Liam and Olivia Top the Charts Again: America’s Most Popular Baby Names of 2025
May 13, 2026
If parents across the country had a naming playbook in 2025, most of them were reading the same page. According to data released by the Social Security Administration in recognition of Mother’s Day, Liam and Olivia held their positions as the nation’s most popular names for newborn boys and girls, a streak now nine and seven years long, respectively.
The SSA compiles its annual rankings from Social Security number applications filed for newborns. In 2025, roughly 3.6 million such applications were processed.
For girls, Charlotte, Emma, Amelia and Sophia followed Olivia in the top five. On the boys’ side, Noah, Oliver, Theodore and Henry rounded out the top five behind Liam.
The only name to break into either top 10 for the first time this year was Eliana, which climbed eight spots to land at No. 10 on the girls’ list. The name carries broad cross-cultural appeal and is popular among both Hispanic and Jewish families, among others. Its arrival pushed Ava, a longtime top 10 fixture, to No. 11.
While the top tier stayed largely settled, activity further down the list told a more dynamic story. On the boys’ side, Kasai, meaning “fire” in Japanese and Swahili, jumped more than 1,100 positions to enter the top 1,000, the largest single-year gain of any boys’ name. For girls, Klarity, a fresh spelling of the word “clarity,” posted the most dramatic rise on the girls’ side.
Pop culture continued to shape naming decisions nationwide. The name Ailany, rooted in Hispanic naming traditions and associated with meanings including “shining light” and “high chief,” vaulted from outside the top 100 to No. 14 in a single year. The TV series “Yellowstone” appears to have given Stetson a boost among boy names, while the British period drama “Bridgerton” has kept Eloise in conversation.
Other names gathering momentum for girls include Margot, Evangeline, Hallie and Emerson. For boys, Beckett, Callum and Charlie are drawing growing interest from parents looking just outside the mainstream.
