Best Baby Names 2026

The top of the girls' list hasn't changed drastically in the last few years. Olivia, Emma, Amelia continue to hold the top spots. What's different is the gap between #1 and #20. It's gotten smaller. Parents are spreading out. The days of one name dominating an entire generation (looking at you, Jennifer) are probably over.

That's actually good news if you're picking a name from this list. Even a "popular" name won't mean your kid is one of five in the class. The #1 name today accounts for roughly 1% of all births. In the 1950s, the top name was closer to 4%.

Looking for the full breakdown? Our popular baby names by year pages let you compare any year back to the 1880s.

Boy names move slower than girl names. Always have. Liam has been in the top 5 for years. The boys' list tends to be more conservative. Parents take bigger swings with girls' names and play it safer with boys'. That pattern shows up in every decade of SSA data going back to the 1880s.

One thing that has shifted: the Old Testament names that dominated for decades (Michael, David, Daniel) have given way to shorter, punchier options. Two-syllable names with strong consonant openings are where the momentum is. That said, the classics haven't disappeared. They've just slid from top 5 to top 30.

You can run any of these names through our baby name tournament to narrow your list down through head-to-head matchups. It's faster than staring at a spreadsheet.

A ranked list is a starting point, not an answer. You're not picking a name because it's #4 on a chart. You're picking it because it fits your family, sounds right with your surname, and won't cause problems in the schoolyard.