Latest Baby Name Stats Released! 🥳

Let’s dive in!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… 🎶

Forget Christmas! The brand new US baby name stats for 2021 were released on Friday and we’ve spent the ensuing 72 hours delving into every corner of the new data.

New Top Names and Fastest Rising 🔥

Hot off the press, here are the latest Top 10 lists for both sexes.

Top 10 Girls

1. Olivia (=)

2. Emma (=)

3. Charlotte (+1)

4. Amelia (+2)

5. Ava (-2)

6. Sophia (-1)

7. Isabella (=)

8. Mia (=)

9. Evelyn (=)

10. Harper (=)

Top 10 Boys

1. Liam (=)

2. Noah (=)

3. Oliver (=)

4. Elijah (=)

5. James (+1)

6. William (-1)

7. Benjamin (=)

8. Lucas (=)

9. Henry (=)

10. Theodore (+13)

Theodore’s dramatic rise has everyone talking, but there are some big gainers just outside the Top 10 too. 

Jack and Levi moved up 10 and 6 places respectively to rank at #10 and #11, and Luna gained 3 spots and over 350 extra births to rank at #11 for girls. We expect all three to break the official Top 10 in 2022 🔮

Other big movers in the Top 100 include Leilani (+25), Autumn (+16), Josephine (+15), Alice and Ruby (both +12) for girls. For boys, Waylon (+34), Luca (+25), Kai (+22), Beau and Brooks (both +15) were the biggest winners in the Top 100.

For more analysis of the fastest rising and falling names, as well as the hottest categories of the year, check out our ultimate guide to the top baby names of 2021.

Cool Names on the Rise 📈

One of the most fascinating parts of each new year’s data for us is to look at what’s going on not at the top, but at the bottom of the charts.

We can all debate on whether Liam or Oliver might be the nation’s new #1, but predicting the names that might break into the hallowed Top 1000 – or even appear on the extended list for the very first time – is much more tricky!

The newest entrants to the Top 1000 include some we’ve been talking about for years: like Billie, Clover and Indigo for girls; Bowie, Cassian and Elio for boys.

But there are also some real surprises! Say hello to Arlette and Soleil, Amiri and Jiriaya 🤗

Breakout Baby Names 2021

And then there are the true novelties. Over 1000 baby names featured on the US extended list for the first time ever in 2021.

For a full tally of all the brand new names in the charts, be sure to check out the lists below, researched and compiled by our brilliant Berry @Wandarine 🤩

Brand New Girl Names

Fresh possibilities for girls are led by Namaari, the name of a villain in the 2021 Disney hit Raya and the Last Dragon, which was given to 43 baby girls last year. 

Other debuts for girls include Este, inspired by a Taylor Swift song; Lupine, the middle name of Jenny Slate’s daughter'; and Styles – proof if it were needed that Gen Z is now a big baby naming demographic!

Brand New Boy Names

For boys, the highest breakout name is Azaire, given to 25 boys. Picking up sounds from trending choices like Zaire and Azariah, it was the name of an indie hip hop album released in 2021.

Other interesting debuts for boys include Biden, a new addition to the presidential roster; Lightning, chosen by Usain Bolt for his daughter’s middle in 2020; and Arcturus and Regulus, both mythological names brought back into the spotlight by Harry Potter.

Keep your eyes peeled for more coverage of the latest trends on the Nameberry blog this week, including a breakdown of the top names by state and the best baby names below the Top 1000.

And from the Nameberry team, a very happy Mother’s Day to everyone celebrating! 🎊