‘LIAM’ AND ‘OLIVIA’ TOP THE LATEST LISTS

Drumroll please! Those of us who fancy names look forward to the time of year when the U.S. Social Security Administration posts its baby name popularity data on first names given by parents in the prior calendar year. It is not a perfect accounting of every birth—just a list of newborn applicants for social security numbers that year. However, the data are statistically accurate measures of the popularity of names for newborns.

Recognizing the value of the data collected, the Social Security Administration has made it available to the public. It's been grouped and massaged in ways of interest to parents, sociologists, psychologists, name enthusiasts and, certainly, to a baby name consultant.

The Top 10 Baby Names in the U.S. were led by Liam for boys and Olivia for girls in 2022. (Statistics are compiled after a year is completed; 2023 data will be available around May 2024.) Some top names, like William, seem to withstand the test of time. Some, like Ava and Mia, still find themselves among the most popular names of the 2000s after spending the 20th century in the background. Still others, like Liam and Luna, were barely used at all until this century.

At the U.S. Social Security Administration’s site for baby name popularity data, click “Popular Names by Birth Year” to find top names from the year you were born—or to search for a vintage baby name from 100 years ago or more.

A particular favorite at My Name for Life is to search the baby name "Change in Popularity" charts to see how names have grown or declined from year to year. It’s excellent if you enjoy studying how names make their way into our language. For example, you don’t have to be a fan of onomastics (name studies) to figure out why, in 2009, the year President Obama took office, the names “Malia” and “Sasha” were among the fastest-growing names in the U.S. Likewise, in 2017 "Melania" moved up the chart quickly. For 2018, I'm sure you can guess that England's Duchess of Sussex pushed Meghan back into the Top 1000. As for names that made a big leap in 2022, you may not meet any in your local pre-school any time soon. But these trending names caught the eye of enough parents to propel them into the Top 1000. 

Have fun with baby name data! Then visit our “Contact” page or email our office at [email protected] for personal assistance with your child's special name.