What were the most popular baby names in America in 2025, how long have the current No. 1 names held the top spot, and how different is today’s list from the names parents chose a century ago? The answers come from the Social Security Administration (SSA), which ranks the names given to babies born in the United States each birth year. SSA’s lists come from Social Security card applications for babies born in the United States.
The top 10 baby names of 2025
Olivia and Liam were the most popular baby names in the US in 2025, according to SSA data.
For girls born in 2025, SSA’s top 10, in order, is Olivia, Charlotte, Emma, Amelia, Sophia, Mia, Isabella, Evelyn, Sofia and Eliana. Sophia (5th) and Sofia (9th) are separate entries in SSA’s list.
For boys born in 2025, the top 10 is Liam, Noah, Oliver, Theodore, Henry, James, Elijah, Mateo, William and Lucas.
How long Olivia and Liam have led
Olivia has been the No. 1 girls’ name every year from 2019 to 2025, seven years in a row (our arithmetic); Emma held the spot in 2018. Liam has been the No. 1 boys’ name every year from 2017 to 2025, nine years in a row (our arithmetic), after Noah in 2016. SSA’s announcement of the 2025 names called it the seventh straight year that both names held the top spot, which counts the years the two led together.
Michael and Mary, the century’s leaders
SSA’s table of the top five names for each birth year from 1926 to 2025 shows which names have led most often. Over those 100 years, SSA says, Michael held the top spot for boys most often, 44 times, while Mary was ranked No. 1 for girls 30 times.
In that table, Michael first reached the top spot in 1954 and last held it in 1998. Mary’s last year in the girls’ top five was 1967, when she ranked fourth. Jacob had one of the longest recent runs, No. 1 for boys every year from 1999 to 2012.
Then and now: 1926 and 2025
| Girls, 1926 | Girls, 2025 | Boys, 1926 | Boys, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary | Olivia | Robert | Liam |
| Dorothy | Charlotte | John | Noah |
| Betty | Emma | James | Oliver |
| Helen | Amelia | William | Theodore |
| Margaret | Sophia | Charles | Henry |
Names are listed from 1st to 5th. Two of the 1926 top five boys’ names are still in the 2025 top 10: James, now 6th, and William, now 9th. None of the 1926 top five girls’ names is in the 2025 girls’ top 10.
Do boys’ names change more slowly?
By this one measure, they do: two of the five leading boys’ names of 1926 are still in the top 10 a century later, and none of the five leading girls’ names is. The comparison covers only the 1926 and 2025 lists shown here, not every year between them.
The short version
Olivia and Liam were America’s most popular baby names in 2025, according to SSA. Over the 100 birth years from 1926 to 2025, Michael was the No. 1 boys’ name most often, 44 times, and Mary led for girls 30 times.
Last checked: 2026-10-22, against the Social Security Administration’s Popular Baby Names pages for birth year 2025. This article was machine-checked against the sources above and has not been expert-reviewed. Spotted an error or a newer public figure? Please tell us on our contact page with the article link and we will review it.
Sources
- S1 Social Security Administration. Popular Baby Names: Top 10 Baby Names of 2025. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/ Accessed Oct 22, 2026.
- S2 Social Security Administration. Top 5 Names in Each of the Last 100 Years. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/top5names.html Accessed Oct 22, 2026.
- S3 Social Security Administration. Background information for popular names. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/background.html Accessed Oct 22, 2026.
- S4 Social Security Administration. Olivia and Liam Top America’s Most Popular Baby Names for the Seventh Straight Year. Press release, May 8, 2026. https://www.ssa.gov/news/en/press/releases/2026-05-08.html Accessed Oct 22, 2026.