Top baby names for 2018 

Olivia and Atticus remain the most popular baby names of 2018 as the year passes its halfway point. These names became favorites in 2017.

Worldwide, sophistication seems to be the trend this year, with Amara holding second place on the girls' side. The multicultural name with origins in three continents entered Nameberry’s Top 10 list in 2017 and has been gaining in popularity ever since, most notably in the U.S., Germany and England.

Jumping from sixth place to second on the boys’ list is Milo, the name of an ancient Greek Olympic wrestler, which has become most widespread in England, Germany and Sweden.

Milo and Amara both hover at around the 200 on the U.S. list.

Continuing the theme of longer girl names, Florence, Cordelis, and Anastasia have replaced Ellie, Jade, and Khaleesi. Names such as Zoe, Molly and Mia plummeted in popularity, while vintage names like Genevieve, Beatrice and Freya gained traction.

More formal boy names with simple spellings such as Otis, Otto and Atlas are new to Nameberry’s Top 100 list. Lewis, Owen, Lachlan and Caspian have edged out more common names like Zachary, Xavier and Nathaniel.

Nameberry bases its ranking on the number of views each name gets on its website, rather than on actual birth records, contending that this gauge of interest can help predict future trends.

Here are Nameberry.com's 15 most popular names for boys and girls for the first half of 2018:

Girls:

1.     Olivia

2.     Amara

3.     Cora

4.     Isla

5.     Charlotte

6.     Aurora

7.     Amelia

8.     Rose

9.     Ava

10.  Genevieve

11.  Maeve

12.  Penelope

13.  Iris

14.  Violet

15.  Ophelia

Boys:

1.     Atticus

2.     Milo

3.     Jasper

4.     Jack

5.     Asher

6.     Silas

7.     Theodore

8.     Wyatt

9.     Henry

10.  Declan

11.  Finn

12.  Oscar

13.  Oliver

14.  Leo

15.  Felix