Most "fastest rising baby names" lists repeat each other. This one is different in one way: we downloaded the US Social Security Administration's national baby name file and calculated the changes ourselves, so every number below can be traced back to the data. We are not predicting anything. These are the names that moved most between 2024 and 2025.
The short version: Olivia and Liam are still number one. Charlotte moved up to #2 for girls, Eliana jumped into the girls' top 10 (from #18), Ava dropped out of it, and Theodore holds #4 for boys. Among less common names, a family of "-lani" and "-lany" names climbed together.
How we calculated this
- Data: the SSA's national baby name files, files
yob2024.txtandyob2025.txt, downloaded on 8 November 2026. - Rank: the SSA file lists each sex's names by number of births, with ties in alphabetical order. A name's rank is its position in that list. We computed rank per sex.
- Climbers and fallers: we only compared names that were in the top 1,000 for their sex in both years, so a name that appeared from nowhere doesn't distort the list. "Places gained" is the 2024 rank minus the 2025 rank.
- Caveats: the SSA counts people who have a Social Security number, and drops names with fewer than five occurrences, so it isn't every birth. Names with small counts move a lot on small changes. For example, a girls' name rising 400 places might be about 290 more babies. We show the counts so you can judge.
The 2025 top 10
Girls
| 2025 rank | Name | Births in 2025 | 2024 rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olivia | 13,544 | 1 |
| 2 | Charlotte | 13,400 | 4 |
| 3 | Emma | 12,754 | 2 |
| 4 | Amelia | 12,699 | 3 |
| 5 | Sophia | 12,561 | 6 |
| 6 | Mia | 11,078 | 5 |
| 7 | Isabella | 10,666 | 7 |
| 8 | Evelyn | 9,123 | 8 |
| 9 | Sofia | 8,252 | 10 |
| 10 | Eliana | 8,191 | 18 |
What changed: Charlotte rose from #4 to #2. Sophia moved up a place and Mia down one. Eliana rose from #18 to #10. Ava, which was #9 in 2024, is now #11.
Boys
| 2025 rank | Name | Births in 2025 | 2024 rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liam | 20,818 | 1 |
| 2 | Noah | 20,358 | 2 |
| 3 | Oliver | 14,939 | 3 |
| 4 | Theodore | 13,355 | 4 |
| 5 | Henry | 12,020 | 6 |
| 6 | James | 11,945 | 5 |
| 7 | Elijah | 11,111 | 8 |
| 8 | Mateo | 11,045 | 7 |
| 9 | William | 10,545 | 10 |
| 10 | Lucas | 10,219 | 9 |
What changed: Much less. The top four are identical to 2024. Henry and James swapped (Henry is now #5), Elijah and Mateo swapped, and William and Lucas swapped. No name left the top 10.
The longer climb: Theodore, Eliana and others
A single year hides the bigger shifts. Here is the rank of a few names in 2005, 2015 and 2025, from the same SSA files:
| Name | 2005 rank | 2015 rank | 2025 rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theodore (boys) | 299 | 99 | 4 |
| Henry (boys) | 102 | 29 | 5 |
| Mateo (boys) | 302 | 85 | 8 |
| Eliana (girls) | 304 | 102 | 10 |
| Hazel (girls) | 514 | 63 | 21 |
| Luna (girls) | 594 | 112 | 27 |
Names like Theodore and Eliana went from outside the top 300 to the top 10 in twenty years.
Biggest climbers, 2024 to 2025
Girls (top 1,000 in both years)
| Name | 2024 rank | 2025 rank | Places gained | Births 2024 → 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analeia | 920 | 514 | +406 | 289 → 579 |
| Campbell | 955 | 617 | +338 | 273 → 474 |
| Kailany | 897 | 581 | +316 | 297 → 511 |
| Aylani | 562 | 293 | +269 | 541 → 1,043 |
| Romy | 928 | 698 | +230 | 286 → 407 |
| Meilani | 814 | 591 | +223 | 341 → 498 |
| Ainsley | 704 | 483 | +221 | 399 → 621 |
| Solana | 691 | 495 | +196 | 411 → 599 |
Boys (top 1,000 in both years)
| Name | 2024 rank | 2025 rank | Places gained | Births 2024 → 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyaire | 654 | 367 | +287 | 422 → 878 |
| Eiden | 810 | 537 | +273 | 312 → 558 |
| Kolter | 835 | 600 | +235 | 297 → 476 |
| Kyren | 808 | 584 | +224 | 313 → 504 |
| Chozen | 742 | 523 | +219 | 347 → 571 |
| Truce | 992 | 774 | +218 | 227 → 331 |
| Kaysen | 597 | 415 | +182 | 480 → 772 |
| Bryer | 869 | 704 | +165 | 278 → 382 |
A pattern worth noticing: several of the fastest-rising girls' names share an ending: Kailany, Aylani and Meilani all climbed 200 to 300 places. The SSA file also shows a similar spelling, Ailany, with 7,136 girls in 2025 against 2,606 in 2024, and Ailani nearly doubling, from 950 to 1,807. We can see the pattern in the data. We can't say what caused it, and we haven't investigated, so treat it as an observation rather than an explanation.
Biggest fallers
Girls
| Name | 2024 rank | 2025 rank | Places lost | Births 2024 → 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novalee | 743 | 977 | -234 | 379 → 261 |
| Dayana | 497 | 716 | -219 | 619 → 392 |
| Addilyn | 772 | 988 | -216 | 365 → 256 |
| Aleah | 756 | 965 | -209 | 372 → 265 |
| Aviana | 692 | 887 | -195 | 410 → 301 |
| Adalee | 805 | 987 | -182 | 350 → 256 |
Boys
| Name | 2024 rank | 2025 rank | Places lost | Births 2024 → 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damir | 796 | 982 | -186 | 316 → 233 |
| Quentin | 784 | 968 | -184 | 321 → 238 |
| Izan | 713 | 884 | -171 | 372 → 269 |
| Crue | 629 | 797 | -168 | 446 → 314 |
| Drake | 659 | 827 | -168 | 416 → 299 |
| Kylian | 460 | 624 | -164 | 681 → 448 |
These are all names that were already uncommon, between about #460 and #800 the year before. Falling a few hundred places here usually means roughly 80 to 230 fewer babies, not a collapse.
What this means if you're choosing a name
- Top-10 names stay popular year after year. If you like a top-10 name, expect to meet other children with it. If you don't want that, the rising names further down are a way to find something that feels current but isn't everywhere. Our name directory shows meanings and origins for each.
- A big rank jump can be a small number of babies. Check the birth counts before assuming a name is trending.
- Popularity is one filter, not the decision. Say the name with your surname, check the initials, and ask whether you'd still pick it if nobody else did. Our guide to narrowing down a long list walks through it.
If you and your partner are building a shortlist, Namely lets you filter names by style, origin and popularity, swipe separately, and match only on names you both like (see how the filters work). Get it on the App Store or Google Play.
Quick answers
What is the most popular baby name in the US? In the SSA's 2025 data, Olivia is #1 for girls (13,544 births) and Liam is #1 for boys (20,818).
Which baby names are rising fastest? Among names in the top 1,000 both years, the largest rank gains for girls were Analeia, Campbell and Kailany, and for boys Kyaire, Eiden and Kolter. See the tables above.
Is this a prediction for next year? No. It describes what happened between 2024 and 2025. Names can reverse.
Data: US Social Security Administration, national baby name files (yob2024.txt, yob2025.txt), downloaded 8 November 2026. Rankings and changes calculated by Namely. The SSA's data covers people with a Social Security number and omits names with fewer than five occurrences.