If you are in search of the best baby names, you will now have access to an amazingly awesome scientific explanation.

According to linguistics, these are the names that you need to care the most about. Dr. Bodo Winter, Associate Professor of Cognitive Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, has partnered with the British baby website My 1st Years to provide us with this list and it is an excellent one.

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Sound symbolism was used to make these determinations, which is an idea that is found in the world of science. It is based on the concept that some words are going to sound better than others, owing to the resemblance between the sound of a word and its meaning. Other sensory ideas are associated with this concept, including taste and smell.

The experts who are responsible for these rankings analyzed hundreds of baby names from the United States and the United Kingdom. The top spot for boys was taken by Zayn. Of course, this name’s popularity is inspired by former One Direction member Zayn Malik.

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The group peaked in popularity over a decade ago and now, the world is filled with little boys with the same moniker.

As you would expect, there is a wide range of names at the top of the list that has been inspired by the British royal family. Louie, William, and George all reside in the top ten. When it comes to the girls in the United Kingdom, names that have a strong “E” sound ranked very high. Sophia, Zoe, Rosie, Sophie and Ivy round out the top five.

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In the US, Matthew ranks as the most appealing-sounding name for boys, which makes sense. Matthew actually means “gift of God.” This name scored highly because of all the positive connotations that are associated with speaking it aloud. The top five in the United States were rounded out by Julian, William, Isaiah and Leo. Sophia managed to take the top spot for girls in the United States as well.

Ivy did not make the top five, which was the only major difference between the two countries.

“There are a lot of things that affect name choice, and several of these have been explored in research. For example, research by Stephanie Shih shows that parents try to avoid choosing first names that would clash with their family names,” Dr. Winter explained. What a fascinating study!