The 100 Most Popular Baby Names of the Decade

Every decade has its own baby name trends. Thanks to recent data from the Social Security Administration, we now know the most popular baby names of the 2010s (or at least from 2010 to 2018, the latest year analyzed).

The 2010s saw a rise in the number of babies with gender-neutral names (like Cameron, Jordan, and Avery). That trend could be due in part to rising awareness of gender fluidity, although some parents state other reasons for choosing unisex names.

“Whether we like it or not, names that skew a little masculine, or less feminine, are perceived as stronger, and I wanted that for my girls,” San Francisco resident Kirsten Hammann told the Associated Press.

Parents are also newly into vowels, possibly because names with roughly one vowel per consonant (like Emma, Noah, and Elijah) are more “liquid sounding,” baby-naming expert Laura Wattenberg told The Atlantic. Baby names are also trending shorter than they were in the 1990s and 2000s.

One trend that’s been consistent throughout the 21st century as a whole: Parents are resistant to following conventional naming trends. Modern parents are far more likely to opt for unique baby names than for traditionally popular names. In the 1950s, more than 30 percent of boys born in the United States received a top 10 name, San Diego State University psychologist Jean Twenge and colleagues wrote in 2010. In 2007, less than 10 percent of boys had a top 10 name. Girls are even less likely to have a common name—25 percent of girls born in the 1950s had a top 10 name, while less than 8 percent of girls born in 2007 had a highly popular name.

That trend seems to have been even more pronounced this decade. According to the Social Security Administration’s data, more than 163,000 baby boys born between 2010 and 2018 were given the name Noah (the most popular male name of the decade). In the 2000s, about 274,000 boys were named Jacob, and more than 462,000 boys born in the 1990s were named Michael.

“The most compelling explanation left is this idea that parents are much more focused on their children standing out,” Dr. Twenge told Live Science in 2010. “There’s been this cultural shift toward focusing on the individual, toward standing out and being unique as opposed to fitting in with the group and following the rules.”

Below, you’ll find the list of the 100 most popular baby names of the decade. Want to get a head start on figuring out what names will be popular in the 2020s? Check out this list.

1. Emma

1. Sophia

1. Olivia

1. Noah

1. Isabella

1. Liam

1. Jacob

1. Mason

1. William

1. Ava

1. Ethan

1. Michael

1. Alexander

1. James

1. Elijah

1. Daniel

1. Benjamin

1. Aiden

1. Jayden

1. Mia

1. Logan

1. Matthew

1. Abigail

1. Emily

1. David

1. Joseph

1. Lucas

1. Jackson

1. Anthony

1. Joshua

1. Samuel

1. Andrew

1. Gabriel

1. Christopher

1. John

1. Madison

1. Charlotte

1. Dylan

1. Carter

1. Isaac

1. Elizabeth

1. Ryan

1. Luke

1. Oliver

1. Nathan

1. Henry

1. Owen

1. Amelia

1. Caleb

1. Wyatt

1. Chloe

1. Christian

1. Ella

1. Sebastian

1. Evelyn

1. Jack

1. Avery

1. Sofia

1. Harper

1. Jonathan

1. Landon

1. Julian

1. Isaiah

1. Hunter

1. Levi

1. Grace

1. Addison

1. Aaron

1. Victoria

1. Eli

1. Charles

1. Natalie

1. Thomas

1. Connor

1. Lily

1. Brayden

1. Nicholas

1. Jaxon

1. Jeremiah

1. Aubrey

1. Cameron

1. Evan

1. Adrian

1. Jordan

1. Lillian

1. Gavin

1. Zoey

1. Hannah

1. Grayson

1. Angel

1. Robert

1. Layla

1. Tyler

1. Josiah

1. Brooklyn

1. Austin

1. Samantha

1. Zoe

1. Colton

1. Brandon