“No Kings” was chosen as the winner of the Name of the Year for 2025 by the American Name Society at its annual Name of the Year discussion and vote on January 8, 2026. This political demonstration name was selected for its direct communicative power, its linguistic brevity, and its extensions during the protests, in forms such as “no thrones” and “no crowns”. It was also the winner of the Miscellaneous Name of the Year category.
“Zohran Mamdani” was chosen as Personal Name of the Year. Mamdani is a US American Democratic politician and the newly elected Mayor of New York City, the first Muslim and Asian American mayor. His name reflects his multicultural identity, one reason for his popularity among voters. He has corrected the pronunciation of his name frequently on air and encouraged people to learn it and to pronounce it correctly. Other candidates in this category included Sydney Sweeney, Luigi Mangione, Kennedy, Charlie Kirk, Leo/Pope Leo XIV, Epstein, d4vd, and Elon.
“Gulf of America” was voted Place Name of the Year. In January 2025, an executive order From President Trump was issued directing U.S. federal agencies to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and U.S. digital maps began reflecting this change. This sparked national debate about naming, geography, and identity. Other candidates in this category included the Louvre, Kennedy Center, Alligator Alcatraz, and Mount McKinley.
“Labubu” won the title Brand Name of the Year. It is the name of a plush toy which became a global fashion trend and collectible in 2025. The name seems nonsensical and childish, despite the toys themselves being collected by adult women and used as charms on luxury designer bags. Popularity led to fakes called Lafufus, showing the name’s linguistic productivity. Other candidates in this category included Sora, Gemini (Google’s AI assistant), PBS, and Anthropic.
“Eleven” was chosen Artistic Name of the Year, the name of a female character in the Netflix series Stranger Things. Her name came originally from being research subject number 11, which then was used as the basis for her first name, written in letters. Once she escaped the laboratory, she was given a series of new names: El; Jane Ives, with her first name being the same as her long-lost birth mother; and Jane Hopper, which features her step-father’s surname. Each of those names represents different aspects of the character’s personal development and social relationships. Other candidates in this category included bbno$, Coldplay, Kpop Demon Hunters, Stranger Things, Heated Rivalry, and Wicked for Good.
“Claude” was voted E-Name of the Year. Introduced by Anthropic as an AI assistant, this name is said to be inspired by real-life mathematician Claude Shannon, widely credited with inventing information theory. It is noteworthy that it is a male name, as compared to the best-known female-coded and named AI assistants, Siri and Alexa. Other candidates in this category included #BookTok, Sora, Dumb Masculinity, Gen Beta, Jessica (replacement name for “Karen” in memes), and #3E (End Impunity, End Autogenocide, and End Oligarchy).
In the Miscellaneous category – names that do not fit into any of the previous five categories – the winner was “No Kings”, the name of protests held in June 2025 in the US (and elsewhere) against the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration. The protests characterized Trump as a king rather than democratically elected, supported by chants of “no thrones” and “no crowns”, and recalling the American revolution against the British crown. The name was also a direct response to White House social media, which had posted an image depicting Trump as a king; Trump and his allies referred to him with monarchical terminology and claims of divine legitimacy. Other names in this category included Donroe Doctrine, Antifa, Kavanaugh Stop, and Melissa (hurricane).
The American Name Society is a scholarly organization founded in 1951 devoted to studying all aspects of names and naming. The Name of the Year vote has been held since 2004.
The 2024 Name of the Year was “Ozempic”. The 2023 Name of the Year was jointly held by “Gaza” and “Barbie”. “Ukraine” won for 2022, and “Great Resignation” won for 2021. The 2020 Name of the Year was jointly held by “Kamala” and “COVID-19”, and “Brexit” was Name of the Decade. “Arrokoth” was the 2019 Name of the Year. “Jamal Khashoggi” won for 2018, “Rohingya” for 2017, “Aleppo” for 2016, and “Caitlyn Jenner” for 2015.