The idea of naming a child after the time of year they were born — or simply the season a parent loves — has a long history in English naming. Some month and season names have become perennial staples; others are clearly climbing; a few are fading. Here's the full 2024 picture from SSA data.
Season Names
Autumn — Girls #79 (3,030 babies)
Autumn is the most successful season name in the US, and it isn't close. At #79 in 2024, Autumn is solidly inside the top 100 — well ahead of Summer and far ahead of Spring and Winter. Autumn has been in the top 100 for girls since 2003. The name has a warmth and melancholy quality that fits the broader shift toward names with natural meaning.
Autumn doesn't have a celebrity spike or a single pop culture moment that explains its success — it climbed steadily through quality alone. It sounds like Ruby or Violet: a nature word that works perfectly as a name.
Summer — Girls #142 (2,065 babies)
Summer — #142 in 2024. Summer peaked in the late 1970s to early 1990s and has been declining from a #50 high to its current mid-chart position. The name has a definitively 1980s–1990s feel now (Summer Roberts on The O.C., 2003–2007, was likely the last major pop culture push). Still in the top 150, but clearly past its peak.
Winter — Girls #385 (816 babies)
Winter — #385 in 2024. Winter is the surprise season name of the last five years: it went from essentially unused before 2010 to #385 in 2024. Game of Thrones' tagline ("Winter is coming") kept winter in public consciousness for nearly a decade. The word also has a crisp, distinctive quality that makes it feel more contemporary than Summer or Autumn now do.
Winter is still climbing — it was #452 in 2022 and #412 in 2023. It's on a different trajectory than Summer and Autumn.
Spring — Girls (outside top 500)
Spring has never established itself as a mainstream American baby name despite the other seasons being used. The word's sound (one syllable, ending in -ing) may be the obstacle — it doesn't land with the same weight as Autumn or even Summer.
Month Names
June — Girls #152 (1,956 babies), Boys very rare
June is the most successful month name in current use. After decades outside the top 200, June has been climbing steadily since around 2010. It peaked in the 1920s (top 20), became associated with a specific mid-century type (the idealized suburban housewife — "June Cleaver"), and is now in the early stages of a vintage revival.
June has the same short, sweet quality as Mae, Nell, and Dot — one-syllable vintage names that feel genuinely fresh again. At #152 and still climbing, June is on track for a return to the top 100 within a few years.
June is almost exclusively used for girls now (1,956 girls, 63 boys in 2024), despite originally being a unisex name.
August — Boys #88 (3,876 babies), Girls #910 (290 babies)
August is the only month name that is more popular for boys than girls in the US. At #88 for boys, August is one of the breakout names of the last decade — it was outside the top 200 as recently as 2013.
August has two things working for it: the prestige of the Roman emperor Augustus (shortened here to something more approachable), and the literary/artistic association with August Wilson (the playwright). The -t ending gives it a weight that Autumn and June don't have.
For girls, August sits at #910 — rare, but present. It's been climbing for girls as well, though far more slowly than for boys.
April — Girls #502 (607 babies)
April peaked for girls in the early 1980s (top 20 from 1975–1985) and has been declining ever since. At #502 in 2024, it still has a clear 1970s–1980s quality. April is in the same category as Dawn, Lynn, and Kim — names that feel definitively mid-century and are still decades away from vintage-revival territory.
May — Girls #1,357 (168 babies)
May peaked in the 1890s and has never fully recovered. At #1,357, it's rare — though spelled Mae, it's at #112 and climbing fast. The phenomenon here is interesting: May (traditional spelling) feels dated, while Mae (early 20th century variant spelling) feels vintage and fresh. The aesthetic of the 1920s name revival favors the -ae ending: Hazel, Mae, Rae.
June (revisited) — the only month name inside the top 200
Of all twelve calendar months, only June is inside the top 200 for either sex. August is at #88 for boys. The others — January, February, March, April, May, July, August (for girls), September, October, November, December — are either rare or essentially unused.
Why do some calendar names work and others don't?
Sound is everything. Autumn (three syllables, feminine ending) works. Winter (two syllables, clean ending) is climbing. June (one syllable, vintage) works. April (two syllables, vintage) works less well now. The sound has to feel like a name — not just a calendar word.
Cultural weight. August carries the Roman emperor's gravitas. June carries the 1920s actress and housewife. Autumn carries no specific cultural baggage — which is probably why it climbed higher than any other season name.
The vintage revival test. Names need 60–80 years before vintage revival works. June peaked in the 1920s — it's now exactly in the sweet spot (100 years later). April peaked in the 1980s — too recent. May peaked in the 1890s — perhaps too long ago and too associated with the intermediate era's decline.
Exclusivity signal. Parents choosing calendar names are often choosing them because they're unusual. As soon as a calendar name becomes common (Summer in the 1990s), it loses the distinctiveness that made it appealing in the first place.
The full picture for 2024
| Name | Sex | 2024 Rank | 2024 Count | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | Boys | #88 | 3,876 | Climbing |
| Autumn | Girls | #79 | 3,030 | Stable |
| Summer | Girls | #142 | 2,065 | Declining |
| June | Girls | #152 | 1,956 | Climbing |
| Winter | Girls | #385 | 816 | Climbing fast |
| April | Girls | #502 | 607 | Declining |
| August | Girls | #910 | 290 | Climbing |
| May | Girls | #1,357 | 168 | Stable/rare |
Explore related posts: Nature names · Vintage girl names comeback · Timeless names
Data: SSA 2024 US release. All ranks are within-sex.