The Most Popular Baby Names in 2026

When parents begin the search for a baby name, the most common first question is simple: what are other people choosing? In the United States the authoritative answer comes from one place — the Social Security Administration, which publishes national name counts every May based on the previous year's births.

Who is on top

In the most recent SSA release, Olivia and Liam held the number-one spots for girls and boys — the seventh year in a row for both. Among girls, Charlotte climbed to second, Eliana debuted in the top ten, and Ava slipped out of it.

The rest of the top ten stays familiar. Names like Emma, Amelia, Sophia, and Mia for girls, and Noah, Oliver, James, and Elijah for boys, have all held top-ten spots in recent years. For the full ranked list — updated as each SSA release lands — see the NameTree names directory, or the SSA data directly.

Why popularity is useful — but only as one input

A popularity ranking answers three practical questions at once: how familiar a name will feel to teachers and relatives, how likely your child is to share it with a classmate, and which spellings are dominant. A name near the very top is a safe, well-understood choice; a name outside the top few hundred will feel more distinctive.

What the list can't tell you is whether a name fits your family. Popularity is a measure of what other people did last year, not a recommendation. Plenty of enduring names sit well below the top ten, and a name's rank says nothing about its meaning, its history, or how it sounds with your surname.

How to use the list

• Check the trend, not just the rank. A name climbing quickly may feel very common by the time your child is in school; a steady mid-list name tends to age more quietly.
• Watch for spelling splits. SSA counts each spelling separately, so a sound like "Sofia/Sophia" or "Aiden/Ayden" is more common than any single ranked entry suggests.
• Pair it with meaning and sound. Once a name clears the popularity check you're comfortable with, run it through the rest of the process — see How to Pick a Baby Name That Still Feels Right Later and How to Research a Name's Meaning and Origin.

Popularity is the easiest place to start and the wrong place to stop. Use it to get oriented, then let meaning, sound, and family context decide.

Sources

• U.S. Social Security Administration — Popular Baby Names (national rankings, updated annually).
• U.S. Social Security Administration — press release, May 8, 2026: Olivia and Liam top the list for a seventh consecutive year.