From Social Security, the most popular names for boys and girls from 2024:
|
Boys |
Girls |
|
1. Liam |
1. Olivia |
|
2. Noah |
2. Emma |
|
3. Oliver |
3. Amelia |
|
4. Theodore |
4. Charlotte |
|
5. James |
5. Mia |
|
6. Henry |
6. Sophia |
|
7. Mateo |
7. Isabella |
|
8. Elijah |
8. Evelyn |
|
9. Lucas |
9. Ava |
|
10. William |
10. Sofia |
My firm has started a new blog directed at Social Security disability claimants, rather than Social Security professionals. It's called For The Frustrated Social Security Disability Claimant. Here are links to some recent posts:
| Boys | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1. Liam | 1. Olivia |
| 2. Noah | 2. Emma |
| 3. Oliver | 3. Charlotte |
| 4. James | 4. Amelia |
| 5. Elijah | 5. Sophia |
| 6. Mateo | 6. Mia |
| 7. Theodore | 7. Isabella |
| 8. Henry | 8. Ava |
| 9. Lucas | 9. Evelyn |
| 10. William | 10. Luna |
From Fox News:
The two fastest-growing names for boys in the U.S. last year are inspired by the hit show "Yellowstone," according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
SSA said the names "Dutton" and "Kayce" are ranked #1 and #2 on the list of top five fastest-growing boys' names in 2022.
Dutton is the surname of the fictional family who own the Yellowstone ranch in the hit Paramount Network show. Kevin Costner plays the patriarch, John Dutton. His son in the show is Kayce Dutton, played by Luke Grimes. …
From the Social Security Administration:
Boys |
Girls |
|
| 1. Liam | 1. Olivia | |
| 2. Noah | 2. Emma | |
| 3. Oliver | 3. Charlotte | |
| 4. James | 4. Amelia | |
| 5. Elijah | 5. Sophia | |
| 6. William | 6. Isabella | |
| 7. Henry | 7. Ava | |
| 8. Lucas | 8. Mia | |
| 9. Benjamin | 9. Evelyn | |
| 10. Theodore | 10. Luna |
One thing I notice is that eight of the top ten girls names end with an "a." Somehow, parents associate the "a" sound at the end of a name with girls.
From the Washington Post:
... Inspired by Mississippi-based journalist Sarah Fowler’s brilliant Washington Post story on the folks who changed their baby’s first name — 30,000 in the past five years alone — we asked the Social Security Administration for a list of the most-changed names. They ran the numbers back to 2017. ...
Social Security has released its list of most popular baby names for 2021:
Boys |
Girls | |
| 1. Liam | 1. Olivia | |
| 2. Noah | 2. Emma | |
| 3. Oliver | 3. Charlotte | |
| 4. Elijah | 4. Amelia | |
| 5. James | 5. Ava | |
| 6. William | 6. Sophia | |
| 7. Benjamin | 7. Isabella | |
| 8. Lucas | 8. Mia | |
| 9. Henry | 9. Evelyn | |
| 10. Theodore | 10. Harper |
And here's the list of the fastest rising names for girls and boys in 2021:
| Boys | Girls |
| 1. Amiri | 1. Raya |
| 2. Eliam | 2. Wrenley |
| 3. Colter | 3. Angelique |
| 4. Ozzy | 4. Vida |
| 5. Loyal | 5. Emberlynn |
I'm generally in the "What's in a name?" camp when it comes to names but all I can say after looking at the fastest rising list is "Yuck!"
From Social Security announcement of the most popular names given to babies in 2020.
| Boys | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1. Liam | 1. Olivia |
| 2. Noah | 2. Emma |
| 3. Oliver | 3. Ava |
| 4. Elijah | 4. Charlotte |
| 5. William | 5. Sophia |
| 6. James | 6. Amelia |
| 7. Benjamin | 7. Isabella |
| 8. Lucas | 8. Mia |
| 9. Henry | 9. Evelyn |
| 10. Alexander | 10. Harper |
From Social Security, the most popular baby names of 2019:
| Rank | Male name | Female name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liam | Olivia |
| 2 | Noah | Emma |
| 3 | Oliver | Ava |
| 4 | William | Sophia |
| 5 | Elijah | Isabella |
| 6 | James | Charlotte |
| 7 | Benjamin | Amelia |
| 8 | Lucas | Mia |
| 9 | Mason | Harper |
| 10 | Ethan | Evelyn |
 |
| Click on images to view full size |
| Rank | Male name | Female name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liam | Emma |
| 2 | Noah | Olivia |
| 3 | William | Ava |
| 4 | James | Isabella |
| 5 | Oliver | Sophia |
| 6 | Benjamin | Charlotte |
| 7 | Elijah | Mia |
| 8 | Lucas | Amelia |
| 9 | Mason | Harper |
| 10 | Logan | Evelyn |
| Boys | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1. Liam | 1. Emma |
| 2. Noah | 2. Olivia |
| 3. William | 3. Ava |
| 4. James | 4. Isabella |
| 5. Logan | 5. Sophia |
| 6. Benjamin | 6. Mia |
| 7. Mason | 7. Charlotte |
| 8. Elijah | 8. Amelia |
| 9. Oliver | 9. Evelyn |
| 10. Jacob | 10. Abigail |
| Male name | Female name | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noah | Emma |
| 2 | Liam | Olivia |
| 3 | William | Ava |
| 4 | Mason | Sophia |
| 5 | James | Isabella |
| 6 | Benjamin | Mia |
| 7 | Jacob | Charlotte |
| 8 | Michael | Abigail |
| 9 | Elijah | Emily |
| 10 | Ethan | Harper |
Naming a baby is a big decision, one many parents agonize over. ...
In discussion groups online for expecting mothers, many say they want to choose a unique name because “different is good” or “I want him to stand out.” Others dismiss names that are “too popular” because “I don’t want them to be one of three kids with the same name in their class.” ...
In a 2010 paper, my co-authors and I found that the use of common names declined precipitously between the 1950s and 2007 in the Social Security Administration database of the name of every American with a Social Security number (which is nearly everyone). In the 1950s, 1 out of every 4 boys had one of the 10 most popular names. By 2007, only 10% did. Fitting in went from being desirable to being undesirable, and uniqueness went the opposite way. It was yet another sign of American culture becoming more individualistic – more focused on the self and less on social rules. ...
But then the Great Recession hit. People started talking about a “cultural reset,” and in fact charity donations and interest in social issues did go up, suggesting a rise in communalism. But signs of a sustained increase in individualism, such as a continuing rise in positive self-views, also appeared.
So what happened with names? In a paper published today, we found that the trend toward unique names continued during the recession, especially for boys. Unique names are more common now than they were 10 years ago. Thirty-four percent of boys received a name among the 50 most popular in 2004-06, compared to only 30% during the 2008-10 recession years and 28% in post-recession 2011-15. For girls, the decline was from 24% to 22% to 21%. ...
This research shows the hidden power of culture. Across the country over the last few decades, parents were collectively deciding not to choose common names for their children. How does something like that happen? It’s a mysterious process – somehow the value of uniqueness became more prominent. We know it happened, but exactly how and why is a bit of a mystery. For now, we can take comfort that our kids will be less likely to be confused with another who has the same name – but more likely to be asked the question “And how do you spell that?”
Using name data from the Social Security Administration, MooseRoots, a genealogy research site that’s part of Graphiq, set out to discover which names broke their own popularity records in 2015. To do this, they found the 100 most popular names, 50 from each gender, that were ranked higher in the U.S. than ever before. ...
The most popular record-breaking female name of 2015 is Charlotte. ... This spike could partially be explained by the arrival of the royal baby Princess Charlotte. ...
Of the 50 most popular record-breaking female names, several can be connected to figures from pop culture. The popularity of the name “Arya” could partially be due to the “Game of Thrones” character Arya Stark played by actress Maisie Williams. The name “Emilia” also appears on the list, perhaps for the same reason. Emilia Clarke plays Daenerys Targaryen in the hit HBO show. ...
“Riley”, which reached a peak popularity ranking of 35, might be due to Riley Curry, daughter of well-known NBA player Stephen Curry. “Ivy” made the list as well, perhaps due to Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter, who made a cameo in Beyoncé’s “7/11” music video. ...
Of the 50 most popular record-breaking male names, a few are worth highlighting. The popularity of the name “Jaxon” which reached its peak popularity ranking of 44, could be connected to pop singer Justin Bieber’s younger brother Jaxon Bieber. “Maddox” which also makes the top 50, is the name of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s adopted son. ...
Boys
1. Noah
2. Liam
3. Mason
4. Jacob
5. William
6. Ethan
7. Michael
8. Alexander
9. James
10. Daniel
Girls
1. Emma
2. Olivia
3. Sophia
4. Isabella
5. Ava
6. Mia
7. Emily
8. Abigail
9. Madison
10. Charlotte
