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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