Model Baby Names Set New Styles
New York Fashion Week is underway, where models are wearing the freshest, most stylish looks down the runway. Models are always one step ahead of fashion trends, but what about baby name trends? As it turns out, supermodel baby names tend to be ahead of the curve as well.
Fashion models have boosted names like Flynn, Khai, and Sylvester, so it's no secret that American parents are looking to these tastemakers to see which names are coming into style.
Which names could be next? Below, a selection of the biggest fashion model baby names to recently hit the runway:
Gigi Hadid
Daughter: Khai
Supermodel Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik welcomed their daughter Khai Hadid Malik in September 2020. Khai (pronounced like Kai) was named in honor of Hadid's paternal grandmother Khairiah — a traditional Arabic name meaning "benevolence".
Adriana Lima
Daughters: Valentina, Sienna
Son: Cyan
Brazilian model Adriana Lima shares her tween daughters Valentina and Sienna with her ex-husband Marko Jarić, a Serbian professional basketball player. On August 29, 2022, she gave birth to her son Cyan with boyfriend Andre Lemmers.
Cyan is one of the best new color names for babies, representing a blue-green color. A source told PEOPLE that Lima and Lemmer's son's name was "inspired by the beautiful colors of the water across the globe in destinations like the Maldives, Bahamas, and Bora Bora".
Emily Ratajkowski
Son: Sylvester Apollo
Emily Ratajkowski gave birth to her son Sylvester Apollo Bear, whom she nicknamed Sly, on March 8, 2021. His father is Ratajkowski's then-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard.
The name Sylvester has been out of the Top 1000 since 1994 but is one of the latest old man names on the rise since the arrival of Sylvester Bear.
Chanel Iman
Daugters: Cali Clay, Cassie Snow
Chanel Iman and ex-husband, NFL player Sterling Shepard, welcomed daughter Cali Clay in August 2018, and Cassie Snow in December 2019. Cali shares her middle name, Clay, with her father. Cassie's middle name, Snow, is among the coolest winter names and commemorates her December birthday.
Karlie Kloss
Son: Levi Joseph
In March of 2021, Karlie Kloss and her husband Joshua Kushner welcomed their first child, son Levi Joseph. Levi is one of the most popular Jewish names today — although it gets plenty of use among gentile parents as well.
Joseph was the name of Kushner's late grandfather. In Ashkenazi Jewish culture, it is customary to name after the dead, rather than the living. Joseph is also the name of one of Joshua Kushner's nephews, the son of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
Slick Woods
Son: Saphir
Slick Woods (born Simone Thompson) and Ivoro-Canadian model Adonis Bosso welcomed their son Saphir in 2018. Woods gave birth to her son 18 hours after going into labor on the Savage X Fenty runway.
The name Saphir has two separate etymologies. It can be derived from the gemstone name Sapphire or an alternate variation of the Arabic name Safir, meaning "ambassador" or "diplomat".
Doutzen Kroes
Daughter: Myllena Mae
Son: Phyllon Joy
Dutch supermodel Doutzen Kroes and her husband, DJ Sunnery James Gorré, chose unique European names for their children. Phyllon is a Greek name meaning "leaf", as well as the male variation of Phyllis. Myllena is a form of Milena, a Slavic and Italian name well-used throughout Europe.
Maria Borges
Daughter: Athena
Angolan model Maria Borges gave birth to her daughter Athena on October 28, 2021. Athena is one of the top mythological names for girls. In Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom.
The name Athena cracked the US Top 100 for the first time in 2021 and now ranks at Number 98. Athena is even more popular on our Nameberry charts, where it is Number 85.
Behati Prinsloo
Daughters: Dusty Rose, Gio Grace
Namibian model Behati Prinsloo and husband Adam Levine have two daughters: Dusty Rose and Gio Grace. They recently revealed that their third child is on the way, expected in early 2023.
Dusty and Gio are both unique girl names given to fewer than 20 baby girls in 2021. Both are slightly more common among baby boys. Dusty was most popular for girls in 1976 thanks to singer Dusty Springfield.
Candice Swanepoel
Sons: Anaca, Ariel
South African model Candice Swanepoel shares sons Anaca and Ariel with her ex-partner, Brazilian model Hermann Nicoli. Anaca and Ariel are both unique boy names. Anaca, typically written as Anacã, is the Portuguese name for the red-fan parrot. It is rare as a given name.
Ariel is a Hebrew name meaning "lion of God". It is currently ranked Number 560 for boys in the United States, and Number 222 for girls.
Gemma Ward
Daughters: Naia, Kirra
Son: Jet
Australian supermodel Gemma Ward shares children Naia, Jet, and Kirra with her partner David Letts. Their youngest daughter, Kirra (pictured), was born in June 2020 and has a uniquely Australian name.
While it appears to be an alternative spelling of Kira, Kirra has Aboriginal origins. The exact derivation of Kirra has been lost, but it may come from the Kabi or Yuggera languages. Today, Kirra is the name of a neighborhood in the suburb of Coolangatta in Queensland.
Ashley Graham
Sons: Isaac, Malachi, Roman
Ashley Graham gave birth to twin sons Malachi and Roman in January 2022. They are her second and third children with husband Justin Ervin, with whom she also shares son Isaac.
Graham and Ervin met in church and chose popular Christian baby names for their sons. Isaac and Malachi are two of the most stylish Bible boy names right now, and the Epistle to the Romans is a book in the New Testament, inspiring their use of Roman.
Hilary Rhoda
Son: Nash Hollis
Hilary Rhoda gave birth to her son Nash Hollis Avery on July 28, 2020 — her first child with her then-husband, NHL player Sean Avery. Nash shares his middle name with his mother, but Hollis is also one of the fastest-rising unisex names right now.
Nash and Hollis are both nature names, meaning "by the ash tree", and "near the holly bushes", respectively.
Natasha Poly
Daughter: Aleksandra Christina
Son: Adrian Grey
Russian supermodel Natasha Poly and her husband, Dutch businessman Peter Bakker, named their oldest child Aleksandra Christina in 2013. Aleksandra is the traditional, Russian, Ukrainian, and Slavic form of Alexandra.
Their youngest, son Adrian, has a striking international name that currently ranks in the Top 100 in countries such as Germany, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, and the US.
Devon Aoki
Daughters: Alessandra Linville, Eleanor Talitha, Evelyn
Son: James Hunter Baily Jr. "Hunter"
Devon Aoki — half-sister of the iconic DJ Steve Aoki — and her husband James Bailey share four children. Their son is James Hunter Bailey Jr., called Hunter, and their daughters are named Alessandra, Eleanor, and Evelyn.
Aoki and Bailey's youngest two children, Eleanor and Evelyn, have vintage names that have made comebacks in the 21st century. Eleanor is Number 15 and rising in the US, and Evelyn is Number 9 — an all-time high. Alessandra is an Italian girl name and variation of Alexandra.
Nicole Trunfio
Daughters: Gia Leblane, Ella Wolf
Son: Zion Rain
Australian model Nicole Trunfio and musician Gary Clark Jr. chose meaningful family names and nature names for their children. Their daughter Gia was named after Trunfio's Italian-Australian father Giuseppe. Trunfio and Clark used the nature names Rain and Wolf for their children Zion and Ella (pictured), which is one of the biggest middle name trends right now.
Miranda Kerr
Sons: Flynn Christopher, Myles, Hart
Miranda Kerr shares her oldest son, Flynn Christopher (pictured above), with actor Orlando Bloom. Kerr and Bloom are credited with popularizing the name Flynn, as it rose into the Top 1000 in 2011, the year their son was born.
Kerr shares her sons Myles and Hart with her now-husband Evan Spiegel. Myles and Hart both make our list of Rebel Poet Names.
Karolína Kurková
Daughter: Luna Grace
Sons: Tobin Jack, Noah Lee
Czech model Karolína Kurková and her husband Archie Drury have sons Tobin Jack and Noah Lee and daughter Luna Grace (pictured). Tobin is an English last name derived from Tobias, meaning "God is good". Noah and Luna are not top choices among Czech names but are popular throughout much of Europe and the US.
Natalia Vodianova
Daughter: Neva
Sons: Lucas, Viktor, Maxim, Roman
Russian model Natalia Vodianova has five children — Lucas, Neva, and Viktor with her ex-husband Justin Portman, and Maxim and Roman with her now-husband Antoine Arnault.
Vodianova chose Russian names with English crossover for her older children. Her daughter Neva is named after the river that flows through St. Petersburg. Maxim and Roman are familiar choices in France, where Arnault was born.