Popular baby names in the United States, 2018

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

According to the Social Security Administration, Emma and Liam were (again!) the most popular baby names in the United States in 2018.

Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 18,688 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 17,921
  3. Ava, 14,924
  4. Isabella, 14,464
  5. Sophia, 13,928
  6. Charlotte, 12,940
  7. Mia, 12,642
  8. Amelia, 12,301
  9. Harper, 10,582
  10. Evelyn, 10,376

Boy Names

  1. Liam, 19,837 baby boys
  2. Noah, 18,267
  3. William, 14,516
  4. James, 13,525
  5. Oliver, 13,389
  6. Benjamin, 13,381
  7. Elijah, 12,886
  8. Lucas, 12,585
  9. Mason, 12,435
  10. Logan, 12,352

In the girls’ top 10, Harper replaced Abigail.

In the boys’ top 10, Lucas replaced Jacob.

Here’s more from the SSA’s press release:

Meghan was the fastest rising girls’ name, moving 701 spots to number 703 from number 1,404 in 2017. This jump speaks to the popularity of Meghan Markle, an American who joined the royal family when she married Prince Harry in 2018. Tune in next year to see how newborn Archie influences Moms and Dads in 2019. The name Archie actually reappears in the top 1,000 in 2018 for the first time since 1988, and he will likely continue climbing up the list after the latest royal news.

Winter is coming for “Game of Thrones” fans. The name Yara voyaged 314 spots from number 986 in 2017 to number 672 in 2018 on the girls’ side. Followers of the hit HBO show know this probably is due to Yara Greyjoy, a character on the popular series.

For the boys, Genesis is the fastest rising name for 2018, shuffling his way 608 spots to number 984 from number 1,592 in 2017. There has been a resurgence of classic names in the top 10 baby names in recent years, so perhaps Genesis is a harkening back to the classic English rock band led by Phil Collins. Speaking of Genesis, award winning Grammy singer and coach on “The Voice,” Alicia Keys named her son Genesis after his birth.

More posts on the new names coming soon!

Source: Emma and Liam Repeat as Social Security’s Top Baby Names for 2018

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)

One thought on “Popular baby names in the United States, 2018

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.