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What are the most popular baby names?
What was the most popular boys' name in each decade? John was the top boys' name from the 1880s to the 1910s, given to about 8% of boys in the 1880s.
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Baby names
What was the most popular boys' name in each decade?
John was the top boys' name from the 1880s to the 1910s, given to about 8% of boys in the 1880s. Robert, James and Michael followed; Michael led for four decades. Since then the top name has had a far smaller share: Jacob, then Noah. So far in the 2020s the top name (2020–25: Liam) has 1.2% of boys. The bars show each top name's share of boys born in the decade, so decades compare fairly; the 2020s cover 2020 to 2025. Social Security leaves out any name given to fewer than 5 babies in a year.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications (national data) · Data as of December 31, 2025 · Public domain (U.S. government work)
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Baby names
What is the most popular boys' name in each state?
In 2025, of each state's most popular boys' name, the one with the biggest share was Vermont: Oliver, given to 2.9% of the state's boys; the smallest was Tennessee: Noah, at 1.2%. Each bar is the top name's share of boys born in the state that year; it counts only names given to at least 5 boys in the state, because Social Security leaves out the rest, so it slightly overstates the true share.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications (state data) · Data as of December 31, 2025 · Public domain (U.S. government work)
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Baby names
What was the most popular girls' name in each decade?
Mary was the top girls' name for eight straight decades, given to about 7% of girls in the 1880s. Since then the top name has had a shrinking share: Lisa in the 1960s, then Jennifer, Jessica, Emily and Emma. So far in the 2020s the top name (2020–25: Olivia) has 1.0% of girls. The bars show each top name's share of girls born in the decade, so decades compare fairly; the 2020s cover 2020 to 2025. Social Security leaves out any name given to fewer than 5 babies in a year.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications (national data) · Data as of December 31, 2025 · Public domain (U.S. government work)
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This answer quotes only Chartly's charts, picked by matching the question's words to their questions, topics and answers, and updates itself when their numbers do. Nothing is guessed or written by AI. If it doesn't answer what you asked, open the charts for the full picture.