How to begin the process of naming your baby? Where do you begin?

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Do you buy a book with thousands of names? Just pick a name of someone you like? This article will provide you with some popular techniques for naming your child and hopefully save you a ton of stress.

First, is there a family tradition of naming your child after a relative? If you're planning on going down this route, you probably already have a specific name in mind. If you're going with a junior, be sure to consider giving the child a unique middle name that they can attach their identity too. Remember to be careful not to offend any relatives when you choose your name.

You may also want to check for names which have a special meaning to you and your spouse. The meaning of a name can be very important, as can names with religious roots or names that represent an important quality are very popular. Name meanings can be found in numerous books and throughout the internet. Be sure to check with multiple sources, as name often have more than one meaning based on origin and use.

Some parents want their child to have a name with a certain ethnic origin. Perhaps your grandparents had to give up their ethnic sounding names when they came to America and you'd like to honor their heritage. Ethnic names are usually listed in baby name books and many website also have this information available. Websites often let you search for a specific ethnicity which can be very convenient. Be wary of the potential inaccuracies of some of these sites, however.

Finally, and easily the most popular method, is to pick a name that has a good sound to it. Ultimately, this is a very important factor to consider even if you're choosing a name based on its meaning or historical origin. Your child will have to live with their name and if it sounds funny, you can bet they're going to hear about it as they grow up. They may even go by another name if they don't like the way their given name sounds.

No matter which method you choose, always remember that it's your child's name and you should put them first. In the end, your child's personality will vastly outshine any name you pick for them.

Popular Baby Names

Top Baby Names from the 1990 - 2021 U.S.Census

See Below for the Top Ten Baby Names for 1900-2016

Top 10 Baby Names of 2021

Rank Male name Female name
1 Liam Olivia
2 Noah Emma
3 Oliver Charlotte
4 Elijah Amelia
5 James Ava
6 William Sophia
7 Benjamin Isabella
8 Lucas Mia
9 Henry Evelyn
10 Theodore Harper

Popular Baby Names 2020

Popularity in 2020
Rank Male name Female name
1 Liam Olivia
2 Noah Emma
3 Oliver Ava
4 Elijah Charlotte
5 William Sophia
6 James Amelia
7 Benjamin Isabella
8 Lucas Mia
9 Henry Evelyn
10 Alexander Harper
11 Mason Camila
12 Michael Abigail
13 Ethan Gianna
14 Daniel Luna
15 Jacob Ella
16 Logan Elizabeth
17 Jackson Sofia
18 Levi Emily
19 Sebastian Avery
20 Mateo Mila
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth.

Top Baby Names 2019

Popularity in 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 Alexander Evelyn
11 Ethan Abigail
12 Henry Emily
13 Jacob Ella
14 Michael Elizabeth
15 Daniel Camila
16 Logan Luna
17 Jackson Sofia
18 Sebastian Avery
19 Jack Mila
20 Aiden Aria
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth.

Top Baby Names 2018

Popularity in 2018
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
11 Alexander Abigail
12 Ethan Emily
13 Jacob Elizabeth
14 Michael Mila
15 Daniel Ella
16 Henry Avery
17 Jackson Sofia
18 Sebastian Camila
19 Aiden Aria
20 Matthew Scarlett
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth.

Popular Baby Names 2017

Popularity in 2017
Rank Male name Female name
1 Liam Emma
2 Noah Olivia
3 William Ava
4 James Isabella
5 Logan Sophia
6 Benjamin Mia
7 Mason Charlotte
8 Elijah Amelia
9 Jacob Evelyn
10 Oliver Abigail
11 Lucas Harper
12 Michael Emily
13 Alexander Elizabeth
14 Ethan Avery
15 Daniel Sofia
16 Matthew Ella
17 Aiden Madison
18 Henry Scarlett
19 Joseph Victoria
20 Jackson Aria
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth.

Top Baby Names for 2016

Rank 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
 

Top Baby Names 2015

Rank Male name Female name
1 Noah Emma
2 Liam Olivia
3 Mason Sophia
4 Jacob Ava
5 William Isabella
6 Ethan Mia
7 James Abigail
8 Alexander Emily
9 Michael Charlotte
10 Benjamin Harper

Top 10 Baby Names for 2014

Rank Male name Female name
1 Noah Emma
2 Liam Olivia
3 Mason Sophia
4 Jacob Isabella
5 William Ava
6 Ethan Mia
7 Michael Emily
8 Alexander Abigail
9 James Madison
10 Daniel Charlotte

Top 10 Baby Names for 2013

Rank Male name Female name
1 Noah Sophia
2 Liam Emma
3 Jacob Olivia
4 Mason Isabella
5 William Ava
6 Ethan Mia
7 Michael Emily
8 Alexander Abigail
9 Jayden Madison
10 Daniel Elizabeth

Top 10 Baby Names for 2012

Rank Male name Female name
1 Jacob Sophia
2 Mason Emma
3 Ethan Isabella
4 Noah Olivia
5 William Ava
6 Liam Emily
7 Jayden Abigail
8 Michael Mia
9 Alexander Madison
10 Aiden Elizabeth

---Top 10 Baby Names for 2011

Rank Male name Female name
1 Jacob Sophia
2 Mason Isabella
3 William Emma
4 Jayden Olivia
5 Noah Ava
6 Michael Emily
7 Ethan Abigail
8 Alexander Madison
9 Aiden Mia
10 Daniel Chloe

< br/>
Top 10 Names for 2010
Rank Male name Female name
1 Jacob Isabella
2 Ethan Sophia
3 Michael Emma
4 Jayden Olivia
5 William Ava
6 Alexander Emily
7 Noah Abigail
8 Daniel Madison
9 Aiden Chloe
10 Anthony Mia

< br/>
Top 10 Names for 2009
Rank Male name Female name
1 Jacob Isabella
2 Ethan Emma
3 Michael Olivia
4 Alexander Sophia
5 William Ava
6 Joshua Emily
7 Daniel Madison
8 Jayden Abigail
9 Noah Chloe
10 Anthony Mia

< br/>

Popularity in 2008

Rank Male name Female name
1 Jacob Emma
2 Michael Isabella
3 Ethan Emily
4 Joshua Olivia
5 Daniel Ava
6 Alexander Madison
7 Anthony Sophia
8 William Abigail
9 Christopher Elizabeth
10 Matthew Chloe
11 Jayden Samantha
12 Andrew Addison
13 Joseph Natalie
14 David Mia
15 Noah Alexis
16 Aiden Alyssa
17 James Hannah
18 Ryan Ashley
19 Logan Ella
20 John Sarah
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth.

Popular Baby Names - Top 10 Baby Names for 2007
Rank Male name Female name
1 Jacob Emily
2 Michael Isabella
3 Ethan Emma
4 Joshua Ava
5 Daniel Madison
6 Christopher Sophia
7 Anthony Olivia
8 William Abigail
9 Matthew Hannah
10 Andrew Elizabeth
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth.

2006 top baby name is Emily for the second year in a row, while Jacob remained the nation's most popular boy name for the sixth year in a row.

Top Ten Baby names for 2006

Top 10 Names for 2006
Rank Male name Female name
1 Jacob Emily
2 Michael Emma
3 Joshua Madison
4 Ethan Isabella
5 Matthew Ava
6 Daniel Abigail
7 Christopher Olivia
8 Andrew Hannah
9 Anthony Sophia
10 William Samantha
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth.

Top 10 Names for 2005

Rank Male name Female name
1 Jacob Emily
2 Michael Emma
3 Joshua Madison
4 Matthew Abigail
5 Ethan Olivia
6 Andrew Isabella
7 Daniel Hannah
8 Anthony Samantha
9 Christopher Ava
10 Joseph Ashley
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth.
Rank
Popularity for top 10 baby names in 2021
Male
name
Number
males
Female
name
Number
females
1Jacob 29195 Emily 25494
2Michael 26991 Emma 22532
3Joshua 24950 Madison 19986
4Matthew 23706 Hannah 17393
5Andrew 21852 Olivia 15982
6Joseph 21265 Abigail 15789
7Ethan 21206 Alexis 14659
8Daniel 20947 Ashley 14402
9Christopher 20781 Elizabeth 13927
10Anthony 19990 Samantha 13733
Note: Rank 1 is the most popular baby name, rank 2 is the next most popular baby name, and so forth.

Between 1954 and 1984 the Social Security Administration occasionally published a listing of surnames and their popularity in the Report of Distribution of Surnames in the Social Security Number File. This note expands on that project by presenting the most popular given names.

The source file is a one percent sample of Social Security Number card applications. The selection criteria is based on the last four digits of the Social Security Number, which are random and not correlated with a particular geographical region. In cases where multiple cards were issued to the same person, a reason for this might be a lost card or a name change, the name on the last application was used. This file is not limited to persons born in the United States but is representative of all Social Security Number card holders.

For purposes of this document, names have not been edited or grouped together according to spelling variations of the same baby names. People quoting from this document are urged to explicitly acknowledge this qualification.

Three tabulations are presented in this note. The first two are an historical perspective on the three most frequent names for both sexes for every year of birth from 1900 to 1997. The third is the 40 most frequent names for boys and girls born in 1996, the most recent year that full data is available.

  • Top 10 given names, by year of birth (1880-1919), and sex.
  • Top 10 given names, by year of birth (1920-1959), and sex.
  • Top 10 given names, by year of birth (1960-1997), and sex.
  • Large list of names for girls born in 1996.
  • Large list of names for boys born in 1996.
  • Large list of names for girls born in 1997.
  • Large list of names for boys born in 1997.


Table 1 displays the three most frequent male given names for each year of birth from 1900 to 1997. The number to the right of each name indicates the frequency in the sample per 1,000 births of the same gender.

Table 1 -- Most Frequent Male Names for Years of Birth 1900-97

First Second Third
Year
of Birth
NameRate NameRate NameRate
1900John62.9William47.4James33.4
1901John51.9William51.4James31.5
1902John58.7William44.3James34.3
1903John54.4William40.1James33.1
1904John52.5William41.5George, James30.9
1905John56.7William42.4James30.3
1906John56.7William42.0James31.6
1907John53.1William42.7James30.6
1908John53.4William39.2James31.4
1909John52.5William46.0James35.8
1910John49.6William38.1James35.8
1911John53.1William42.3James33.1
1912John54.0William41.2James34.4
1913John50.1William40.0James33.5
1914John52.4William39.9James34.5
1915John49.1William41.9James34.7
1916John54.3William41.0James36.1
1917John51.9William44.5James39.1
1918John50.4William40.6Robert35.5
1919John51.4William39.1James37.8
1920John46.6William41.6James37.9
1921John49.8Robert41.7James40.4
1922John48.8Robert40.9James40.6
1923John48.3Robert45.9William43.8
1924John47.8Robert46.5James40.7
1925John49.3Robert44.9James43.1
1926Robert47.0John45.6William41.4
1927Robert46.3James43.6John42.7
1928Robert46.2John41.4James40.4
1929Robert48.7John43.7James41.3
1930Robert45.4James43.3John43.2
1931Robert49.2James42.3John41.2
1932Robert49.6John42.6James39.6
1933Robert46.9James41.6John40.9
1934Robert43.2James42.9John39.0
1935James44.5Robert43.1John38.2
1936Robert46.5James42.7John40.0
1937Robert46.0James43.5John41.0
1938Robert47.0James45.2John39.4
1939Robert44.9James41.4John39.7
1940James44.5Robert41.5John39.9
1941Robert44.5John43.0James41.6
1942James49.1Robert44.7John37.8
1943James46.0Robert44.6John38.5
1944Robert44.6James43.6John43.5
1945James44.4Robert41.9John38.9
1946James44.8Robert42.3John41.5
1947James44.4John44.1Robert41.9
1948Robert41.5James41.4John41.3
1949James40.2Robert39.9John39.6
1950John38.7James38.6Robert38.4
1951Robert38.1James37.9John37.6
1952James39.1Robert37.5John34.2
1953Michael37.2Robert36.6James36.0
1954Robert36.5Michael35.7John35.3
1955Michael37.5James34.7David, Robert34.3
1956Michael35.1Robert33.8David33.5
1957Michael34.7James33.3Robert32.2
1958Michael34.8David34.4Robert31.0
1959Michael34.2David32.0James31.8
1960David34.7Michael33.3John29.1
1961David34.1Michael33.6John30.8
1962Michael33.6John33.1David31.6
1963David33.9John, Michael33.6
1964Michael35.5John33.2David32.4
1965Michael35.7James31.2John30.7
1966Michael35.1David31.0John29.8
1967Michael36.8David29.7James28.2
1968Michael36.3David30.5James28.3
1969Michael41.1David28.5John28.1
1970Michael40.9David29.5John27.3
1971Michael37.3John27.0David26.8
1972Michael38.7Christopher26.9David23.8
1973Michael36.1Christopher26.2James23.6
1974Michael38.3Jason28.4Christopher26.1
1975Michael38.3Christopher25.5Jason25.0
1976Michael34.7Jason26.7Christopher24.8
1977Michael36.9Jason28.4Christopher23.6
1978Michael36.5Jason27.3Christopher25.5
1979Michael32.5Jason26.2Christopher26.1
1980Michael35.0Jason24.0Christopher23.4
1981Michael32.7Christopher24.3Jason22.4
1982Michael34.3Christopher28.7Matthew22.2
1983Michael35.2Christopher30.3Matthew24.9
1984Michael34.9Christopher30.7Matthew23.7
1985Michael30.3Christopher29.2Matthew22.5
1986Michael32.8Christopher28.2Matthew22.7
1987Michael31.9Christopher25.3Matthew20.4
1988Michael30.3Christopher25.3Matthew22.2
1989Michael30.0Christopher24.2Joshua20.1
1990Michael28.9Christopher23.3Joshua19.6
1991Michael28.8Christopher23.0Matthew19.4
1992Michael27.6Christopher20.3Joshua16.8
1993Michael22.4Christopher18.1Joshua16.9
1994Michael20.0Matthew17.4Christopher16.2
1995Michael20.2Jacob17.1Matthew15.8
1996Michael18.6Matthew17.4Jacob16.4
1997Michael20.3Jacob16.0Matthew15.8

Table 2 displays the three most frequent female given names for each year of birth from 1900 to 1997. The number to the right of each name indicates the frequency in the sample per 1,000 births of the same gender.

Table 2 -- Most Frequent Female Names for Years of Birth 1900-97
First Second Third
Year
of Birth
NameRate NameRate NameRate
1900Mary49.2Helen22.4Anna21.5
1901Mary51.5Helen23.8Anna20.7
1902Mary48.4Helen23.0Anna20.8
1903Mary50.5Margaret21.3Helen21.0
1904Mary53.9Helen22.4Margaret20.6
1905Mary47.6Helen25.5Margaret20.8
1906Mary54.5Helen21.6Margaret19.4
1907Mary50.7Helen23.8Margaret20.4
1908Mary51.6Helen23.3Margaret19.5
1909Mary49.7Helen28.5Margaret18.8
1910Mary50.3Helen25.5Margaret20.6
1911Mary50.8Helen25.2Dorothy, Margaret21.5
1912Mary51.2Helen31.1Dorothy20.6
1913Mary51.2Helen30.0Dorothy22.9
1914Mary54.2Helen26.7Dorothy23.6
1915Mary50.5Helen30.8Dorothy24.2
1916Mary55.2Helen29.3Margaret24.5
1917Mary54.9Helen26.7Dorothy26.0
1918Mary51.1Helen29.3Dorothy25.3
1919Mary51.0Helen25.6Dorothy24.0
1920Mary49.5Dorothy27.4Helen25.8
1921Mary57.3Dorothy25.9Helen25.3
1922Mary54.2Dorothy26.9Helen22.8
1923Mary52.0Dorothy29.2Helen21.8
1924Mary49.7Dorothy25.2Helen22.8
1925Mary53.5Dorothy27.7Betty23.0
1926Mary51.3Dorothy25.4Helen22.1
1927Mary49.6Betty25.8Dorothy25.0
1928Mary51.4Betty26.8Dorothy25.5
1929Mary46.4Betty28.7Dorothy22.9
1930Mary50.7Betty26.6Dorothy21.7
1931Mary48.3Betty26.6Dorothy20.1
1932Mary44.0Betty24.0Barbara21.9
1933Mary46.2Betty25.4Barbara21.7
1934Mary48.9Betty23.8Shirley21.0
1935Mary46.4Shirley35.3Barbara23.1
1936Mary46.4Shirley27.2Barbara24.7
1937Mary44.1Barbara26.7Patricia23.2
1938Mary41.7Barbara28.8Patricia18.9
1939Mary39.8Barbara27.2Patricia20.8
1940Mary39.9Barbara26.2Patricia23.2
1941Mary38.2Barbara27.6Patricia25.0
1942Mary41.2Barbara29.6Patricia23.6
1943Mary41.3Barbara27.5Patricia24.8
1944Mary39.3Barbara24.8Patricia24.4
1945Mary36.4Linda27.4Barbara25.6
1946Mary37.3Linda28.5Patricia25.5
1947Linda43.7Mary33.5Patricia24.8
1948Linda47.6Mary33.9Patricia23.1
1949Linda43.3Mary35.1Patricia21.3
1950Linda40.4Mary30.6Patricia23.4
1951Linda31.5Mary30.5Patricia25.9
1952Linda31.4Mary30.9Patricia26.0
1953Mary29.1Linda27.5Deborah24.5
1954Mary28.1Deborah24.6Linda22.6
1955Mary26.5Deborah22.4Debra, Linda22.2
1956Mary25.5Susan21.1Debra21.0
1957Mary25.0Susan19.2Linda17.8
1958Mary25.0Linda18.4Susan18.3
1959Mary23.4Susan16.2Linda15.9
1960Mary21.9Susan17.1Maria15.8
1961Mary19.0Lisa16.6Susan16.0
1962Lisa19.7Mary18.0Maria15.8
1963Lisa21.2Mary19.7Maria16.0
1964Lisa23.1Mary18.3Maria15.4
1965Lisa26.5Maria16.3Karen15.8
1966Lisa26.3Maria15.8Mary15.1
1967Lisa26.3Maria15.9Kimberly15.8
1968Lisa22.8Michelle17.1Kimberly16.3
1969Lisa22.0Jennifer16.7Michelle16.1
1970Jennifer24.4Lisa17.2Kimberly14.9
1971Jennifer28.1Michelle17.5Lisa16.4
1972Jennifer33.2Michelle16.8Lisa15.0
1973Jennifer35.4Michelle14.9Amy14.4
1974Jennifer34.2Amy15.3Michelle13.5
1975Jennifer31.5Amy18.1Michelle13.7
1976Jennifer34.6Amy17.2Melissa14.0
1977Jennifer30.0Amy15.5Melissa14.5
1978Jennifer32.7Jessica15.4Melissa14.1
1979Jennifer30.4Melissa16.9Amanda15.7
1980Jennifer30.7Jessica18.9Amanda18.3
1981Jennifer31.7Jessica21.7Amanda18.0
1982Jennifer30.6Jessica26.9Amanda17.7
1983Jennifer28.8Jessica23.1Ashley20.3
1984Jennifer26.6Jessica24.5Ashley19.9
1985Jessica24.7Ashley24.3Jennifer22.4
1986Jessica27.6Ashley25.4Amanda19.6
1987Jessica28.2Ashley27.8Amanda19.7
1988Ashley24.5Jessica22.6Amanda20.5
1989Jessica22.0Ashley21.3Amanda, Brittany17.9
1990Jessica21.0Ashley20.8Brittany16.1
1991Ashley22.5Jessica19.9Amanda14.6
1992Jessica18.9Ashley16.9Sarah12.3
1993Jessica17.0Ashley16.5Sarah13.7
1994Jessica16.0Ashley13.5Emily11.6
1995Emily13.6Ashley13.4Jessica13.3
1996Emily14.5Jessica12.0Ashley11.8
1997Emily13.8Sarah13.3Taylor10.6

Table 3 lists the 40 most popular given names for the year of birth of 1996. The sample consists of 19,662 girls and 20,264 boys. The numbers on the left represent rank. The number to the right of each name represents the frequency per 1,000 births of the same gender. Several times in this table there were ties in popularity order. In these cases the order and frequency are given for the first name and left blank in subsequent names.

Table 3 -- Top 40 Given Names for Year of Birth 1996
FemaleMale
RankNameRate
RankNameRate
1.Emily14.49
1.Michael18.56
2.Jessica11.95
2.Matthew17.42
3.Ashley11.80
3.Jacob16.38
4.Sarah10.53
4.Joshua14.61
5.Samantha10.02
5.Christopher14.46
6.Taylor9.00
6.Daniel13.18
7.Hannah8.75
7.Nicholas13.08
8.Rachel8.65
8.Andrew,12.68
9.Alexis8.60
Tyler
10.Megan8.29
10.Joseph12.14
11.Elizabeth7.93
11.Brandon12.04
12.Kayla7.63
12.Anthony11.65
13.Lauren6.87
13.Austin11.60
14.Nicole6.71
14.John11.05
15.Amanda6.41
15.James,10.91
16.Madison6.36
Zachary
17.Brittany6.05
17.David10.56
18.Stephanie,5.90
18.Ryan10.22
Victoria
19.Justin9.72
20.Alyssa,5.65
20.Jonathan9.52
Amber,
21.William9.18
Brianna
22.Alexander8.93
23.Courtney,5.34
23.Robert8.69
Jennifer
24.Christian8.44
25.Haley5.19
25.Kyle7.99
26.Anna5.04
26.Kevin7.20
27.Danielle,4.83
27.Thomas6.81
Olivia
28.Aaron6.51
29.Rebecca
29.Jose6.46
30.Jasmine4.73
30.Benjamin6.42
31.Melissa4.63
31.Cody6.12
32.Morgan4.58
32.Eric,5.97
33.Abigail,4.48
Samuel,
Alexandra
Steven
35.Kimberly4.37
35.Brian,5.87
36.Katherine4.17
Jordan
37.Allison3.92
37.Dylan5.53
38.Mary3.71
38.Nathan5.28
39.Brooke,3.66
39.Adam5.03
Sydney
40.Richard4.93



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