Comparison: Most Popular Baby Boy Names in USA #Shorts

#Shorts

This video shows the most popular boy names between the years 1990 and 2022.

A timeline history of baby boy names from 1990 to 2022.
We are showings the most popular names given to girls between the years 1990 and 2021.

►Data source

It's official: Olivia and Liam are the most popular baby names of 2021. The top ten baby girl names remained relatively constant since last year, with the exception of a few minor swaps. But there was some exciting movement on the boys' side, with a pair of new names – Levi and Asher – entering the top ten.

BabyCenter's baby name rankings come from hundreds of thousands of parents who share their babies' names with us in real-time, making them a more up-to-the-minute look at what's trending. One note before getting into the full results: For the first time ever, we've chosen not to combine spelling variations of the same name in the rankings. That means you'll see Sophia and Sofia on different spots in the list (number 5 and number 22, respectively), as well as Oakley, Oaklee, and Oakly; Jackson and Jaxson; and many more versions of similar names.

We know for many parents, there’s a lot that goes into deciding what to name their child, from family history and special meanings to even sound and spelling. (For example, a recent BabyCenter survey revealed that 40 percent of parents decided to skip traditional spelling when choosing their baby's name.) Spelling matters – even the tiniest differences – and we see that, so, every version of a name now has its own spot in the rankings.

No new baby girl names cracked the top ten in 2021, though we did see some small shuffles in popularity: Charlotte moved up two spots from number 8 to number 6, while Amelia rose from number 5 to number 3. Ava, Sophia, Isabella, and Mia each dropped one spot. If you read the top ten list of baby girl names aloud, you'll notice a similar sound in the final syllable of eight of the names – the "ahs" definitely still have it.

The competition was a little fiercer on the baby boy names side of the column this year: Liam is the most popular name, followed by some familiar names from years past, but two new names entered the top ten: Levi jumped from number 16 to number 6, and Asher soared from number 22 to number 8. Oliver and Elijah traded spots in the number 3 and 4 places, and Mateo and Logan left the top ten.

This year's fastest-rising baby girl names were Raya (up 53 percent), Alora (up 32 percent), and Ariya (up 27 percent); while Onyx (up 44 percent), Koda (up 38 percent), and Finnegan (up 35 percent) saw the biggest jumps on the boys’ side. Many of these names had already been climbing the ranks in our mid-year baby names trend report from this summer. We also saw lots of short and sweet names like Jack, Leo, Isla, and Ayla trending up.

Gender-neutral and unisex baby names (Finley, Tatum), along with names inspired by nature (Willow, Ivy, Sage) and pop culture (Daphne, Chadwick) were some of this year's biggest baby name trends. We also saw a spike in baby names that channel strength, optimism, and resilience – a testament to being born in the middle of a pandemic, we suspect.

Check out the top 100 baby names below. For more inspiration, don't miss this baby name inspiration video, our themed baby name lists, and the Baby Names group in the BabyCenter Community.

Previous (2020) | Next (2022) | All years
Top 100 baby names of 2021
TRUE POPULARITY
RANK GIRLS BOYS
1 Olivia Liam
2 Emma Noah
3 Amelia Oliver
4 Ava Elijah
5 Sophia Lucas
6 Charlotte Levi
7 Isabella Mason
8 Mia Asher
9 Luna James
10 Harper Ethan
11 Gianna Mateo
12 Evelyn Leo
13 Aria Jack
14 Ella Benjamin
15 Ellie Aiden
16 Mila Logan
17 Layla Grayson
18 Avery Jackson
19 Camila Henry
20 Lily Wyatt
21 Scarlett Sebastian
22 Sofia Carter
23 Nova Daniel
24 Aurora William
25 Chloe Alexander
26 Riley Ezra
27 Nora Owen
28 Hazel Michael
29 Abigail Muhammad
30 Rylee Julian
31 Penelope Hudson
32 Elena Luke
33 Zoey Samuel
34 Isla Jacob
35 Eleanor Lincoln
36 Elizabeth Gabriel
37 Madison Jayden
38 Willow Luca
39 Emilia Maverick
40 Violet David
41 Emily Josiah
42 Eliana Elias
43 Stella Jaxon
44 Maya Kai
45 Paisley Anthony
46 Everly Isaiah
47 Addison Eli
48 Ryleigh John
49 Ivy Joseph
50 Grace Matthew

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