What is this calculator for?
You and your partner are deciding between Olivia, Emma, and Charlotte for your baby girl. You like Olivia but you're not sure if it's too popular — you don't want her to share her name with three other girls in her kindergarten class. The baby name popularity tool shows the historical popularity ranking of any name based on Social Security Administration birth records — millions of US birth registrations per year reveal which names are common, rising, falling, or rare.
SSA name data history. The Social Security Administration tracks every name on every US birth certificate since 1880. Annual rankings show the top 1,000 names by gender; the full dataset includes any name used 5+ times in a given year. This is the most comprehensive name-popularity dataset for any country.
This tool searches a name and returns its popularity rank, total occurrences, and historical trend. Use for: choosing a baby name balancing uniqueness vs familiarity; researching name origins and trends; settling family debates about which names are "too common" or "uncommon."
How to use this calculator
Enter a name. The tool returns the most recent year's rank (US-wide), total births with that name in recent years, and a trend showing whether the name is rising or falling in popularity.
Optionally filter by year range to see how popularity has changed over decades. Some names are perennial (James, Mary — popular in 1920 and still popular now); some are bursts (Liam — uncommon until 2010s, now top-3); some are declining (Karen, Michael, Brittany — historically popular, falling).
For top-N lookup: see the top 100 or 1,000 names by gender for the most recent year. Useful for the "what's everyone naming their kid now" question.
Understanding your results
The tool shows name popularity rank, total births with the name, and trend.
Current top US baby names 2024 (most recent SSA data):
Top boys: Liam, Noah, Oliver, James, Elijah, Mateo, Theodore, Henry, Lucas, William. The William/James/Henry classics remain in the top 10 alongside newer dominant names (Liam, Noah, Oliver).
Top girls: Olivia, Emma, Charlotte, Amelia, Sophia, Mia, Isabella, Ava, Evelyn, Luna. Olivia has been #1 for several years; Emma and Charlotte have been in the top 5 for over a decade.
Trends in 2024 vs 2014. Rising rapidly (last decade): Luna, Eliana, Aurora, Athena (mythological/celestial). Mateo, Aiden, Wyatt, Theodore (boys). Falling: Mason, Jackson, Aiden (peaked 2010-2015). Madison, Hailey, Brianna (peaked 1990s-early 2000s — now uncommon for newborns but common for adults aged 20-40). Stable classics: James, William, Henry, Charlotte, Emma — survive across generations.
The "too popular" threshold. Top 10 names: roughly 1-2% of babies share the name per gender. Olivia at #1 in 2023: about 15,000 girls named Olivia per year nationally, out of 3.6M total births. So 1 in 240 baby girls (0.4%) gets named Olivia. In a typical kindergarten class of 22 kids (11 girls), you'd expect another Olivia in about half of classes. Top 100 names: about 1 in 600-2,000 babies for the more popular names within top 100. Names outside top 1,000: under 100 babies per year nationally — your child will likely have the only one in their school.
Regional variation. The top names differ by state. Texas top boys: heavy on Mateo, Sebastian, Diego (Hispanic-origin names). California: similar plus Asian-origin names rising. Utah: more traditional + LDS-influenced names. Maine: more Anglo-Saxon, fewer rising names. The national top 10 is a rough average; your state's top 10 may differ.
Name origin and meaning. Many baby-name sites also provide origin (Hebrew, Latin, Celtic, Greek), meaning, and notable bearers. While these don't determine popularity, parents often care about name origin and meaning when choosing. The meaning rarely matters to the named child later (most adults don't know what their name 'means'), but parents find it satisfying during the choosing process.
A worked example
Anika and Raj are choosing a name for their baby girl, due in 3 months. Their finalists: Olivia, Maya, Priya.
Olivia: 2023 rank #1. Approximately 15,000 girls named Olivia per year. Very common — high chance of sharing classroom with another Olivia.
Maya: 2023 rank #62. Approximately 3,400 girls per year. Common but not dominant. About 1 in 500 girls named Maya — likely one Maya in most schools, rarely two in same classroom.
Priya: 2023 rank #845. Approximately 350 girls per year. Uncommon. About 1 in 5,000 girls — their daughter would almost certainly be the only Priya in her school.
Their decision factors: Anika and Raj are both Indian-American; they want a name reflecting their heritage. Priya is meaningful to their family (Anika's grandmother's name). The uncommon rank means their daughter would be distinctive without being unique-and-strange. They choose Priya.
Variation: Marcus and Lisa, both Anglo-American with no specific heritage preference, want a "classic but not boring" name for their daughter. They consider Charlotte (rank #3), Hazel (#54), Iris (#172). Charlotte appeals but is "very popular" by their standards; Iris is uncommon enough to feel distinctive. They choose Hazel — it's in the top 100 (familiar/recognizable) but not top 10 (avoids the "every other kid in class" effect).
The "too popular" tension. Some parents love that #1-10 names are recognizable, easily spelled, never need pronunciation correction. Others want their child to be distinctive. Names in the 50-200 rank range are often the sweet spot — recognizable enough that everyone knows how to spell/pronounce; uncommon enough that the child won't share with multiple classmates.
Related resources
For age-related calculations once the baby is born, see Age Calculator and Due Date Calculator. For pregnancy planning, the Pregnancy Week Calculator and Pregnancy Weight Calculator. For broader family finance planning, the 529 Plan Estimator. The SSA Popular Baby Names page is the authoritative source for US baby naming data, updated annually.