One of the first decisions you make as a parent is also one of the most long-lasting: choosing a baby name. You want to find the right blend of trendy and timeless, so you don't wind up with baby-name regret (or with a name your child will want to change later on).
If you want to check on the popularity of a name before you decide, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is the first stop. It keeps a list of the top 1,000 baby boy names every year. It also tracks data about names that are rising and falling in rank, so you can see how the use of a name has changed over time. From there, we can also see trends, which are confirmed through lists made by baby-naming sites that know which names its users are looking up and settling on more and more often.
So, what names are we seeing more of in 2023, and what trendy boy names do we expect to be on the rise for next year? When we scoured the popular naming trends for this year and next, these were the ones that rose to the top.
Looking for more baby boy name inspiration? Check out these Good Housekeeping lists:
French Baby Names | Hispanic Boy Names | Indian/Hindu Boy Names | Irish Boy Names | Japanese Baby Names | Long Boy Names | Short Boy Names | Baby Girl Names | Gender-Neutral Names
These are currently the most popular baby names for boys.
The SSA released its list of the most popular names of 2022, and these are the names used most often:
- Liam
- Noah
- Oliver
- James
- Elijah
- William
- Henry
- Lucas
- Benjamin
- Theodore
They should look pretty familiar — they're all the same names from the year before. James jumped ahead of Elijah, and the bottom of the list scrambled its order around, but no new names broke into the top 10.
These baby boy names are becoming trendy.
In addition to keeping track of the most-often-used names, the SSA also looks at which names took the biggest leaps in popularity. These names are rising fastest through the ranks:
- Dutton
- Kayce
- Chosen
- Khaza
- Eithan
- Waylen
- Asaiah
- Kaizen
- Zen
- Kylian
- Ezrah
- Eren
- Amiri
- Jrue
- Kolson
- Kanan
- Colter
- Teo
- Koa
- Zamir
Dutton is highest on the list, and any Yellowstone fan can see that's an example of how Western/cowboy names are on the rise. (Waylen is another good example.)
And Kylian, last year's highest climber, made it on again, with with Cillian also gaining in the ranks. Could it be a nod to Peaky Blinders and Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy?
Boy names that have decreased most in popularity, however, include Jacoby, Turner, Aydin, Juelz, Jamal, Jesiah, Kace, Maurice, Kole and Cullen. It seems that once variant spellings of popular names were having a moment, but that moment has passed.
Cute names are the future of baby boy names.
What about the trends that are so new, they haven't shown up on the SSA list yet? "For boys, we've been moving away from the patrilineal traditionally masculine names for at least a generation, though James and William are hanging on tight and Henry is even rising through the ranks," says Pamela Redmond, CEO of Nameberry, a baby-naming site that keeps track of baby name trends. "These softer unconventional boy name trends include surnames ending in S such as Wells and Rhodes and nouveau cowboy names like Dutton and Wilder." She says that means choosing names like Kit over Christopher, Royal over Charles and Huck or Sawyer over Tom.
When Nameberry made its own list of the top names of 2023 so far, these were the most popular.
- Aire
- Royal
- Soren
- Theodore
- Silas
- Felix
- Atticus
- Cassius
- Oliver
- Hugo
Nameberry also sees a rise in what it calls "old money names." These names pull together a few trends that have been rising for a bunch of years now: they're classic (and not too trendy), many of them originated as last names, and there's also a gender-neutral component, since some of the names — like Aubrey and Courtney — have also become popular as girls' names. Other old-money boys' names Nameberry has identified include Alistair, Conrad, Evelyn, Guy, Penn, Piers, Sidney and Ward.
Everyone wants to get in the great outdoors with unique, nature-inspired names.
Has the pandemic made everyone feel cooped up? Boy names are looking more and more to the great outdoors. Both Nameberry and BabyCenter, which also keeps track of the baby names its users pick, have found an uptick in names that feel at home in the wilderness, like Forest (or Forrest), River, Everest, Ocean, Reef and Woods. Maybe it's time to plan that trip you've been putting off? Or go even further: The Bump dug into its baby-name data and found a rise in space-themed names, like Orion, Apollo and Atlas.
Look out for the animals.
What do Zooey Deschanel, Kylie Jenner, Lauren Conrad, rapper Eve and Jason Momoa all have in common? They all named their sons Wolf, though often it was a middle name (and Jenner changed her son's name to Aire). And Wolf isn't the only animal in the pack. Look for Fox, Bear, Falcon, Lynx and Tiger to show up in the future.
Adjectives are becoming names.
Royal, Loyal and Chosen — these sound like good qualities to have in a son. No wonder why they make good baby names. At the moment, Royal is No. 370 on the SSA list, Loyal is 702 and Chosen just hit the list for the first time this year at 898.
To the Max!
Max has been a mainstay on the list for a while, and currently sits at 156th place. But joining it is Maxwell (No. 173), Maximiliano (No. 268), Maximus (No. 270), Maximilian (No. 566), Maximo (No. 661) and Maxton (No. 964) — plus Maxine for the girls (No. 614). It seems like maximalists really like the going to the Max!
Pop culture still inspires baby names.
A name that just squeaked onto the SSA list? Neo, a moniker familiar to any fan of The Matrix movies. It moved up just a tad in rank this year, from No. 979 to No. 947. (Keanu has been bouncing on and off the list since the year 2000, but it's been a steady presence since 2016, this year at No. 592.)
Star Wars fans have also claimed spots on the list, with Kylo (No, 436), Anakin (No, 606) and Cassian (No. 933) making the top 1,000. (No Obi-Wans yet.) Even Rocky gets some love, with Creed, Adonis, and, yes, Rocky himself all making the list. And could the fast-rising Bridger be inspired by Bridgerton? It's entirely possible!
Will these "extinct" names make a comeback?
Babbel went through the records and found boy names that have gone "extinct," meaning they were once in the top 100 most popular names in 1923, but now fail to make the top 1,000. If you're looking for an unusual name, these are some to consider: Arnold, Bernard, Cecil, Chester, Clarence, Clifford, Dale, Earl, Glenn, Lester, Lloyd, Milton, Norman, Ralph, Vernon, Virgil and Willard.
Gender-agnostic names make gender-neutral names more modern.
There's been a rise in unisex and gender-neutral names for a while now, and the trend shows no signs of stopping. But both Nameberry and BabyCenter also see that parents don't care if a name is traditionally a boys' name, a unisex name or girl's name. If they like it, they're going for it.
BabyCenter has seen names like Tatum, Finley and Eden — usually more popular on their girls' list — rise on the boys' side. And Nameberry has seen more and more boys with "goddess names like Artemis, Echo and Nyx; nature names like Indigo, Sunny and Wren and unisex names that previously leaned female, like Blair, Laurie and Sasha."
However you feel about those trends, if you're looking for baby boy name inspiration, something might jump out at you from scanning the SSA's list — for good or for bad.
The Current Top 1,000 Baby Boy Names
According to the Social Security Administration, these are the most popular names for baby boys in the United States.
- Liam
- Noah
- Oliver
- James
- Elijah
- William
- Henry
- Lucas
- Benjamin
- Theodore
- Mateo
- Levi
- Sebastian
- Daniel
- Jack
- Michael
- Alexander
- Owen
- Asher
- Samuel
- Ethan
- Leo
- Jackson
- Mason
- Ezra
- John
- Hudson
- Luca
- Aiden
- Joseph
- David
- Jacob
- Logan
- Luke
- Julian
- Gabriel
- Grayson
- Wyatt
- Matthew
- Maverick
- Dylan
- Isaac
- Elias
- Anthony
- Thomas
- Jayden
- Carter
- Santiago
- Ezekiel
- Charles
- Josiah
- Caleb
- Cooper
- Lincoln
- Miles
- Christopher
- Nathan
- Isaiah
- Kai
- Joshua
- Andrew
- Angel
- Adrian
- Cameron
- Nolan
- Waylon
- Jaxon
- Roman
- Eli
- Wesley
- Aaron
- Ian
- Christian
- Ryan
- Leonardo
- Brooks
- Axel
- Walker
- Jonathan
- Easton
- Everett
- Weston
- Bennett
- Robert
- Jameson
- Landon
- Silas
- Jose
- Beau
- Micah
- Colton
- Jordan
- Jeremiah
- Parker
- Greyson
- Rowan
- Adam
- Nicholas
- Theo
- Xavier
- Hunter
- Dominic
- Jace
- Gael
- River
- Thiago
- Kayden
- Damian
- August
- Carson
- Austin
- Myles
- Amir
- Declan
- Emmett
- Ryder
- Luka
- Connor
- Jaxson
- Milo
- Enzo
- Giovanni
- Vincent
- Diego
- Luis
- Archer
- Harrison
- Kingston
- Atlas
- Jasper
- Sawyer
- Legend
- Lorenzo
- Evan
- Jonah
- Chase
- Bryson
- Adriel
- Nathaniel
- Arthur
- Juan
- George
- Cole
- Zion
- Jason
- Ashton
- Carlos
- Calvin
- Brayden
- Elliot
- Rhett
- Emiliano
- Ace
- Jayce
- Graham
- Max
- Braxton
- Leon
- Ivan
- Hayden
- Jude
- Malachi
- Dean
- Tyler
- Jesus
- Zachary
- Kaiden
- Elliott
- Arlo
- Emmanuel
- Ayden
- Bentley
- Maxwell
- Amari
- Ryker
- Finn
- Antonio
- Charlie
- Maddox
- Justin
- Judah
- Kevin
- Dawson
- Matteo
- Miguel
- Zayden
- Camden
- Messiah
- Alan
- Alex
- Nicolas
- Felix
- Alejandro
- Jesse
- Beckett
- Matias
- Tucker
- Emilio
- Xander
- Knox
- Oscar
- Beckham
- Timothy
- Abraham
- Andres
- Gavin
- Brody
- Barrett
- Hayes
- Jett
- Brandon
- Joel
- Victor
- Peter
- Abel
- Edward
- Karter
- Patrick
- Richard
- Grant
- Avery
- King
- Caden
- Adonis
- Riley
- Tristan
- Kyrie
- Blake
- Eric
- Griffin
- Malakai
- Rafael
- Israel
- Tate
- Lukas
- Nico
- Marcus
- Stetson
- Javier
- Colt
- Omar
- Simon
- Kash
- Remington
- Jeremy
- Louis
- Mark
- Lennox
- Callum
- Kairo
- Nash
- Kyler
- Dallas
- Crew
- Preston
- Paxton
- Steven
- Zane
- Kaleb
- Lane
- Phoenix
- Paul
- Cash
- Kenneth
- Bryce
- Ronan
- Kaden
- Maximiliano
- Walter
- Maximus
- Emerson
- Hendrix
- Jax
- Atticus
- Zayn
- Tobias
- Cohen
- Aziel
- Kayson
- Rory
- Brady
- Finley
- Holden
- Jorge
- Malcolm
- Clayton
- Niko
- Francisco
- Josue
- Brian
- Bryan
- Cade
- Colin
- Andre
- Cayden
- Aidan
- Muhammad
- Derek
- Ali
- Elian
- Bodhi
- Cody
- Jensen
- Damien
- Martin
- Cairo
- Ellis
- Khalil
- Otto
- Zander
- Dante
- Ismael
- Angelo
- Brantley
- Manuel
- Colson
- Cruz
- Tatum
- Jaylen
- Jaden
- Erick
- Cristian
- Romeo
- Milan
- Reid
- Cyrus
- Leonel
- Joaquin
- Ari
- Odin
- Orion
- Ezequiel
- Gideon
- Daxton
- Warren
- Casey
- Anderson
- Spencer
- Karson
- Eduardo
- Chance
- Fernando
- Raymond
- Bradley
- Cesar
- Wade
- Prince
- Julius
- Dakota
- Kade
- Koa
- Raiden
- Callan
- Hector
- Onyx
- Remy
- Ricardo
- Edwin
- Stephen
- Kane
- Saint
- Titus
- Desmond
- Killian
- Sullivan
- Mario
- Jay
- Kamari
- Luciano
- Royal
- Zyaire
- Marco
- Wilder
- Russell
- Nasir
- Rylan
- Archie
- Jared
- Gianni
- Kashton
- Kobe
- Sergio
- Travis
- Marshall
- Iker
- Briggs
- Gunner
- Apollo
- Bowen
- Baylor
- Sage
- Tyson
- Kyle
- Oakley
- Malik
- Mathias
- Sean
- Armani
- Hugo
- Johnny
- Sterling
- Forrest
- Harvey
- Banks
- Grady
- Kameron
- Jake
- Franklin
- Lawson
- Tanner
- Eden
- Jaziel
- Pablo
- Reed
- Pedro
- Zayne
- Royce
- Edgar
- Ibrahim
- Winston
- Ronin
- Leonidas
- Devin
- Damon
- Noel
- Rhys
- Clark
- Corbin
- Sonny
- Colter
- Esteban
- Erik
- Baker
- Adan
- Dariel
- Kylo
- Tripp
- Ari
- Caiden
- Frank
- Solomon
- Major
- Quinn
- Dax
- Hank
- Donovan
- Finnegan
- Nehemiah
- Andy
- Camilo
- Asa
- Jeffrey
- Santino
- Isaias
- Jaiden
- Kian
- Fabian
- Callen
- Ruben
- Alexis
- Emanuel
- Francis
- Garrett
- Kendrick
- Matthias
- Wells
- Augustus
- Jasiah
- Alijah
- Alonzo
- Koda
- Collin
- Ford
- Frederick
- Jaxton
- Kohen
- Troy
- Kason
- Seth
- Denver
- Kyson
- Ares
- Raphael
- Bodie
- Sylas
- Uriel
- Zaiden
- Shiloh
- Lewis
- Kieran
- Marcos
- Bo
- Shepherd
- Philip
- Zaire
- Gregory
- Princeton
- Roberto
- Leland
- Eithan
- Moshe
- Johnathan
- Lucca
- Kenzo
- Mack
- Porter
- Kolton
- Kaison
- Valentino
- Saul
- Shane
- Jamari
- Rocco
- Kylan
- Deacon
- Dalton
- Moses
- Callahan
- Tadeo
- Makai
- Amiri
- Rowen
- Drew
- Jalen
- Kylian
- Sutton
- Dominick
- Reece
- Rodrigo
- Soren
- Kasen
- Ridge
- Zachariah
- Jamir
- Peyton
- Omari
- Trevor
- Morgan
- Izaiah
- Alessandro
- Kaysen
- Enrique
- Marcelo
- Sincere
- Lucian
- Leandro
- Armando
- Braylen
- Jayson
- Julio
- Lawrence
- Cassius
- Raul
- Jase
- Mohammad
- Zain
- Jayceon
- Jonas
- Ronald
- Aayan
- Rio
- Allen
- Bruce
- Mohamed
- Dorian
- Maximilian
- Keegan
- Shawn
- Yusuf
- Pierce
- Ariel
- Ander
- Conor
- Conrad
- Phillip
- Arjun
- Roy
- Moises
- Arturo
- Johan
- Gerardo
- Atreus
- Nikolai
- Braylon
- Samson
- Hezekiah
- Kayce
- Scott
- Gunnar
- Jamison
- Samir
- Keanu
- Ledger
- Jaime
- Finnley
- Cannon
- Colby
- Nikolas
- Emmitt
- Kamden
- Miller
- Boone
- Hamza
- Ocean
- Mac
- Anakin
- Brixton
- Roland
- Huxley
- Zeke
- Danny
- Marvin
- Otis
- Albert
- Clay
- Emir
- Boston
- Bruno
- Lionel
- Ozzy
- Taylor
- Jamie
- Augustine
- Chaim
- Krew
- Rayan
- Alden
- Bellamy
- Amos
- Drake
- Davis
- Dustin
- Corey
- Ahmad
- Conner
- Gustavo
- Layton
- Abram
- Axton
- Chandler
- Azariah
- Reese
- Benson
- Tru
- Case
- Trey
- Mauricio
- Westin
- Gage
- Reign
- Creed
- Mylo
- Dennis
- Quentin
- Madden
- Rome
- Julien
- Sam
- Zaid
- Marcel
- Maximo
- Layne
- Ahmed
- Kannon
- Quincy
- Yosef
- AaravI
- Lennon
- Ryland
- Skyler
- Chris
- Eliam
- Kareem
- Kyree
- Dario
- Donald
- Fletcher
- Darius
- Duke
- Rayden
- Salem
- Vicente
- Vincenzo
- Cayson
- Eliseo
- Issac
- Lian
- Clyde
- Wilson
- Santana
- Tomas
- Dexter
- Keith
- Houston
- Harry
- Uriah
- Lee
- Rex
- Tony
- Carmelo
- Alberto
- Loyal
- Trace
- Alfredo
- Riggs
- Forest
- Raylan
- Salvador
- Jakari
- Zakai
- Louie
- Flynn
- Leonard
- Mohammed
- Derrick
- Musa
- Avi
- Ty
- Westley
- Ambrose
- Brycen
- Aron
- Caspian
- Gatlin
- Harlan
- Dillon
- Emery
- Nixon
- Tommy
- Watson
- Zayd
- Azrael
- Zyair
- Azriel
- Legacy
- Cillian
- Alvin
- Bridger
- Alec
- Edison
- Kingsley
- Remi
- Briar
- Jaxxon
- Truett
- Lachlan
- Cal
- Landen
- Roger
- Alonso
- Kaiser
- Blaze
- Jerry
- Seven
- Kenji
- Noe
- Quinton
- Grey
- Jefferson
- Marcellus
- Ray
- Kyro
- Benicio
- Justice
- Neil
- Idris
- Bear
- Kiaan
- Wayne
- Ben
- Junior
- Karim
- Yehuda
- Jimmy
- Ramon
- Bjorn
- Nathanael
- Stanley
- Hassan
- Magnus
- Trenton
- Brayan
- Brock
- Jagger
- Cason
- Dakari
- Rey
- Abdiel
- Abdullah
- Casen
- Jiraiya
- Lance
- Misael
- Alvaro
- Robin
- Langston
- Nelson
- Wes
- Khari
- Landyn
- Jakai
- Lochlan
- Valentin
- Keaton
- Amias
- Joziah
- Thaddeus
- Jedidiah
- Orlando
- Eliel
- Hugh
- Koen
- Calum
- Enoch
- Mitchell
- Rohan
- Aryan
- Dilan
- Aden
- AllanB
- Leighton
- Elisha
- Evander
- Castiel
- Curtis
- Kellen
- Dash
- Douglas
- Eddie
- Melvin
- Avyaan
- Everest
- Zamir
- Ricky
- Dutton
- Yahir
- Devon
- Franco
- Khaza
- Dior
- Leif
- Sevyn
- Guillermo
- Ira
- Emory
- Felipe
- Titan
- Alfred
- Azael
- Zahir
- Kellan
- Darren
- Rudy
- Ayan
- Leroy
- Anders
- Ishaan
- Reuben
- Boden
- Mccoy
- Heath
- Kase
- Wylder
- Judson
- Khai
- Kye
- Axl
- Crue
- Ernesto
- Ahmir
- Zyon
- Aries
- Mustafa
- Santos
- Dane
- Damari
- Elio
- Jadiel
- Jovanni
- Salvatore
- Mathew
- Kolson
- Nova
- Brendan
- Murphy
- Brodie
- Damir
- Rocky
- Larry
- Fisher
- Waylen
- Byron
- Ermias
- Joey
- Joe
- Jon
- Arian
- Chosen
- Jairo
- Vihaan
- Kylen
- Ameer
- Dion
- Jrue
- Kaizen
- Yousef
- Bryant
- Cullen
- Kaisen
- Kelvin
- Zen
- Kartier
- Randy
- Shepard
- Alaric
- Cain
- Jeremias
- Alfonso
- Brecken
- Colten
- Gian
- Rhodes
- Wesson
- Duncan
- Harold
- Henrik
- Harley
- Alistair
- Agustin
- Jericho
- Talon
- Westyn
- Cassian
- Eugene
- Ryatt
- Shmuel
- Braden
- Yahya
- Aldo
- Dangelo
- Ezrah
- Korbin
- Zavier
- Bronson
- Teo
- Jones
- Neo
- Stefan
- Van
- Mekhi
- Coleson
- Eren
- Ignacio
- Kristian
- Harlem
- Zev
- Canaan
- Cedric
- Khalid
- Bode
- Gary
- ReneS
- Benedict
- Maxton
- Thatcher
- Wallace
- Davian
- Gordon
- Niklaus
- Yisroel
- Kabir
- Osman
- Adler
- Darian
- Terry
- Cartier
- Osiris
- Vance
- Demetrius
- Kamryn
- Lux
- Stone
- Jaxx
- Kooper
- Rodney
- Aurelio
- Darwin
- Jakob
- Zechariah
- Brennan
- Marlon
- Meir
- Yael
- Asaiah
- Atharv
- Imran
- Ivaan
- Kanan
- Kalel
- London
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; she previously wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found dominating the audio round at her local bar trivia night or tweeting about movies.
