20 January Baby Names That Pay Homage to the New Year

Fortunately January is one of the months that works pretty well as a baby name. Your little girl would also have something in common with Mad Men star January Jones, so that’s fun. A recent BeenVerified study found that 197 girls were given that moniker over the past decade.

January as a month is named after the Roman god Janus, per Encyclopedia Britannica. To modernize that name a bit, you could spell it Janice and give it to your baby girl. It doubles as a fun Friends reference to one of the most memorable TV side characters as well.

For parents who want to give their son a January-themed name that’s also biblical, give Andrew a try. In the bible, Andrew was Jesus’ first disciple. Since January is the first month of the year, the moniker has a fitting connection. Plus, it has the cute nickname option of Andy or Drew.

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For a non-biblical name with a “first” connection, you could go with Ace, which means “one” in Latin. Ace was the 157th most popular boys’ name in 2023, per the Social Security Administration data. In total, 2,314 baby boys were given the moniker that year.

January marks the start of a new year, and your new baby’s name could reflect that if you choose this name. Neo comes from the Greek word for “new.” It’s also the same name that Keanu Reeves’ character has in The Matrix. That’s a pretty cool fictional character to share a moniker with.

Another moniker that reflects idea of beginning anew in January is Nova, which means “new” in Latin. It’s also a cool celestial name, since it’s an astronomy term for when a star suddenly and rapidly increases in brightness, per Northern Arizona University. For the baby who’s a bright spot in your life, Nova is a perfect name.

The name Aurora comes from the Latin word for “dawn.” January marks the dawn of the new year, so this is a fitting moniker for a little girl born in the first month. It’s also a very sweet name choice for parents who love Disney, because Aurora is the princess in Sleeping Beauty.

Genesis is the first book of the Bible, making this a perfect biblical moniker for a baby born in the first month of the year. It works doubly well if the baby is also your first child. Genesis has traditionally been used as a girls’ name and ranked 57th most popular for baby girls in 2023. The alternative spelling Jenesis ranked 653rd, per the Social Security Administration.

In many states, January is filled with snowy weather, making the name Neve perfect for any baby girls born in the cold weather. Neve is a variant of the Latin word “neva” for snow. And it has a celebrity connection as well: Neve Campbell is the star of the Scream movie franchise.

Another snow-themed moniker option is Frost. You’ve probably heard it used mostly as a surname for people like the poet Robert Frost or the journalist David Frost. But we’d be interested in seeing Frost used as a unique first name as well. You’d pretty much be guaranteed that no one would steal your baby name ahead of time.

January notably contains the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, honoring the civil rights leader. Martin Luther King Jr.’s real name was actually Michael, but his father changed both his own name and his son’s after touring Germany and learning about Martin Luther of the Protestant Reformation, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

You could name your child Martin, Luther, or even King to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and all he did.

In 2025, the Lunar New Year falls on January 29, and it’s celebrated in China and many other Asian countries as well as in Asian communities abroad. Per Time magazine, it starts when the second new moon occurs after the winter solstice. If you’re looking for a baby name with lunar connections, you could go with Luna.

The animal associated with Lunar New Year in 2025 is the snake, so you could pay homage to that with the name Belinda. The Germanic origin of Belinda is “Betlindis,” meaning “snake” or “serpent.” Or you could go with the shortened form Linda instead.

The January birthstone is the garnet, per the American Gem Society. The society noted that the dark red gem’s name is derived from the Middle English word “gernet” for “dark red” and the Latin word for “seed,” since it looks like red pomegranate seeds.

As a baby name, garnet isn’t common. Per the Social Security Administration, it hasn’t made the top 1,000 names since 1944. But if you love a unique moniker, it’s perfect.

Babies born between Dec. 22 and Jan. 19 are Capricorns. If you’re into astrology, you could lean into the baby’s star sign for name inspiration. Per The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Capricorn element is “earth,” making Silas a great moniker for little Capricorn boys. Silas comes from the Latin meaning “of the forest/woods.”

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Another earthy baby name is Atlas. Per the Encyclopedia Britannica, in Greek mythology, Atlas supports the pillars that separate heaven and earth. He’s often depicted in sculpture with a globe on his shoulders.

So if your baby is a Capricorn, and maybe you also love travel a lot, Atlas is a perfect baby name.

Another Capricorn name option is Ethan. For one, it sort of sounds like “earth,” but it also has personality traits in common with the star sign. Ethan means “strong” or “firm” in Hebrew. And one of the personality traits of being a Capricorn is being disciplined, per the Almanac.

Babies born in the latter half of January (Jan. 20 through Feb. 18) are Aquarius star signs. Per the Almanac, the Aquarius element is air. Aaron as a baby name doesn’t literally translate to “air” (it translates to “messenger” in Hebrew), but it does sound like “air.” So it’s sort of a stealthy astrology name for parents who don’t want the connection to be too obvious.

The Aquarius element may be air, but the symbol that represents the star sign is the “water-bearer,” per the Almanac. So if you’re looking for a water-themed name (and a gender-neutral one at that), we like Kai as an option. Kai means “ocean” in many languages.

One of the personality traits of an Aquarius is intelligence and innovation, per the Almanac. With that in mind, you could name your child after a famous inventor. According to the Library of Congress, Thomas Edison is one of the most prolific inventors, having acquired over a thousand patents in his lifetime. Some of his most notable contributions include incandescent lightbulbs, phonographs, and motion picture cameras.