Girl names on the decline in the U.S. in 2021

fallen leaves

Which girl names decreased in usage the most from 2020 to 2021?

Here’s a table of the fastest-falling girl names of 2021. On the left are the top 25 decreases in terms of absolute numbers of babies, and on the right are the top 25 decreases in terms of relative numbers of babies.

RankGirl nameAbsolute fallGirl nameRelative fall
1Isabella-957Ashvi-76%
2Abigail-936Dessa-75%
3Victoria-603Jaeda-73%
4Alexa-583Amavi-73%
5Sophia-540Yameli-73%
6Brooklyn-504Raela-72%
7Anna-452Reniyah-72%
8Gianna-435Naeema-72%
9Harper-433Avyn-72%
10Aubrey-409Portia-71%
11Ava-401Jadah-71%
12Hannah-400Rona-71%
13Kaylee-366Jocelynne-71%
14Samantha-361Iolana-71%
15Serenity-359Nakshatra-70%
16Emily-358Jatziry-69%
17Genesis-356Irish-69%
18Ella-354Inanna-69%
19Melanie-348Evangaline-69%
20Brielle-346Alula-69%
21Mila-330Rakeb-68%
22Lauren-312Kiaya-68%
23Skylar-303Meral*-67%
24Londyn-300Kemya*-67%
25Arianna-298Jeri*-67%

*Also at -67% were Helayna, Asmara, Arriyah, Anu, Akane, Kimberlin, Jojo, Elianni, Naleya and Leta.

Interestingly, Dessa has dropped before — it was the fastest-falling girl name way back in 1933.

And I don’t think anyone will be surprised about the ongoing decline of Alexa.

Finally, here are the girl names that saw the steepest dives right out of the data (i.e., to below 5 instances of usage) in 2021:

  • given to 20 babies in 2020: Geisha
  • given to 17 babies in 2020: Glorianna, Malai, Taleigha
  • given to 16 babies in 2020: Emili, Kalonni, Nyella, Siaani

Do you have thoughts/insights about any of the above names?

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Fall (6282684630) by Kenny Louie under CC BY 2.0.

2 thoughts on “Girl names on the decline in the U.S. in 2021

  1. – Rona fell pretty sharply after 2019, because it’s a nickname for coronavirus.
    – Unfortunately, I suspect Jojo dropped significantly in 2021 after Jojo Siwa came out.
    – Siaani appeared on the reality show Growing Up Hip Hop in 2019.

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