Meet Summer McKinny: The 2025 American Girl of the Year!

Focusing on the need to Accelerate Action emphasizes the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres. Red-hot romances, poolside fiction, and blockbuster picks, oh my! Plus, receive recommendations and exclusive offers on all of your favorite books and authors from Simon & Schuster. By clicking on these shopping links, visitors will leave Goodmorningamerica.com. These e-commerce sites are operated under different terms and privacy policies than Goodmorningamerica.com.

American Girl fans are in for a sweet surprise with the early arrival of the 2025 Girl of the Year Summer McKinny. Growing up with her family in Columbia, MD, 10-year old Summer is a dog lover and baker who turns her two passion projects into a budding business. Kids of all ages are sure to love Summer, her animal friends, baked treats and her entrepreneurial spirit, too. Appealing to kids who also like dogs, baking, and crafting, Summer McKinny makes a nice addition to the Girl of the Year lineup.

Choosing a family name for your baby is still a common tradition, but there are multiple ways to go about it. In some families, the child (usually the firstborn) has the exact same name as the father, with the addition of a “Jr.” (meaning junior) suffix at the end. If this extends beyond the original father and son, you typically use Roman numerals (II, III, IV, V, etc.) to depict this designation. Jenny Studenroth Gerson is an Atlanta-based lifestyle journalist and novelist (Let Me Let You Go, 2020). Her work can be seen in publications including HuffPost, Cosmo, and WSJ, among many others.

Opt for a Boys’ Name That’s Modern and Trendy If you’re a trendy parent, consider choosing a gender-neutral name, especially if you’re keeping your baby’s gender a surprise. There are many cool and cute boy name options that are perfect for modern times.6. Keep It Short and SweetShort boy names are always winners, so why not limit your search to one-syllable monikers for something cute yet determined. Make Your Way Through the AlphabetPerhaps you love names starting with a specific letter, or you want to search through lists of less common letters, such as boy names that start with Q. Enjoy our array of baby boy names starting with A all the way through to letter Z.10.

Speaking of combining and remixing names, a lot of names on the list of fast-climbers are really alternate spellings of more popular names. Chosen is on there, as it was last year, but the creatively spelled Chozen is higher. There’s also Eiden (alternative to Aiden), Matheo (Mateo) and Dereck (Derrick). These are the cool names of the guys who are good-looking but not pretty, tough but also tender, bad boys but in the best possible way. If this is your prime criteria for a name, forget name style (though many of these are stylish) and focus on names that convey the cool guy image.

In her studio full of plants, Maike loves to create colorful illustrations for book covers, magazines, comic books, and other exciting projects. Summer and her pet companions and accessories are available to shop on American Girl’s website now — find them below. In her quest to gain more business experience, Summer enters a local youth entrepreneur fair where she hopes to win a cash prize in order to help out the shelter even more. For the first time ever, the Girl of the Year from American Girl, Summer McKinny, is from Maryland. A dog lover and baker, Summer McKinny™ turns her two passions into a business of … Damages and issues Please inspect your order upon reception and contact us immediately if the item is defective, damaged or if you receive the wrong item, so that we can evaluate the issue and make it right.

Finally, the SSA data shows a balance between tradition and innovation. While classic names remain popular, there’s also a strong move towards names that are new and distinctive, offering a perfect mix for parents seeking the best of both worlds. The 2024 SSA data reveals some fascinating insights into naming trends. One key takeaway is the increasing diversity in name choices. Parents are exploring a wider range of names, reflecting global influences and a desire for uniqueness.

Check the Social Security Administration for the official rankings, and consult parents in your neighborhood to learn which names are common in your social circle. Are you looking for gender neutral names that won’t reveal your child’s sex? Or would you prefer a name that’s clearly masculine for your little boy? This choice may play into your feelings about gender identity, or be closely tied to style — gender neutral baby names are often very contemporary. The choices listed here are among the Top 1000 most popular boy names on Nameberry but are not among the Top 1000 boy names in the United States. Here, browse the list of the top baby boy names for inspiration (or to see if your little one’s name made the list!).