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Time for names in the news 5.10.26!
Happy Mother’s Day to all celebrating.
And if today is hard, please know that I’m lifting you up, too.
If you’re reading this, I can almost guarantee you know that the brand-new baby name data was released on Friday by the US Social Security Administration.
Because I’m still reviewing all of the data, I’ve been avoiding other coverage of the breaking news.
So far, I’ve done a deep dive into all the new names:
- 49 boys’ names returned to or debuted on the updated list.
- In addition, 43 girl names are on the new list that weren’t there last year.
Rather than my unusual run-down, I want to emphasize two of my thoughts from my big-picture trends list.
Table of Contents
ENGLISH IS CHANGING … AGAIN
It’s easy to believe that English was fixed and unchanging. We used to have normal names until (insert the generation you prefer to scapegoat here) came along and ruined it.
The language we speak – and therefor the names we choose – have been forever transformed by time and time again. Consider the rapid changes in the Anglo-Norman era. Or try to read a 19th century novel. Even a newspaper from the 1950s sounds markedly different.
Over the last 70-plus years, the biggest factor in American English has been the rise of Spanish in the US. It explains our love of liquid, flowing names – Liam, Noah, Mia, Sofia, even new-to-the-Top-Ten Eliana.
But that’s already baked in.
The new, interesting trend? Asian names. Japanese and Korean, fueled by our love of anime and K-Pop.
Hawaiian names are the wedge. Kai and Koa and Leilani bridge that flowing, liquid sound with something very different.
It’s too soon to say how this will impact the names American parents choose for our children. After all, we’re appropriately wary of cultural appropriation now and that limits the names that many families will consider.
THE TOP TEN MATTERS LESS THAN EVER BEFORE
On the boys’ side, seven of the Top Ten names are actually declining in use. On the girls’ side? Six out of ten.
This isn’t new, either. The Top Ten has always hinged on which new names rise enough to unseat the current favorites. It’s just that as fewer names reach the top of the charts, the Top Ten remain in place longer – because there’s nothing coming up in significant enough numbers to unseat the current favorites.
But in 1950, the top names – James and Linda were given to more than 4.5% of the children born that year. #10 name Gary was chosen for 1.85% of boys; #10 Kathleen went to 1.46% of girls.
By 1975, just over 4% of boys were named Michael, with a little over 3.7% of girls answering to Jennifer. At the bottom of the Top Ten, 1.58% were William, and just under 1% were named Nicole.
Now look at 2025: only 1.13% of boys received the top name, Liam, with about .77% named Olivia. Those numbers well below the #10 names circa 1975.
What does matter?
- Trending sounds – All those El- names for girls, for example
- Similar names with slightly different spellings – Elliott and Elliot
- Different endings of the same name – Luke, Luca, and Lucas or Sophia, Sofia, and Sophie
- A very popular nickname and an even-more popular formal name, or vice versa: Theodore and Theo, Lily and Lillian
These are all incredibly tough to spot, but will likely impact how you think about your child’s name popularity more than an actual numeric ranking.
Okay, I’m back to updating all the lists. Stay tuned for more fun updates to come!
That’s all for today. As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
