Trendiest Baby Name Every Year Since 1930, in the U.S.

Baby names gain sudden popularity for various reasons. Maybe a celebrity with a unique name gains traction, or a character in a movie strikes a chord with audiences. Maybe an athlete reaches the peak of fame, and expecting parents have similar dreams.

I wondered how these trends changed over time. So using data from the Social Security Administration, I found the most trendy baby name every year since 1930. Here they are for female and male.

Trendiest Female Baby Names

PERCENTAGE OF FEMALE BABY NAMES

0.5%

0.4%

0.3%

0.2%

0.1%

Marlene

1930

0.0%

Harlene

Sharleen

Adriana

Janel

Shelba

Deanna

Danielle

Brenda

Scarlett

1940

Jerilyn

Michal

Cheryl

Dorinda

Lauren

Jacalyn

Jolinda

Sharman

Lorry

Many of the earlier trendiest names gained steam over a decade.

Mindy

1950

Krystal

Pandora

Angelique

Sheree

Sabrina

Venetia

Tammy

Keely

Torri

Lisha

1960

Marisol

Tiffany

Tamiko

Deneen

Samatha

Tabatha

Anisa

Coretta

Shani

Shiloh

1970

Ashli

It seems a lot of names during the 1970s and 1980s mostly trended in and out relatively quick.

Catina

Cicely

Nakia

Mandie

Rhiannon

Devin

Aja

Brianne

Evita

1980

Krystle

Jere

Kirby

Santana

Kayleigh

Kyrie

Janay

Whitley

Audriana

Alannah

1990

Connor

Darian

Kadijah

Aaliyah

We can see current events and pop culture lead to trending names.

Jailene

Alanis

Yulisa

Calista

Charlize

Litzy

2000

Nevaeh

Ashanti

Azeneth

Betzaida

Carma

Suri

Jaslene

Allisson

Coraline

Collins

2010

Palmer

Cataleya

Daleyza

Aranza

Alaia

Kehlani

Ensley

Tatiyana

Alita

2020

Teresita

Many of the earlier trendiest names gained steam over a decade.

PERCENTAGE OF FEMALE BABY NAMES

0.5%

0.4%

0.3%

0.2%

0.1%

Marlene

0.0%

Harlene

Sharleen

Adriana

Janel

Shelba

Deanna

Danielle

Brenda

Scarlett

1940

Jerilyn

Michal

Cheryl

Dorinda

Lauren

Jacalyn

Jolinda

Sharman

Lorry

Mindy

1950

Krystal

Pandora

Angelique

Sheree

Sabrina

Venetia

Tammy

Keely

Torri

Lisha

1960

Marisol

Tiffany

Tamiko

Deneen

Samatha

Tabatha

Anisa

Coretta

Shani

Shiloh

1970

Ashli

Catina

It seems a lot of names during the 1970s and 1980s mostly trended in and out relatively quick.

Cicely

Nakia

Mandie

Rhiannon

Devin

Aja

Brianne

Evita

1980

Krystle

Jere

Kirby

Santana

Kayleigh

Kyrie

Janay

Whitley

Audriana

Alannah

1990

Connor

Darian

Kadijah

We can see current events and pop culture lead to trending names.

Aaliyah

Jailene

Alanis

Yulisa

Calista

Charlize

Litzy

2000

Nevaeh

Ashanti

Azeneth

Betzaida

Carma

Suri

Jaslene

Allisson

Coraline

Collins

2010

Palmer

Cataleya

Daleyza

Aranza

Alaia

Kehlani

Ensley

Tatiyana

Alita

2020

Teresita

 

To be honest, I’ve never heard of a lot of these names, but it’s interesting to see how parents draw from music, sports, and other entertainment. I’m also surprised that a good number of baby names are only small bumps percentage-wise in their induction year, but then go on a big run many years later.

You can see similar patterns in male baby names.

Trendiest Male Baby Names

PERCENTAGE OF MALE BABY NAMES

0.5%

0.4%

Landon trended the highest in 1935, but it really picked up in more recent decades.

0.3%

0.2%

0.1%

Marcello

1930

0.0%

Delano

Delano

Kelvin

Kerwin

Landon

Tyrone

Dion

Ephraim

Rhett

1940

Denzel

Macarthur

Garret

Kennedy

Dorian

Cornel

Brock

Kevan

Hanson

Brion

1950

Denise

Wilhelm

Shane

Dain

Davy

Cheyenne

Tammy

Bret

Efrem

Stephon

1960

Parrish

Chance

Tal

Deron

Branden

Heath

Garrison

There were no repeat female baby names that trended at the top between 1930 and 2020, but Delano and Jermaine were both back-to-back winners.

Dustin

Jeromy

Jermaine

1970

Jermaine

Demond

Caine

Rashad

Jamaal

Seneca

Lavar

Dequan

Yoel

Kellen

1980

Cavin

Firearms manufacturers Colt and Remington?

Colt

Remington

Ryne

Jaymes

Addison

Jareth

Nico

Kwame

Tevin

1990

Devante

Jalen

Savon

Aldair

Tristen

Kobe

Ennis

Dawson had a popular creek in the early 2000s and picked up some steam over the past few years.

Dawson

Sincere

Elian

2000

Jaheim

Omarion

Andon

Kanye

Talan

Dereon

Leonidas

Urijah

Bronx

Raylan

2010

Neymar

Long

Jayceon

Arlie

Bellamy

Kylo

Jaxtyn

Tyshon

Ermias

Hazel

2020

PERCENTAGE OF MALE BABY NAMES

0.5%

0.4%

Landon trended the highest in 1935, but it really picked up in more recent decades.

0.3%

0.2%

0.1%

Marcello

0.0%

Delano

Delano

Kelvin

Kerwin

Landon

Tyrone

Dion

Ephraim

Rhett

1940

Denzel

Macarthur

Garret

Kennedy

Dorian

Cornel

Brock

Kevan

Hanson

Brion

1950

Denise

Wilhelm

Shane

Dain

Davy

Cheyenne

Tammy

Bret

Efrem

Stephon

1960

Parrish

Chance

Tal

Deron

Branden

Heath

Delano and Jermaine were both back-to-back winners.

Garrison

Dustin

Jeromy

Jermaine

1970

Jermaine

Demond

Caine

Rashad

Jamaal

Seneca

Lavar

Dequan

Yoel

Kellen

1980

Cavin

Firearms manufacturers Colt and Remington?

Colt

Remington

Ryne

Jaymes

Addison

Jareth

Nico

Kwame

Tevin

1990

Devante

Jalen

Savon

Aldair

Tristen

Kobe

Ennis

Dawson had a popular creek in the early 2000s and picked up some steam over the past few years.

Dawson

Sincere

Elian

2000

Jaheim

Omarion

Andon

Kanye

Talan

Dereon

Leonidas

Urijah

Bronx

Raylan

2010

Neymar

Long

Jayceon

Arlie

Bellamy

Kylo

Jaxtyn

Tyshon

Ermias

Hazel

2020

Again, sports and music names jump out at me.

To narrow down these lists of trendy names, I used the same measurement as when I looked for the most trendy names of all time. Basically, you look for the greatest relative increase in percentage of all names. To avoid really rare names that would appear just because of single-digit totals, I limited the search to names with at least 1,000 babies given the name between 1930 and 2020.

See also: the most regional names, the most gender-switched names, and an interactive that guesses your name. This is a fun dataset to poke at.

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My work on FlowingData is supported by paid memberships. Since 2007, I have been analyzing data and making charts to help people understand and appreciate data in their work and everyday lives. I hope to keep it going for many more years.

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