Check Out if Your Baby's Name Fall Into the Top Baby Names of Last Year

The Social Security Administration has posted a list of the 20 most common baby names from last year. The names aren’t very creative.

The results are almost the same as the scores for 2021, with only one new name showing up. The top three names for girls are still “Olivia,” “Emma,” and “Charlotte,” and the top three names for boys are still “Liam,” “Noah,” and “Oliver.”

There were no new names in the top 10 for boys, but some of them moved up or down the list. And there was only one new name in the top 10 girl’s names: Luna, which is the Latin word for moon. (According to the American Kennel Club, it’s also the most common name for female dogs.) It took the 10th spot away from Harper, which was there last year.

But the history of baby names shows that this lack of change is pretty normal. Just 10 years ago, the top five names for girls were Sophia, Emma, Isabella, Olivia, and Ava. All five are still on the list this year but in a different order.

Social Security statistics show that there is usually one name that stays at the top for about a decade. For example, Jennifer was the most popular name for girls from 1970 until 1985, when Jessica took over. From 1996 to 2007, Emily was the most popular name for girls. And since 2019, it seems like Olivia’s reign will last for a long time.

The tweet below confirms the stats:

The Social Security Administration has released the 20 most popular baby names of last year, and the results are … less than original https://t.co/iPdaq2uLKd
— CNN (@CNN) May 13, 2023

Even less change can be seen in the history of male names. From 1954 to 1998, Michael was the most popular name for boys almost every year. Only once, in 1960, did David take the top spot.

In 2021, baby name expert Laura Wattenberg told NPR that fame is a “dominant factor” when it comes to naming babies: “Popular just means well-liked,” she explained. “Having a popular name didn’t make a child’s life worse.” So don’t worry, Olivias and Liams: you might meet other people like you, but you’re still unique.