Top 40 baby names of this decade—and what’s to come in the next

Get some naming inspiration right here, mama.
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Nameberry was born 10 years ago and to celebrate our 10 th anniversary, we undertook an original analysis of baby name data from the Social Security Administration.
Our statistics identify:
- Which girls’ and boys’ names were the hottest of the past decade
- Which unisex names switched gender identities
- Which international names have immigrated to the US
- Which baby names will be most popular ten years from now
- Which once-popular names are sailing toward extinction
Here are our original findings:
Most popular girls’ names
The girls’ names that increased the most in usage over the past decade include the surnames of a singing duo and a Golden Age screen siren, a sweet vintage name and new-fangled word names with elevated meanings.
- Everly
- Nova
- Adaline
- Paislee
- Harlow
- Royalty
- Henley
- Coraline
- Emberly
- Aitana
Most popular boys’ names
The boys’ names that have grown the most in usage over the past 10 years include the names of a Spanish footballer, a British Pakistani singer and a mythological strong man.
- Brantley
- Thiago
- Knox
- Jayceon
- Atlas
- Zayn
- Raylan
- Reyansh
- Huxley
- Brentley
10 names that switched genders
In a decade that brought transgender issues into the mainstream, many popular names switched from mostly female to mostly male or vice versa. Often the switch was inspired by a celebrity, such as Leighton Meester or Kyrie Irving, but that doesn’t always work in the direction you guess it will.
Peyton, first popularized by football star Manning, and Lennon, the surname of Beatle John, have both swung toward the girls’ side.
- Quinn – 28% to 80% girls
- Peyton – 45% to 77% girls
- Leighton – 27% to 74% girls
- Lennon – 20% to 65% girls
- Sutton – 26% to 64% girls
- Kyrie – 14% to 91% boys
- Raylan – 44% to 91% boys
- Bentlee – 32% to 84% boys
- Tru – 47% to 70% boys
- Milan – 36% to 64% boys
10 names that immigrated to the U.S.
This decade saw an explosion in online communication and an increasing globalization of everything from fashion to food to baby names.
Parents in the US have fallen in love with a range of names from around the world. Those whose usage have increased the most in the past 10 years, many inspired by international celebrities, include:

Top 10 girls’ names of 2028
Our analysis of the Social Security data also includes exclusive statistical projections of future baby name popularity, with calculations of the Top 1000 Baby Names of 2028 .
We created an algorithm that analyzes each name’s past popularity trajectory and projects its rank going forward, to help parents gauge the trendiness of the names they’re considering.
Here, our predicted “Top 10 Names for Girls” 10 years from now, which include three new names, marked with an asterisk.
- Charlotte
- Amelia
- Harper*
- Emma
- Olivia
- Evelyn
- Mia
- Aria*
- Ava
- Sofia*
Top 10 boys’ names of 2028
In a departure from patterns of the past, we see boys’ names changing more than girls’ over the next decade,
Here, our projected “Top 10 for Boys of 2028” including seven new choices marked with asterisks.
- Liam
- Mateo*
- Maverick*
- Noah
- Lincoln*
- Lucas*
- Henry*
- Theodore*
- Jaxon*
- Oliver
10 classic names dominating the next decade
Sure, there are always the trendy invented names and the celebrity-inspired rising stars. But there are also a handful of classic names we project will increase dramatically in usage over the next decade.
Get ready for a new generation of babies with these 10 hot classic names.
- Anastasia
- Declan
- Eleanor
- Eloise
- Emmett
- Ezra
- Iris
- June
- Luca
- Silas
10 names on their way out
As new names take the stage, others must by necessity fade away. These 10 once-popular names have dropped precipitously in usage over the past 10 years and may be headed for extinction or at least the deep freeze.
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- Ashlee
- Braeden and Braden
- Breanna
- Brenden and Branden
- Isis
- Jaydon, Jadon, Jadyn, Jaden, and Jaidyn
- Devon and Devin
- Kaitlin, Caitlin, and Caitlyn
- Rachael
- Shannon and Sean
Originally posted on Nameberry .