once upon a time, names came from grandparents or saints. Now they come from streamers and pop stars. Researchers found influencer- and celebrity-inspired names rising faster than any other category in 2024. Forget Grandma Susan — the next generation is full of little Kais, Charlis, and Olivias, all born into a world where personality is content and virality is inheritance.

Naming a baby has basically become branding. Parents aren’t just picking something pretty. They’re picking something searchable. Nova was the No. 1 influencer baby name last year, followed by Kai, boosted by streamer Kai Cenat and his larger-than-life online persona. Then come Rowan and Sage, those gender-neutral wellness-influencer staples that sound equally at home on a baby or a skincare line. Addison owes its comeback to TikTok-star-turned-pop-singer Addison Rae, while Charli channels both Charli D’Amelio and Charli XCX — proof that virality can run in multiple genres.

Meanwhile, Stormi and Saint keep the Kardashian-Jenner dynasty’s grip on naming culture alive. It’s kind of poetic: the same people who turned their families into brands are now inspiring other families to brand their babies.

If influencer names are the new suburban staple, pop-star names are like royal titles. Olivia (as in Olivia Rodrigo) dominated 2024, followed by Charlotte (Charli XCX’s real name), Taylor (Swift, obviously), Sabrina (Carpenter), Legend (John Legend), and Hendrix (as in Jimi Hendrix). Parents who grew up building playlists are now raising the kids of those playlists.

All of this says a lot about how blurred the line between personal life and public persona has become. Calling your baby “Charli” or “Nova” isn’t just about loving the sound — it’s about liking what the name represents. It’s cool, it’s current, it fits in a TikTok caption. Sociologists call this “sharenting,” but honestly, it’s more like lifestyle curation. The name becomes the first post: printed on onesies, hashtagged in the birth announcement, algorithm-ready from day one.

Of course, trends fade. What happens when Kai Cenat eventually logs off, or when “Charli” starts sounding like millennial nostalgia instead of Gen Z energy? The same report says influencer names rise and fall the fastest. Once a trend cools, the association doesn’t. But maybe that’s fine — kids named after influencers are basically born into a culture of reinvention. Their names might age like old usernames: cringe now, iconic later.

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