Baby names 2026 explorer

Explore baby names for 2026.

Use the latest official SSA top names, historical popularity trends, and practical shortlist filters to find a name that feels good for a baby due in 2026.

6,000 searchable namesSSA-derived historical names through 2020Latest official SSA top 10: 2025

Explore names

Name style

Trend

Density is shown as babies per 10,000 same-sex births. It helps compare popularity without raw birth totals distorting the story.

SSA name explorer

Matching baby names

Source: SSA dataset
#1
Liam boy
115.21 per 10k birthsRising +1 ranks
#1
Olivia girl
109.67 per 10k birthsFalling +1 ranks
#2
Noah boy
106.96 per 10k birthsFalling -1 ranks
#2
Emma girl
97.45 per 10k birthsFalling -1 ranks
#3
Oliver boy
82.9 per 10k birthsRising +16 ranks
#3
Ava girl
81.83 per 10k birthsFalling +1 ranks
#4
Elijah boy
76.38 per 10k birthsFalling +7 ranks
#4
Charlotte girl
81.33 per 10k birthsRising +5 ranks
#5
William boy
73.49 per 10k birthsFalling
#5
Sophia girl
81.16 per 10k birthsFalling -2 ranks
#6
James boy
71.79 per 10k birthsFalling +1 ranks
#6
Amelia girl
79.46 per 10k birthsRising +6 ranks
#7
Benjamin boy
71.12 per 10k birthsFalling +3 ranks
#7
Isabella girl
75.47 per 10k birthsFalling -2 ranks
#8
Lucas boy
66.11 per 10k birthsFalling +8 ranks
#8
Mia girl
69.78 per 10k birthsFalling -2 ranks
#9
Henry boy
62.73 per 10k birthsRising +20 ranks
#9
Evelyn girl
59.07 per 10k birthsSteady +6 ranks

Selected name

Liam

In the 2020 SSA national data, Liam ranked #1 for boys, with 19,659 births, or about 115.21 per 10,000 same-sex births. It is moving up, and its highest recorded count was 20,555 in 2019.

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2020

How to choose

A practical baby-name checklist

Say it out loud with your surname.
Check initials, spelling, and likely nicknames.
Try it in family languages or accents that matter to you.
Use density to decide whether popularity feels comforting or too common.
Keep two or three names you could happily use on birth day.

Latest official SSA top 10: 2025

#1LiamOlivia
#2NoahCharlotte
#3OliverEmma
#4TheodoreAmelia
#5HenrySophia
#6JamesMia
#7ElijahIsabella
#8MateoEvelyn
#9WilliamSofia
#10LucasEliana

Questions parents ask

Are these the official top baby names of 2026?

No. Official U.S. rankings for babies born in 2026 are not available yet. This page helps parents choosing names in 2026 by using SSA historical trends and the latest official SSA top 10 names for 2025.

Where do the baby name rankings come from?

The data source is the Social Security Administration national baby names dataset, based on Social Security card applications. This page also uses SSA's officially released top 10 names for 2025 as the newest official national ranking.

What does popularity density mean?

Popularity density means the approximate number of babies with a name per 10,000 same-sex births in the dataset year. It is more useful than raw count when comparing names across years with different birth totals.

Should I choose a popular baby name or avoid one?

Either can be right. A popular name can feel familiar and easy to spell, while a less common name may feel more distinctive. The better filter is whether the name still feels good with your surname, initials, family languages, and everyday pronunciation.

Can Doola tell me the perfect baby name?

No tool can decide that for a family. Doola can help you explore popularity, style, trend direction, shortlist patterns, and questions that make a name easier to live with.

Why include baby names on a pregnancy site?

Baby names are one of the first joyful planning questions many expecting parents search. Doola keeps it light, practical, and connected to the bigger pregnancy journey rather than treating naming like a medical decision.

Planning goes beyond the name.

When your shortlist starts to feel real, Doola can help with the daily pregnancy questions that come next: food choices, ingredient labels, skincare products, and the tiny decisions that suddenly feel bigger.