Top 20 Baby Names in the U.S. and England Revealed

These are the 20 most popular baby names in the U.S. and England

We can agree on Arlo, but not Alfie.

By Heather Marcoux Updated Feb. 18, 2025

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There are so many lists expecting parents have to keep track of—things to buy, appointments to make—but no list is as much fun for a soon-to-be parent to peruse as an official list of popular baby names. Whether you want to make sure your baby is on trend, or you’re trying to avoid anything too popular, government baby name lists provide parents with a ton of naming information and inspiration. Stateside, the Social Security Administration announced its annual list of the most popular baby names back in May, but parents in England had to wait for their list. In September the Office for National Statistics released its list of the most popular baby names in England and Wales for 2017—and while some popular British names (hello, Alfie) don’t cross the ocean, many trendsetting names do.

Let’s compare the Top 10 names in England and Wales with the most popular names in the USA.

Oliver, James, and Noah appear on both Top 10 lists for boys.

United States

Liam Noah William James Logan Benjamin Mason Elijah Oliver Jacob

England and Wales

Oliver Harry George Noah Jack Jacob Leo Oscar Charlie Muhammad

While Olivia, Ava, Mia, Amelia, and Isabella are favored by girl parents on both sides of the Atlantic.

United States

Emma Olivia Ava Isabella Sophia Mia Charlotte Amelia Evelyn Abigail

England and Wales

Olivia Amelia Isla Ava Emily Isabella Mia Poppy Ella Lily

Beyond the Top 10 lists

When we look beyond the governments’ Top 10 lists and dig further into the statistics we find more names that are charting in both the USA and England. Hunter Made it’s first appearance in the English top 100, coming out of nowhere to take spot 78. Stateside, Hunter has been pretty steady, moving around in the middle of the top 100 since 2000. Aurora Has hit the British top 100 for the first time, about two years after doing the same stateside, where it has gone from being ranked 488 in 2000 to sitting at 51 in the most recent statistics. Luna Chrissy Teigen’s first born’s name moved up 30 places to number 48 in the English charts. In the USA Luna’s doing even better, ranked as the 37th most popular name for girls in America. Iris Has gone from the 400s to spot 149 in 17 years on the American chart, and is experiencing a similar climb in England and Wales. Hallie Although not as popular now as it was in 2000, this name is seeing a resurgence stateside, and is also becoming popular with parents in the UK. Max Is the 27th most popular name for boys in England and Wales, and while it doesn’t make it into the top 100 in America, it has gone up 36 spots in the last 17 years. Finley This name is more popular for girls in the USA, but takes spot 31 on the English list for boys. Arlo This name wasn’t even in America’s top 1000 back in 2010, but has moved all the way to 316, meaning 1084 babies were named Arlo in the USA last year. In England and Wales, this name takes the 42nd spot, with 1,470 little Arlos welcomed in the latest stats. Scarlett This name has skyrocketed in the USA in the last two decades, going from 942 in 2000 all the way up to the 18th most popular name for girls last year. In England, Scarlett is ranked number 30 for most popular girls names. Maisie Sits at number 46 on the English chart, and while it’s much less popular in the USA, it has moved up 129 spots since 2014, now sitting at no. 524. Ruby This name has seen a huge climb in America in recent years, going from the 200s in 2000 all the way up to 79 last year. In England and Wales, 1,688 girls took the name last year, making it the 29th most popular girls name. Finn This name just inched into the Top 100 in England and Wales, but isn’t quite there yet in America. Finn is climbing tough, moving up 668 spots since 2000.