America's Most Beautiful-Sounding Baby Names, According to Science

A new study has been released claiming to show America's best-sounding baby names according to linguistics experts.

There are a number of reasons that couples choose a particular name for their baby. Sometimes it's a name that's been passed down for generations through the family. Other times, it may have certain emotional associations. Then there are those names inspired by the latest celebrity trends.

Now, research from baby product retailer My 1st Years and Dr. Bodo Winter, associate professor at the University of Birmingham, has revealed what Winter deemed were the most beautiful-sounding baby names of 2022 in the U.S.

The research saw established linguistic theory applied to the 100 most popular names of the past year in order to measure exactly which conveyed the most positive emotions when said out loud.

The analysis identified Sophia and Matthew as the most beautiful-sounding baby names in the U.S. with Julian and Zoe both, respectively, next on the list.

William and Everly rounded off the top three.

Commenting on the survey Winter highlighted other contributing factors that can influence name choice and the academic research behind it.

"There are a lot of things that affect name choice, and several of these have been explored in research," Winter said. "For example, research by Stephanie Shih shows that parents try to avoid choosing first names that would clash with their family names."

"If your family name starts with 'S', such as Scott, Smith, Saunders, or Sullivan, it may be advisable not to have a first name that ends in 's', such as Marcus, Charles, or Nicolas – because the two 's' sounds will blend into each other."

"[Researchers also] found a surprising result using more than 100 years of first-names data. They found that when there are major hurricanes in the US, the next generation of babies will be more likely to feature sounds that occur in the name of the hurricane, such as Katie after Hurricane Katrina. This seems surprising at first: nobody would want to name their child after a devastating natural disaster, of course! But when a particularly dangerous hurricane wreaks havoc over a country, the name of the hurricane will be mentioned again and again in the media."

"This means that we are exposed more to the same sounds, and it is known from psychological research that things that are more familiar to us are generally liked more, a phenomenon known as the 'mere exposure effect.' As a result, the speech sounds contained in hurricane names are actually more likely to crop up in names of the next generation – though importantly not the full name of the hurricanes," Winter continued.

When it comes to baby names, disagreements can and often will happen between expectant couples. According to family therapist Gayle Peterson, the key is to embrace the challenge posed by the difference of opinion and keep working at it.

"Your disagreement is an opportunity to strengthen your relationship by joining together to create a successful parenting team," Peterson wrote on her website. "You are practicing your approach to problem-solving, and your unborn child will benefit! Make it a warm and stimulating experience, which connects you, rather than separates you from each other."