The data is in! The US Social Security Administration has released its official list of the most popular baby names of 2021.
For the third year in a row, Olivia remains the number one name for girls in the US after overtaking Emma in 2019. Meanwhile, Liam holds steady as the most popular name for boys for the fifth straight year.
The SSA compiles the annual list based on the names parents in the US gave their babies born in the previous year. Although the top name rankings usually don’t shift dramatically from year to year, there were a few interesting changes from 2020 to 2021.
James surpassed William for fourth spot. The only other change on the boys top 10 list is that Theodore made the ranking for the first time, coming in at number 10 and bumping Alexander down to number 13.
As for the girls, all of the names in the top 10 are the same ones from 2020, but with a few changes in the order. Charlotte is now the third most popular name choice for girls, continuing a steady rise that began in the 1990s. Amelia also jumped up the list from number six to number four.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 girls’ and boys’ names of 2021 as chosen by US parents.
Girls
Olivia
Emma
Charlotte
Amelia
Ava
Sophia
Isabella
Mia
Evelyn
Harper
Boys
Liam
Noah
Oliver
Elijah
James
William
Benjamin
Lucas
Henry
Theodore