Liam and Olivia, the most popular baby names in the US last year
Names like Chosen, Georgina and Winona are on the rise, according to the Social Security Administration
Prepare to meet a lot of Liams in the future. In 2022, Liam was the most popular male baby name in the U.S. The Social Security Administration has released its annual list of the most popular baby names in the U.S. The agency tracks newborn names in each state based on applications for Social Security cards since 1997, which often shows the impact pop culture has on baby naming trends. It’s possible that some parents named their kids after famous Liams, such as actor Liam Hemsworth or Liam Payne from One Direction.
This is the sixth year Liam has been on the first place. On the other hand, Olivia has been the most popular girl’s name for four years, when it took the throne from Emma, now in second place. Olivia previously held that spot from 2014 to 2018. In third place is Charlotte, followed by Amelia and Sophia. For boys’ names, Liam (which was ranked 104th in 2005) is followed by Noah, Oliver, James, and Elijah. Here’s the top 10 for boys and girls:
Top boy baby names in 2022
- Liam
- Noah
- Oliver
- James
- Elijah
- William
- Henry
- Lucas
- Benjamin
- Theodore
Top girl baby names in 2022
- Olivia
- Emma
- Charlotte
- Amelia
- Sophia
- Isabella
- Ava
- Mia
- Evelyn
- Luna
Apparently, the hit show Yellowstone has influenced new parents. Dutton, the last name of the main character (played by Kevin Costner) moved up the Social Security list to 835th place. The year before it was ranked 986th, making it the fastest-rising name in the rankings. Kayce, another name associated with the Dutton family, played by Luke Grimes, is the 578th most popular name. In 2021, it was ranked 1,077th. Rip, another name from the show, gained popularity but did not make it into the top 1,000.
Other boy names that have increased in popularity are Chosen, Khaza, Eithan and Waylen for boys. For girls, Wrenlee, Neriah, Arlet and Georgina are now more popular.
The names that decreased their popularity were Jacoby, Turner, Aydin, Juelz, Jamal and Jesiah for boys, and Tatiana, Aliya, Jaylene, Aarna and Zoie for girls.
The Social Security Administration’s latest data shows 3.64 million babies in the U.S. were issued Social Security cards last year. The SSA says that a children’s Social Security number is the first step in ensuring valuable protection for any benefits they may be eligible for in the future. A social security number is needed to claim the children as dependent on your income tax return, or open a bank account in the child’s name purchase savings bonds, obtain medical coverage, or apply for any government services for the child.
In the SSA website people can check what were the most popular names by birth year or learn how the popularity of a name has changed with time.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition
More information
