The Most Beautiful Sounding Names According to Science

If you’re a parent, you’ll know that naming your child is a deeply personal experience. Whether you go traditional, contemporary, or super-unique, you likely choose a name for your child because it sounds beautiful to your ears and mind.

Well, baby brand My 1st Years have partnered with Dr. Bodo Winter, Associate Professor of Cognitive Linguistics at the University of Birmingham to delve deep into the science behind why some words (and therefore, names) sound better than others. They’ve analysed principles of linguistics such as iconicity (‘sound symbolism’) on hundreds of baby names to compile lists of the most beautiful sounding names from both the UK and the US.

The Most Beautiful Sounding Names According to Science

Using phonetics - the study of sounds, patterns, and structures of the human language - the study revealed which names evoked the most emotions when said out loud. 

Dr Winter found that names beginning with the letter 'E' were shown to be more pleasing to the ears, particularly in girls' names, with Ellie, Emily, Evelyn, Eva and Elena ranking in top spots. 

Most Linguistically Beautiful Boys Names in the UK

1. Zayn
2. Jesse
3. Charlie
4. Louie
5. William
6. Freddie
7. George
8. Ali
9. Daniel
10. Riley
11. Omar
12. Arthur
13. Rowan
14. Leo
15. Joseph
16. Theo
17. Harry
18. Noah
19. Toby
20. Jude
21. Isaac
22. Teddy
23. Samuel
24. James
25. Elijah
26. Luke
27. Edward
28. Logan
29. Riley
30. Max
31. Liam
32. Roman
33. Ryan
34. Jack
35. Benjamin
36. Lucas
37. Henry
38. Finn
39. Jacob
40. Mason
41. Nathan
42. Alex
43. Alexander
44. Theodore
45. Adam
46. David
47. Hunter
48. Muhammad
49. Sebastian
50. Dylan

Most Linguistically Beautiful Girls Names in the UK 

1. Sophia
2. Zoe
3. Rosie
4. Sophie
5. Ivy
6. Phoebe
7. Violet
8. Willow
9. Hannah
10. Ellie
11. Emily
12. Evelyn
13. Rose
14. Eliza
15. Eva
16. Chloe
17. Penelope
18. Lucy
19. Ruby
20. Lily
21. Olivia
22. Emma
23. Eleanor
24. Bella
25. Luna
26. Ella
27. Thea
28. Nancy
29. Isabella
30. Maya
31. Amber
32. Daisy
33. Amelia
34. Anna
35. Georgia
36. Charlotte
37. Elizabeth
38. Maria
39. Iris
40. Aurora
41. Jasmine
42. Alice
43. Eden
44. Jessica
45. Aria
46. Harper
47. Sienna
48. Grace
49. Ada
50. Erin

The Most Linguistically Beautiful Baby Names in the US

While there are a lot of similarities between the lists, one of the main differences between the two countries was that Ivy did not make the girl's top five in the US and instead was replaced with the name Everly.

Matthew graced the top of the boys list in the US, with other inclusions ranging from Levi and Santiago to Maverick and Ezekiel—while Stella, Autumn, Kennedy, and Serenity also graced the girl's US list.

Check out the full list! 

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