The Washington Post recently published a pair of articles about babies whose names had been changed.
The first article mentioned that, according to SSA data, nearly 30,000 babies in the U.S. had had their names changed from January 2017 to March 2022.
The second article dug a little deeper, revealing the names that ranked highest on either side of the name-change spectrum: most-abandoned and most-adopted.
The top two names on both lists — Issac/Isaac and Chole/Chloe — clearly represent spelling corrections.
And my guess is that at least a portion of the boys named “Conner” had their names changed to the more common spelling “Connor.” (Connor has been a top-100 boy name since the early 1990s.)
My favorite thing about these rankings, though? The fact that Michael managed to balance itself out by ranking #6 on both lists. :)
(Thank you to Ellyn for letting me know about the WaPo articles!)
Looking for baby names that work for both genders?
Actually, let me rephrase that: Do you want to see which names are being given to sizeable numbers of baby boys and baby girls in the U.S. right now?
I wanted to ask the question in a more specific way because I think the details matter. Names can be gender-neutral in theory, but that doesn’t mean they’re being given to babies of both genders in practice.
Gender identity is a big topic of conversation these days, so it’s not surprising that an ever-growing number of parents are searching for baby names that aren’t strongly associated with one gender or the other.
To know what’s happening with baby names in real life, though, we need to focus on the data. That’s why I didn’t consider anything but data when I created the list below.
These names were culled from the 2021 U.S. baby name data (provided by the U.S. Social Security Administration). Each one saw usage that was at least one-third female and at least one-third male, making all of them relatively gender-neutral among today’s newborns.
Top gender-neutral baby names
Let’s start with a quick rundown of the 20 most popular gender-neutral baby names in the U.S. right now:
Parker
River
Charlie
Blake
Hayden
Emerson
Amari
Finley
Remington
Phoenix
Oakley
Dakota
Tatum
Rory
Ari
Alexis
Armani
Remy
Reign
Milan
Now here’s the same list again, but this time around I’ve added more information: data, rankings, popularity graphs, and definitions.
Parker (#1)
Last year, the name Parker was given to 6,229 babies. Of these babies, 2,406 (38.63%) were girls and 3,823 (61.37%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Parker placed 115th for girls and 93rd for boys.
Usage of the baby name Parker
Parker is an English surname that originally referred to someone who was employed as the keeper of a hunting park.
River (#2)
Last year, the name River was given to 5,317 babies. Of these babies, 1,862 (35.02%) were girls and 3,455 (64.98%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, River placed 151st for girls and 110th for boys.
Usage of the baby name River
River, the English word that refers to a flowing body of water, was derived from the Latin word ripa, meaning “riverbank” or “seashore.”
Charlie (#3)
Last year, the name Charlie was given to 4,190 babies. Of these babies, 2,202 (52.55%) were girls and 1,988 (47.45%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Charlie placed 127th for girls and 189th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Charlie
Charlie is a diminutive of the male name Charles, which ultimately comes from the Germanic name Karl, which meant “freeman” (i.e., not a serf or slave).
Interestingly, Charlie is a top-10 name for boys in some regions (like New Zealand and Ireland) and a top-10 name for girls in others (like Quebec).
Blake (#4)
Last year, the name Blake was given to 3,337 babies. Of these babies, 1,497 (44.86%) were girls and 1,840 (55.14%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Blake placed 199th for girls and 205th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Blake
Blake is an English surname that can be traced back to either of two Old English words that happen to have opposite meanings — one being “black,” the other being “white.”
Hayden (#5)
Last year, the name Hayden was given to 3,283 babies. Of these babies, 1,096 (33.38%) were girls and 2,187 (66.62%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Hayden placed 290th for girls and 176th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Hayden
Hayden is an English surname that originally referred to someone from one of several different like-named locations. In many cases, the place names were made up of elements meaning “hay” and “hill.” (Depending upon the location, though, the first element sometimes meant “fence enclosure,” and the second element sometimes meant “valley.”)
Emerson (#6)
Last year, the name Emerson was given to 2,952 babies. Of these babies, 1,729 (58.57%) were girls and 1,223 (41.43%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Emerson placed 167th for girls and 279th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Emerson
Emerson is an English surname that originally referred to the son of someone named Emery.
Amari (#7)
Last year, the name Amari was given to 2,880 babies. Of these babies, 972 (33.75%) were girls and 1,908 (66.25%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Amari placed 333rd for girls and 199th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Amari
Amari is a modern name that doesn’t seem to have a specific origin or meaning.
Finley (#8)
Last year, the name Finley was given to 2,705 babies. Of these babies, 1,407 (52.01%) were girls and 1,298 (47.99%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Finley placed 211th for girls and 265th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Finley
Finley is based on the Gaelic name Fionnlagh, which is made up of elements meaning “white” and “warrior.”
Remington (#9)
Last year, the name Remington was given to 2,475 babies. Of these babies, 890 (35.96%) were girls and 1,585 (64.04%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Remington placed 348th for girls and 231st for boys.
Usage of the baby name Remington
Remington is an English surname that originally referred to someone from the town of Rimington, in Lancashire. (It’s also an American gun brand.)
Phoenix (#10)
Last year, the name Phoenix was given to 2,454 babies. Of these babies, 1,032 (42.05%) were girls and 1,422 (57.95%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Phoenix placed 308th for girls and 248th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Phoenix
Phoenix, the word that refers the mythological bird that rises from its own ashes, was derived from an ancient Greek word meaning “crimson” or “purple.”
Oakley (#11)
Last year, the name Oakley was given to 2,292 babies. Of these babies, 1,524 (66.49%) were girls and 768 (33.51%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Oakley placed 193rd for girls and 403rd for boys.
Usage of the baby name Oakley
Oakley is an English surname that originally referred to someone from one of several different like-named locations. In all cases, the place names were made up of elements meaning “oak” and “clearing.”
Dakota (#12)
Last year, the name Dakota was given to 2,090 babies. Of these babies, 1,147 (54.88%) were girls and 943 (45.12%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Dakota placed 270th for girls and 344th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Dakota
Dakota, the name of a Native American tribe, means “friendly” or “allied” in the Siouan language of the Dakota people.
Tatum (#13)
Last year, the name Tatum was given to 1,959 babies. Of these babies, 1,125 (57.43%) were girls and 834 (42.57%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Tatum placed 279th for girls and 385th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Tatum
Tatum is an English surname that originally referred to the homestead of someone named Tata.
Rory (#14)
Last year, the name Rory was given to 1,919 babies. Of these babies, 789 (41.12%) were girls and 1,130 (58.88%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Rory placed 396th for girls and 295th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Rory
Rory is an Anglicized form of the Irish name Ruaidhri, which is made up of elements meaning “red” and “king.”
Ari (#15)
Last year, the name Ari was given to 1,598 babies. Of these babies, 649 (40.61%) were girls and 949 (59.39%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Ari placed 478th for girls and 342nd for boys.
Usage of the baby name Ari
Ari has several potential definitions, including: “lion” in Hebrew, “brave” in Armenian, and “eagle” in Icelandic.
Alexis (#16)
Last year, the name Alexis was given to 1,569 babies. Of these babies, 940 (59.91%) were girls and 629 (40.09%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Alexis placed 341st for girls and 472nd for boys.
Usage of the baby name Alexis
Alexis comes directly from the ancient Greek (male) name Alexis, which meant “helper” or “defender.”
Armani (#17)
Last year, the name Armani was given to 1,540 babies. Of these babies, 661 (42.92%) were girls and 879 (57.08%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Armani placed 469th for girls and 369th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Armani
Armani is an Italian surname that originally referred to the child of someone named Armano. (It’s also an Italian fashion brand.)
Remy (#18)
Last year, the name Remy was given to 1,451 babies. Of these babies, 550 (37.90%) were girls and 901 (62.10%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Remy placed 550th for girls and 357th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Remy
Remy, written Rémy in French, is based on the Latin name Remigius, which meant “oarsman.”
It’s interesting that both Remy and Remington are on this list. Remy is a standalone name…but it could also be used as a nickname for Remington.
Reign (#19)
Last year, the name Reign was given to 1,338 babies. Of these babies, 884 (66.07%) were girls and 454 (33.93%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Reign placed 349th for girls and 608th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Reign
Reign is an English word that can be traced back to the Latin word regnum, meaning “royal power” or “kingdom.”
Milan (#20)
Last year, the name Milan was given to 1,278 babies. Of these babies, 452 (35.37%) were girls and 826 (64.63%) were boys.
In terms of rankings, Milan placed 655th for girls and 388th for boys.
Usage of the baby name Milan
Milan is a Slavic name based on the element milu, meaning “dear, sweet.” (It’s also a city in northern Italy.)
More gender-neutral baby names
What other gender-neutral names made the cut?
Here are the names that were used a bit less often than the twenty above…
Number of babies*
Percent girls
Percent boys
Shiloh
1,245
61.69%
38.31%
Legacy
1,086
66.30%
33.70%
Salem
970
62.99%
37.01%
Briar
955
62.20%
37.80%
Denver
941
38.68%
61.32%
Skyler
930
58.92%
41.08%
Drew
913
37.13%
62.87%
Jamie
847
48.41%
51.59%
Bellamy
812
45.44%
54.56%
Justice
812
46.92%
53.08%
Azariah
794
47.23%
52.77%
Layne
761
43.63%
56.37%
Chandler
758
39.97%
60.03%
Ocean
673
45.77%
54.23%
*Male and female usage added together
All of the above ranked among both the top 1,000 girl names and the top 1,000 boy names last year. Two of the below (Robin and Landry) did as well.
Number of babies*
Percent girls
Percent boys
Quincy
653
33.38%
66.62%
Murphy
610
65.25%
34.75%
Tru
608
36.02%
63.98%
Kingsley
594
37.71%
62.29%
Robin
546
53.11%
46.89%
Amiri
502
34.46%
65.54%
Landry
489
55.01%
44.99%
Ira
465
35.91%
64.09%
Kacey
425
48.94%
51.06%
Joey
424
41.75%
58.25%
Campbell
414
50.72%
49.28%
True
405
53.09%
46.91%
Everest
385
34.55%
65.45%
Arden
385
58.70%
41.30%
Harlem
379
37.20%
62.80%
Shea
379
63.85%
36.15%
Sol
375
63.47%
36.53%
Bowie
370
36.76%
63.24%
*Male and female usage added together
Most of the above appeared in at least one top-1,000 list last year. The exceptions were Kacey, Campbell, True, Arden, Shea, and Sol.
None of the names from this point onward reached the top 1,000 for either gender.
Number of babies*
Percent girls
Percent boys
Hollis
362
45.03%
54.97%
Yael
348
39.37%
60.63%
Joan
340
45.59%
54.41%
Laken
315
56.19%
43.81%
Gentry
302
45.36%
54.64%
Lux
296
36.15%
63.85%
Sidney
293
55.29%
44.71%
Kasey
284
56.34%
43.66%
Kadence
280
66.43%
33.57%
Ever
278
40.65%
59.35%
Camdyn
270
36.67%
63.33%
Jael
270
48.15%
51.85%
Dominique
260
33.46%
66.54%
Montana
260
57.69%
42.31%
Kodi
258
56.20%
43.80%
Ramsey
254
47.24%
52.76%
Perry
253
42.69%
57.31%
Storm
245
57.14%
42.86%
Ashtyn
243
60.91%
39.09%
Honor
240
47.92%
52.08%
Kit
233
44.64%
55.36%
Brighton
232
46.98%
53.02%
Isa
227
33.48%
66.52%
Armoni
210
50.00%
50.00%
Merritt
208
60.58%
39.42%
Jupiter
206
62.62%
37.38%
Arrow
203
38.42%
61.58%
Laine
203
63.55%
36.45%
Jules
201
43.78%
56.22%
*Male and female usage added together
Here are the gender-neutral baby names that saw overall usage ranging from 100 to 199 babies (in descending order):
Most of the names above don’t have a long history of usage in the U.S., so they aren’t anchored one gender or the other — making them good options for expectant parents who want names that work for both genders.
Note that many fall into a handful of categories, including: nature names, place names, surnames, color names, and virtue names. It may be worthwhile to focus on categories like these as you continue your search, as they’ll tend to naturally contain a good proportion of gender-neutral names.
If you’d like to see popularity graphs for any of the names in this post, check below for the long list of tags. Each tag is a name, so just find the name you’re interested in and click through. The graph will need a moment to load — it’s grabbing a lot of data — but it will allow you to see at a glance the name’s current gender-balance (and make an informed guess about its near-future gender-balance, given the current trajectories).
The baby name Esty (a diminutive of Esther) is primarily used in the state of New York, thanks to the large Jewish community in New York City.
But the name was also featured in the Emmy-winning Netflix series Unorthodox a couple of years ago. So, last year, I checked the Esty data (both the national data and the New York data) to see if the show had influenced the name’s usage.
It may have — Esty did indeed see its highest-ever usage both nationally and in New York in 2020. Even more intriguingly, though, I noticed what seemed to be gaps in the recent NY data. Specifically, New York had no data on the name Esty for the years 2016, 2018, and 2019.
Check it out:
Esty usage in the U.S.
Esty usage in New York
2021
63
57
2020
68
60
2019
59
…
2018
41
…
2017
36
36
2016
43
…
2015
39
37
2014
37
35
I mean, It’s possible that the New York usage of Esty simply dropped below the 5-baby minimum during those particular years. As per the SSA:
To safeguard privacy, we exclude from our tabulated lists of names those that would indicate, or would allow the ability to determine, names with fewer than 5 occurrences in any geographic area.
If that were the case, though, you’d expect to see corresponding dips in the national usage. And we don’t see that here.
It seems more likely to me that some of the New York data is simply…missing.
So the next question is: Are there gaps in the NY data for other names as well?
The boy name Cheskel (a form of Chatzkel, which is based on Ezekiel) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 5 years straight:
Cheskel usage in the U.S.
Cheskel usage in New York
2021
29
29
2020
18
…
2019
27
…
2018
30
…
2017
23
…
2016
27
…
2015
22
21
2014
25
23
The girl name Chany (a diminutive of Channah) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 4 years straight:
Chany usage in the U.S.
Chany usage in New York
2021
65
58
2020
56
…
2019
60
…
2018
55
…
2017
56
…
2016
55
55
2015
44
43
2014
42
41
The boy name Naftuli (based on the Biblical name Naphtali) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 4 years straight:
Naftuli usage in the U.S.
Naftuli usage in New York
2021
29
29
2020
33
…
2019
33
…
2018
27
…
2017
24
…
2016
33
33
2015
24
22
2014
29
25
The girl name Idy didn’t appear in the New York state data for 4 years:
Idy usage in the U.S.
Idy usage in New York
2021
46
…
2020
47
47
2019
31
26
2018
29
…
2017
26
…
2016
25
…
2015
17
16
2014
15
13
The boy name Shmiel (a form of Shmuel, which is based on Samuel) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 4 years:
Shmiel usage in the U.S.
Shmiel usage in New York
2021
40
40
2020
45
…
2019
38
38
2018
31
…
2017
35
…
2016
44
…
2015
44
44
2014
38
37
The girl name Yides (a diminutive of Yehudit, which is a form of Judith) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 4 years:
Yides usage in the U.S.
Yides usage in New York
2021
39
…
2020
34
34
2019
51
…
2018
32
32
2017
39
…
2016
35
…
2015
42
42
2014
38
38
The boy name Berl didn’t appear in the New York state data for 4 years:
Berl usage in the U.S.
Berl usage in New York
2021
19
…
2020
17
17
2019
23
23
2018
18
…
2017
16
…
2016
22
…
2015
21
21
2014
19
18
The girl name Frady (a diminutive of Freyde) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 3 years straight:
Frady usage in the U.S.
Frady usage in New York
2021
25
25
2020
22
…
2019
23
…
2018
21
…
2017
21
21
2016
20
20
2015
17
14
2014
19
19
The girl name Pessy (a diminutive of Batya, which is a form of the Biblical name Bithiah) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 3 years:
Pessy usage in the U.S.
Pessy usage in New York
2021
63
51
2020
62
…
2019
41
…
2018
54
46
2017
41
33
2016
34
…
2015
46
45
2014
42
40
The boy name Lipa (a short form of Lipman, which is based on the name Liberman) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 3 years:
Lipa usage in the U.S.
Lipa usage in New York
2021
50
44
2020
48
43
2019
53
…
2018
44
38
2017
37
…
2016
42
…
2015
43
40
2014
50
50
The boy name Usher (a form of Asher) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 3 years:
Usher usage in the U.S.
Usher usage in New York
2021
41
36
2020
37
…
2019
58
…
2018
36
29
2017
34
…
2016
41
35
2015
45
40
2014
31
28
The boy name Avrum (a form of Abraham) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 3 years:
Avrum usage in the U.S.
Avrum usage in New York
2021
42
34
2020
37
28
2019
24
…
2018
29
24
2017
27
…
2016
25
…
2015
17
16
2014
23
22
The boy name Lazer (a form of Eliezer) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 3 years:
Lazer usage in the U.S.
Lazer usage in New York
2021
40
…
2020
37
31
2019
45
39
2018
29
…
2017
28
…
2016
43
35
2015
29
28
2014
33
31
The boy name Yossi (a diminutive of Yosef) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 3 years:
Yossi usage in the U.S.
Yossi usage in New York
2021
35
29
2020
30
…
2019
23
18
2018
30
24
2017
21
…
2016
29
…
2015
20
19
2014
25
19
The girl name Goldy (a diminutive of Golda) didn’t appear in the New York state data for 2 years:
Goldy usage in the U.S.
Goldy usage in New York
2021
69
57
2020
63
53
2019
51
44
2018
62
54
2017
56
…
2016
46
…
2015
48
42
2014
28
22
And, finally, the boy name Nachman didn’t appear in the New York state data for 2 years:
Nachman usage in the U.S.
Nachman usage in New York
2021
27
18
2020
23
17
2019
18
…
2018
20
12
2017
21
…
2016
21
16
2015
28
24
2014
27
20
If the gap years matched up more closely with one another — as with the glitch of 1989, for instance — I could chalk it up to a few incomplete batches of data.
But they don’t, so…I don’t know what to make of this.
Do you guys have any thoughts, or theories?
(If you’d like to examine the New York data for yourself, download the “State-specific data” file from the SSA website.)
These baby names are one-hit wonders in the U.S. baby name data. That is, they’ve only popped up once, ever, in the entire dataset of U.S. baby names (which accounts for all names given to at least 5 U.S. babies per year since 1880).
There are thousands of one-hit wonders in the dataset, but the names below have interesting stories behind their single appearance, so these are the one-hits I’m writing specific posts about. Just click on a name to read more.
As I discover (and write about) more one-hit wonders in the data, I’ll add the names/links to this page. In the meanwhile, do you have any favorite one-hit wonder baby names?
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