The Most Beautiful Baby Names Of 2022 Were Ranked & Scientists Say These Sound The Best

Searching for a baby name can be overwhelming, but a new study aims to narrow it down for you by highlighting the ones that sound best to your ear, according to linguistic science.

The study used iconicity, a functional-cognitive linguistics field dedicated to the study of the correspondence between form and meaning, according to Merriam-Webster's dictionary. Using these techniques, the researchers came up with the list and found Sophia and Matthew to be the most beautiful-sounding names in the U.S. in 2022.

The study was done by the baby brand "My 1st Years" and Dr. Bodo Winter, an associate professor of cognitive linguistics at the University of Birmingham.

Using the aforementioned field of sound symbolism, they measure which of the 137 most popular names this year convey the most positive emotions to us when they are said out loud, according to their website.

Along with Sophia, Zoe, Everly, Sophie and Riley rounded out the top 5 for girls. Names beginning with the letter 'E' apparently also sound nice with Ellie, Emily, Evelyn, Eva and Elena making the top 15.

For boys, it was Matthew, Julian, William, Isaiah and Leo that topped the list.

The U.K. list had a few differences.

The name Sophia was also at the top, but instead of Matthew, it was the name Zayn that was the most beautiful. That name likely owes its popularity to Zayn Malik, the U.K.-born singer and former One Direction star.

Zoe, Everly, Rosie and Sophie were also revealed to be the most beautiful-sounding names for girls.

Jesse, Charlie, Matthew and Louie completed the top five for boys in the U.K.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.