Baby name guides
Not opinions — data. Every one of these 101 lists is built from 145 years of official US birth records and refreshes with each yearly release, so the trends you read are the trends that are real.
Trends & data stories
Vintage names making a comeback
Names your great-grandparents wore proudly, gone quiet for decades — and now returning to birth certificates across the US.
Names that didn't exist a generation ago
Fresh inventions, imports and spelling twists — the names that appeared on US charts only in the last few years.
Beloved classics quietly disappearing
Once-everywhere names now leaving the playground — pick one if you want familiar but suddenly rare.
Names that never go out of style
The rare names that have stayed in the US top-100 every single decade since the 1950s.
Truly unisex names, with the real numbers
Not “used for both” in theory — names genuinely split between girls and boys today, with exact percentages.
Every #1 name in American history
The complete list of names that have ever held the national #1 spot — and where each one stands today.
About to go mainstream: next year's top-100
Names ranked #101–150 and climbing — catch them just before everyone else does.
Names at their all-time peak, right now
Names that have never been more popular than they are this very year.
Borrowed from the boys: names girls are winning
Once-masculine names now given mostly to girls — with the real percentages.
The sweet spot: familiar but not everywhere
Names ranked #101–300 — everyone can spell them, nobody shares them with three classmates.
Under the radar: quietly excellent picks
Names ranked #301–600 — established, wearable, and genuinely uncommon.
Ultra-rare but real: names given to a handful of babies
Names chosen by just 10–50 families last year — verified real, vanishingly rare.
Style & sound
Short and sweet: names of four letters or fewer
Ava, Leo, Mia, Kai — tiny names with nothing to trim, nothing to misspell, and plenty of room on a nametag.
Long and elegant: names with room to breathe
Alexandra, Sebastian, Evangeline — full-length names that carry a built-in wardrobe of nicknames.
Palindrome names: the same in the mirror
Ava, Hannah, Otto, Elle — names that read identically backwards, all in real use.
Names ending in -a
The strongest current names sharing the -a ending — a sound family in real use.
Names ending in -ah
The strongest current names sharing the -ah ending — a sound family in real use.
Names ending in -er
The strongest current names sharing the -er ending — a sound family in real use.
Names ending in -son
The strongest current names sharing the -son ending — a sound family in real use.
Names ending in -ley / -lee / -leigh
The strongest current names sharing the -ley / -lee / -leigh ending — a sound family in real use.
Names ending in -lyn
The strongest current names sharing the -lyn ending — a sound family in real use.
Names ending in -ella / -elle
The strongest current names sharing the -ella / -elle ending — a sound family in real use.
Names ending in -o
The strongest current names sharing the -o ending — a sound family in real use.
Eras & decades
One-decade wonders
Names that burned bright in a single decade and never charted again — instant time capsules.
Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
Pearl, Mabel, Florence — names that peaked a century ago and are due for their second act.
Victorian names ready for a second century
Names that peaked before 1900 and are back on real birth certificates today.
Midcentury modern: tomorrow's comeback bets
Names that peaked in 1945–1969 — the next cohort the hundred-year cycle will revive.
Names that belong entirely to the 1880s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1880s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 1890s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1890s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 1900s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1900s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 1910s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1910s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 1920s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1920s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 1930s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1930s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 1940s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1940s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 1950s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1950s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 1960s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1960s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 1970s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1970s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 1980s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1980s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 1990s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 1990s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Names that belong entirely to the 2000s
Names that hit their all-time peak in the 2000s and have since left the spotlight — pure bottled era.
Regions & the world
Hometown favorites: names only one state loves
Names that crack a state's top-100 while staying rare everywhere else in the country.
Transatlantic hits: loved on both sides of the ocean
Names in the current top-100 in the US, England & Wales AND Scotland at once — truly international classics.
Distinctly American names
US top-100 favorites that don't chart in Britain at all — names with a homegrown accent.
Southern charm: names the South loves best
Names sitting in the top-100 across several Southern states while staying uncommon nationwide.
British invasion: UK favorites still rare in the US
England & Wales top-100 names that the American charts haven't caught up with.
Scottish gems the US hasn't discovered
Scotland's current top-100 names still flying under the American radar.
Names the Northeast loves best
Names ranking top-100 across several states of the Northeast while staying uncommon nationwide.
Names the Midwest loves best
Names ranking top-100 across several states of the Midwest while staying uncommon nationwide.
Names the Mountain West loves best
Names ranking top-100 across several states of the Mountain West while staying uncommon nationwide.
Names the Pacific states loves best
Names ranking top-100 across several states of the Pacific states while staying uncommon nationwide.
Meanings & themes
Nature names in real use
Willow, River, Ivy, Wren — names borrowed from the outdoors, filtered to the ones parents actually choose.
Virtue names, from Grace to Justice
Names that wear their meaning openly — the classic virtues parents still put on birth certificates.
Place names on the map and the birth certificate
Savannah, Brooklyn, Milan — names borrowed from cities and places parents actually use.
Celestial names: written in the stars
Luna, Nova, Orion, Atlas — sky and space names that are genuinely rising.
Goddess and muse names
Athena, Freya, Penelope — names from myth that modern parents are actually choosing.
Hero and god names for boys
Apollo, Atlas, Magnus, Achilles — mythological strength that charts today.
Biblical names, from Noah to Naomi
The scripture names still filling classrooms — timeless, familiar, and quietly varied.
Saint names in modern use
Xavier, Lucia, Genevieve — canonized classics that still feel current.
Royal names with real thrones behind them
William, Charlotte, Arthur — names that have actually worn crowns, ranked as of today.
Presidential surnames as first names
Madison, Lincoln, Carter — the White House names that migrated to the nursery.
Occupation names: little masons and archers
Mason, Sawyer, Piper — trade names that became first names, ranked by today's use.
Musical names, from Aria to Lennon
Melody, Cadence, Presley, Bowie — names that carry a tune or honor one.
Color names beyond Scarlett
Violet, Hazel, Indigo, Gray — the palette parents actually paint with.
Gemstone names: small treasures
Ruby, Pearl, Opal, Jasper — jewel-box names polished by a century of use.
Bird names taking flight
Wren, Robin, Lark, Phoenix — the aviary of names parents are choosing now.
Winter names for cold-month babies
Winter, Holly, Noelle, North — names with frost on the window and warmth inside.
Summer names full of light
Summer, June, Kai, Isla — warm-weather names for sunshine babies.
Western names with dust on their boots
Wyatt, Colt, Clementine, Waylon — frontier names riding high in the charts.
Preppy names with a monogrammed feel
Sloane, Bennett, Blair, Brooks — country-club polish in current use.
Heritage & languages
Italian names Americans adore
Luca, Matteo, Gianna, Valentina — la dolce vita on the US charts.
Irish names beyond St. Patrick's Day
Liam, Maeve, Declan, Saoirse — the Emerald Isle's gifts to American nurseries.
Spanish and Latin names with warmth
Mateo, Camila, Santiago, Ximena — names thriving across American communities.
French names with effortless chic
Genevieve, Margot, Remy, Beau — Parisian polish in American use.
Scandinavian names, cool by design
Freya, Astrid, Soren, Magnus — Nordic minimalism for the nursery.
Arabic names in American use
Muhammad, Layla, Amir, Zara — melodic classics with deep roots and strong charts.