About this chart race
In 1880 the most common name given to an American baby was John, on 9,701, with William just behind on 9,562 and Mary third on 7,092. Mary took the lead in 1886 and then held it for half a century, growing with the country: by 1920 she was on 71,178.
The baby boom pushes the numbers to a scale never reached again. Linda peaks at 96,427 in 1948 - the largest figure anywhere in this race - and then falls away almost as fast as she arrived. James, Robert and David trade the top spot through the 1950s before Michael takes it in 1962 on 85,415 and keeps it for the next 36 years.
Then the top of the chart collapses. Michael's last year in front, 1998, is 36,746 - well under half his 1962 figure. After that the lead changes hands every few years: Jacob in 2000, Isabella in 2010, Sophia in 2012, Emma in 2014 and Liam from 2018.
By 2025 the most popular name in America, Liam, is on 20,846 - about a fifth of Linda's 1948 peak - and Noah is just 20 babies behind him on 20,826. Mary, the name that led for fifty years, is down to 2,219 in 2024. The real story of this chart is not which name wins, but that winning is worth less every decade: American parents keep spreading their choices thinner. One note on method: the figures are the number of US babies registered with each name in that year, taken from Social Security card applications, and the same spelling is counted for boys and girls together. Names given to fewer than five babies in a year are not published. The race samples every second year from 1880 to 2024, plus 2025.
This animated ranking shows how babies given the name changed across 29 series between 1880 and 2025. The bars re-order themselves as the years advance, so overtakes are visible as they happen rather than hidden inside a table. Use the list on the left to choose exactly who competes, drag the slider to jump to any year, or open the table view to read the underlying numbers.
As of 2025, Liam leads with 20,846 babies. The highest figure recorded anywhere in this data belongs to Linda (96,427).
Included in this race
Linda, Michael, James, Robert, David, John, Mary, Jennifer, William, Christopher, Jason, Jessica, Ashley, Matthew, Joshua, Helen, Jacob, Emily, Isabella, Sophia, Ethan, Liam, Emma, Noah, Olivia, Mason, Jayden, Anna, Oliver.
Source
Data from U.S. Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names. Every figure shown comes from this source — nothing is estimated or generated.
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