Naming a new baby is a difficult task for any parent-to-be, with so many names to pick from. Many parents will seek names that carry a special significance or reflect their passions or interests. For motoring fans, this may mean turning to their favourite car brands and models in the hopes of having that lightbulb moment.
From Bentley to Zafira, we’ve analysed baby name data from the Office of National Statistics and Social Security Administration to find out the most popular – and most unique – car-inspired baby names of 2024 in both the UK and the US.
Whether you’re a motoring fanatic yourself, or simply looking for a unique and meaningful name, these motoring monikers might just be the perfect fit for your bundle of joy. Buckle up as we take a drive through the names inspired by some of the most popular vehicles ever made…
Most common car-inspired baby names
To find out the car-inspired names people are most commonly naming their children after, we analysed government baby name data in both the UK and the US, to get a glimpse into the most popular automotive themed names.
The most common car-inspired baby names in the UK
Our analysis revealed that Hudson was the most popular motoring inspired boys name in 2022. Inspired by the Hudson Motoring Company which produced cars from its headquarters in Detroit from 1909 until 1954, the name Hudson was the most popular of those analysed overall with 1,268 babies given this name during 2022. Hudson was followed by Leon – which as well as being a SEAT car model, is also a name of Greek origin, meaning ‘Lion’. Axel follows in third place, and inspired by the 1980s Citroen model, the name was also recently used by popstar Perrie Edwards and footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for their little boy. Austin (inspired by Austin Motor Company) and Cooper (inspired by the iconic MINI cooper) rounds off the top five, while car-brand-inspired names such as Lincoln and Bentley also feature in the top ten most common boys’ names.
Nova, meanwhile, topped the list of the most popular car-inspired names for girls. The name Nova harks back to the Chevrolet Nova, which was a smaller model of car produced by Chevrolet until 1988 – though it also means ‘new’ in Latin and is also an astronomic term given to ‘bright stars that appear suddenly in the sky and release powerful energy’. Iconic car models such as the Lotus Elise and brands such as Mercedes-Benz, also appear to be providing petrol-head parents-to-be with inspiration for naming their bundles of joy. However girls in general possessed fewer car-inspired names, with the most common name for girls having half as many babies named after it, in comparison to Hudson.
| Rank | Most common car names for boys | Most common car names for girls | ||
| 1 | Hudson | 1,268 | Nova | 539 |
| 2 | Leon | 584 | Alba | 347 |
| 3 | Axel | 547 | Ariya | 141 |
| 4 | Austin | 516 | Elise | 122 |
| 5 | Cooper | 357 | Liana | 114 |
| 6 | Xander | 277 | Octavia | 106 |
| 7 | Lincoln | 254 | Genesis | 17 |
| 8 | Maverick | 103 | Mercedes | 12 |
| 9 | Prince | 67 | Clio | 11 |
| 10 | Bentley | 54 | Rogue | 10 |
The most common car-inspired baby names in the US
Likely due to both Chevrolet and the Hudson Motoring Company hailing from America, the US shared its most popular male and female car-inspired baby names, with Hudson and Nova again topping the list. Car names such as Maverick, Cooper, Lincoln and Axel made up the top five most common names for boys, inspired by popular car brands such as Ford, MINI and Citroen. For girls, names such as Legacy (inspired by Subaru’s flagship model) and Cheyenne, inspired by the Chevrolet model, but also a name of Native American origin, feature in the list, with hundreds of bundles of joy being named after these popular models.
| Rank | Most common car names for boys | Most common car names for girls | ||
| 1 | Hudson | 7,912 | Nova | 5,912 |
| 2 | Maverick | 7,030 | Genesis | 3,443 |
| 3 | Cooper | 5,625 | Octavia | 1,234 |
| 4 | Lincoln | 5,618 | Elise | 1,204 |
| 5 | Axel | 4,333 | Liana | 698 |
| 6 | Austin | 3,363 | Legacy | 653 |
| 7 | Leon | 2,370 | Ariya | 571 |
| 8 | Bentley | 2,188 | Cheyenne | 426 |
| 9 | Tucker | 1,930 | Alba | 197 |
| 10 | Xander | 1,898 | Mercedes | 193 |
Most unique car-inspired baby names
As well as discovering the most common names, we also wanted to delve into the most unique car-themed baby names currently making their way into the world, so we simply looked at which had been given to the least number of newborns.
The most unique car-inspired baby names in the UK
In the UK, Legacy topped the list for girls and boys, with just six babies named after the Subaru model in 2022. Zafira, Maverick and Lotus were amongst some of the less popular automotive inspired baby names for girls in the UK, while Nash, Rogue and Genesis featured as some of the most unique for boys.
| Rank | Most unique car names for boys | Most unique car names for girls | ||
| 1 | Ariya | 3 | Legacy | 3 |
| 2 | Legacy | 3 | Lotus | 3 |
| 3 | Nash | 3 | Maverick | 3 |
| 4 | Rogue | 3 | Maxima | 3 |
| 5 | Genesis | 6 | Soul | 3 |
| 6 | Ram | 7 | Zafira | 3 |
| 7 | Soul | 7 | Cooper | 4 |
| 8 | Alba | 9 | Kia | 4 |
| 9 | Titan | 9 | Zephyr | 4 |
| 10 | Colt | 11 | Astra | 6 |
The most unique car-inspired baby names in the US
In the US, Ibiza ranked as the most unique car-inspired baby name for girls. Inspired by the SEAT model, Ibiza is also the name of the Spanish party island, providing a unique option for new parents. Avanti features as one of the most unique car names for both girls and boys – inspired by the American performance sport coupe, the name is of Indian origin and means “destined” or “pre-determined” in Sanskrit. High performance sports car names such as Ferrari and McLaren also make the list of unique boy names, providing perfect inspiration for those obsessed with Formula 1 and luxury cars.
| Rank | Most unique car names for boys | Most unique car names for girls | ||
| 1 | Avanti | 5 | Ibiza | 5 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 5 | Dacia | 6 |
| 3 | Kia | 5 | Avanti | 7 |
| 4 | Pilot | 5 | Leon | 7 |
| 5 | Veyron | 5 | Nash | 8 |
| 6 | Edge | 6 | Zafira | 8 |
| 7 | McLaren | 6 | Aston | 9 |
| 8 | Triumph | 6 | Hemi | 9 |
| 9 | Audi | 7 | Maxima | 9 |
| 10 | Odyssey | 7 | Evora | 10 |
| 10 | Wraith | 7 | ||
2024’s trending car-inspired baby names
Finally, so that parents-to-be can get ahead of the trends, we wanted to reveal the car-inspired baby names which have seen the biggest increase over the past five years, to reveal which have really exploded in popularity in the most recent half-decade.
2024’s trending car-inspired baby names in the UK
In the UK, Nova once again topped the list as the trending car name for girls, having seen a 201% increase in popularity since 2017. Nova also ranked in the top five trending names for UK boys, meaning you might want to steer away from naming your child Nova if you want to avoid your child having to share a name with multiple classmates. For boys, it was the name Cruze, which has seen a 280% increase, and inspired by the Chevrolet Cruze, the name of Spanish origin actually means ‘cross’.
| Rank | Trending car names for boys (% increase from 2017 to 2022) | Trending car names for girls (% increase from 2017 to 2022) | ||
| 1 | Cruze | 280% | Nova | 201% |
| 2 | Axel | 232% | Avalon | 200% |
| 3 | Hudson | 187% | Liana | 56% |
| 4 | Nova | 136% | Octavia | 34% |
| 5 | Soul | 75% | Zephyr | 33% |
2024’s trending car-inspired baby names in the US
Soul was the number one trending name for both boys and the second most trending name for girls in the US too – with the name having seen a 786% and 310% increase over the past five years respectively. Inspired by the KIA Soul, the name also means ‘soul, or spirit’, providing a name which can be used for either gender. Astra (inspired by the ever-popular Vauxhall model) topped the list of trending names for girls, having increased by 431% in the past half a decade. Iconic car model names including Odyssey, Cayman and Polo all also feature as trending girls and boys names, having seen significant increases in popularity over the years.
| Rank | Trending car names for boys (% increase from 2017 to 2022) | Trending car names for girls (% increase from 2017 to 2022) | ||
| 1 | Soul | 786% | Astra | 431% |
| 2 | Chiron | 200% | Soul | 310% |
| 3 | Legacy | 198% | Odyssey | 179% |
| 4 | Cayman | 150% | Maverick | 165% |
| 5 | Polo | 133% | Octavia | 144% |
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Methodology:
Our breakdown of baby names was created using a list of all car makes and models on sale in the UK and USA, as well as seed lists from sites including Family Education. The list was then refined down to 250 names per country, after any names with widely known duplicate meanings or origins were removed.
These names were then cross referenced with data from the Office for National Statistics from 2022 for the UK girls and boys names, and the Social Security Administration from 2022 for US girls and boys names, to reveal which motoring inspired names were most popular overall. The most unique names were taken from this list, by ranking the names in reverse order based on the number of times they were used. Data from 2017 was also used to calculate a percentage change, in order to reveal which names are ‘trending’ the most. All data correct as of June 2024.
