There's a category of baby names built around fire — not just names that sound fierce, but names that literally mean fire, come from fire mythology, or evoke flame imagery. And they have been rising steadily in American naming for a decade.
The appeal is obvious: fire represents warmth, passion, transformation, and power. Fire names carry that weight. And unlike names meaning "strong" or "brave" that require background knowledge, fire names often communicate their meaning directly in their sound.
The data
| Name | Sex | 1994 Rank | 2014 Rank | 2024 Rank | 2024 Babies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | Boys | ~#2,000 | #420 | #326 | 1,010 |
| Phoenix | Girls | — | #477 | #469 | 706 |
| Ember | Girls | — | #548 | #336 | 1,007 |
| Aidan | Boys | #785 | #114 | #185 | 1,858 |
| Blaze | Boys | ~#1,800 | #683 | #696 | 426 |
| Ignacio | Boys | #328 | #450 | #483 | 600 |
| Seraphina | Girls | — | ~#1,200 | ~#1,050 | 218 |
| Soleil | Girls | ~#1,500 | ~#1,100 | #840 | 320 |
Phoenix: the rebirth name
Phoenix — Boys #326, 1,010 babies; Girls #469, 706 babies in 2024.
Phoenix is a mythological creature that dies in flames and is reborn from its own ashes. As a name, it carries both the fire element and the rebirth/transformation narrative — which may explain its unusual cross-gender appeal.
| Year | Boys Rank | Girls Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | ~#2,000 | — |
| 2000 | ~#1,500 | — |
| 2004 | #1,008 | ~#1,800 |
| 2010 | #554 | #636 |
| 2014 | #420 | #477 |
| 2018 | #358 | #454 |
| 2022 | #336 | #463 |
| 2024 | #326 | #469 |
Phoenix is the city of Arizona, the mythological bird, and increasingly a genuine given name. River Phoenix (actor, died 1993) may have given the name its first mainstream moment; later, Phoenix Suns basketball and the general mythology wave sustained it. The name is still rising on both sides.
See mythological-names and celestial-names for related mythology and nature name trends.
Ember: the glow of the fire
Ember — Girls #336, 1,007 babies in 2024.
Ember is a beautiful name — the glowing coal left after a fire, warm and quiet rather than blazing. Unlike Phoenix (dramatic rebirth) or Blaze (loud energy), Ember has a gentle warmth that makes it feel feminine and lyrical.
| Year | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | — | — |
| 2010 | ~#1,300 | ~150 |
| 2014 | #548 | 546 |
| 2018 | #411 | 773 |
| 2022 | #313 | 1,072 |
| 2024 | #336 | 1,007 |
Ember is slightly declining from its 2022 peak but has settled comfortably in the mid-300s. The name benefited from the animated film Book of Life (2014) which featured a character in the realm of the remembered dead, and from the general rise of -er ending names (see er-ending-names for the -er wave, though Ember is primarily a nature/meaning name rather than a surname).
Aidan / Aiden: the oldest fire name
Aidan — Boys #185, 1,858 babies in 2024.
Aidan is an Irish name derived from Áed (fire) — the name of an ancient Irish sun god. It has a direct etymological meaning of "little fire" and has been used in Ireland for centuries.
| Year | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | #785 | 291 |
| 2000 | #300 | 1,420 |
| 2004 | #114 | 4,390 |
| 2007 | #86 | 5,801 |
| 2010 | #126 | 3,459 |
| 2014 | #152 | 2,631 |
| 2020 | #179 | 2,047 |
| 2024 | #185 | 1,858 |
Aidan peaked in the mid-2000s and is declining — see aiden-names for the full Aidan/Aiden/Ayden family analysis. The fire meaning wasn't what drove its popularity (parents were choosing it for sound and Irish heritage), but it's a useful reminder that fire names have ancient roots in American naming, not just recent mythology trends.
Blaze: the bold outlier
Blaze — Boys #696, 426 babies in 2024.
Blaze is the most direct fire name — it simply means a fire burning strongly. It's a word-name that functions as a name, similar to how Sage, River, or Storm work.
| Year | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | ~#1,800 | ~65 |
| 2004 | #967 | 215 |
| 2014 | #683 | 399 |
| 2018 | #618 | 468 |
| 2024 | #696 | 426 |
Blaze is essentially flat — it's been in the 400-500 range for a decade. It has a certain cowboy energy that limits its mainstream appeal. The TV show Blaze and the Monster Machines (Nickelodeon, 2014-present) introduced the name to a generation of young parents, but it hasn't driven dramatic growth.
Seraphina: the fiery angel
Seraphina — Girls ~#1,050, ~220 babies in 2024.
Seraphina comes from seraph — the highest order of angels in Jewish and Christian tradition, whose name derives from the Hebrew saraph (to burn). Seraphim are described in Isaiah as burning, fiery beings who surround the divine throne.
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck's daughter Seraphina (born 2009) gave the name a celebrity boost, and it's been slowly climbing since.
| Year | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | ~#1,600 | ~85 |
| 2014 | ~#1,200 | ~170 |
| 2020 | ~#1,100 | ~205 |
| 2024 | ~#1,050 | ~220 |
Seraphina is rising but slowly. The length (4 syllables) may limit how mainstream it can get, but for parents who want a grand, unusual, meaningful name, it's a beautiful choice.
What these names have in common
Fire names tend to be aspirational rather than literal. Parents naming their child Ember or Phoenix aren't literally saying "my child is a flame" — they're invoking the qualities associated with fire: warmth, passion, power, transformation, resilience.
The rise of fire names tracks with the broader rise of meaning-based naming in American culture. Parents increasingly want names that mean something, not just names that sound nice or honor a family tradition. Fire names deliver that meaning directly.
See names-meaning-strength and names-meaning-light for parallel meaning-based naming trends.