The top 10 most popular US baby names - and the surprising TV show that influenced them

Discover the most popular US baby names (Hint: Dutton)

Most popular US baby names illustrated by Dad holding baby
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Stephanie Lowe
By Stephanie Lowe
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The most popular US baby names from 2022 have been revealed by the Social Security Administration… along with the fastest-rising names heavily influenced by TV show, Yellowstone - scroll down to find out more.

Choosing a baby name is one of those ‘no one told me how hard…’ parenting moments. Because of this many stick to the most popular baby names for many reasons, though sometimes it's just because knowing the naming trends can give you the baby naming edge.

While some parents think should they go for a more unusual baby name many stick with cool baby names. Founder of MyNameForLife.com, Sherri Suzanne tells us; "Popular names are comfortable and recognizable. Sharing a name with peers can make a child feel part of a community and a timid child feel a little less different." 

The US Social Security Administration began compiling the baby names list in 1997, with names dating back to 1880, and recently released the annual list of popular baby names; check to see if your baby name made the cut...

Liam and Olivia are the most popular US baby names in 2022, according to the Social Security Administration - marking the third year in a row both names take the lead. Coming in third for girls' names is Charlotte, followed by Amelia, Sophia, Isabella, Ava, Mia, Evelyn, and Luna. For boys' names, Liam is followed by Noah, Oliver, James, Elijah, William, Henry, Lucas, Benjamin, and Theodore. 

Top 10 girls names

  1. Olivia
  2. Emma
  3. Charlotte
  4. Amelia
  5. Sophia
  6. Isabella
  7. Ava
  8. Mia
  9. Evelyn
  10. Luna 

Top 10 boys names

  1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. Oliver
  4. James
  5. Elijah
  6. William
  7. Henry
  8. Lucas
  9. Benjamin
  10. Theodore

Liam has reigned for five years in a row, while Olivia knocked Emma off the top spot for the past three years, according to the agency’s list, which was released Friday. 

Coming in third for girls' names is Charlotte, followed by Amelia, Sophia, Isabella, Ava, Mia, Evelyn, and Luna. For boys' names, Liam is followed by Noah, Oliver, James, Elijah, William, Henry, Lucas, Benjamin, and Theodore. The top boy names to have declined in popularity are Jaxtyn, Karsyn, and Xzavier. Various spellings of the name Denise declined in popularity from 2020 to 2021.

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The fastest-rising baby names for boys and girls

While the very most common names are more or less unchanged, Dutton was crowned the fastest-growing in popularity. The last name of the fictional Dutton family in the popular TV series Yellowstone, the US Social Security Administration team tells us; "The list reveals the effect of pop culture on naming trends."

Boys names

  • Dutton
  • Kayce
  • Chosen
  • Khaza
  • Eithan

Girls names

  • Wrenlee
  • Neriah
  • Arlet
  • Georgina
  • Amiri

The Yellowstone TV series emerged as perhaps the greatest influence on new parents. The lead star Kevin Costner debuted in 2018 as John Dutton. Dutton moved up the Social Security list to 835, a change of 986 spots from 2021. It's the last name of the fictional family featured in the series.

And Kayce and Rip, who are supporting characters in the show, also saw huge growth in popularity. Kayce, as in Kayce John Dutton on the show, moved to the 587th most popular name, up from 1,077 the year before. Rip, also from Yellowstone, also grabbed some naming attention, but it didn't crack Social Security's top 1,000. In the show, Rip Wheeler is the son-in-law of John Dutton.

Other names rising fast for boys: Chosen, Khaza, Eithan. For girls, Wrenlee is followed by Neriah, Arlet, Georgina, and Amiri.

The agency tracks baby names in each state based on applications for Social Security cards. Their latest data shows 3.64 million babies in the US were issued Social Security cards last year, up slightly from 2021.

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Stephanie Lowe
Stephanie Lowe
Family Editor

Stephanie Lowe is Family Editor at GoodToKnow covering all things parenting, pregnancy and more. She has over 13 years' experience as a digital journalist with a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to all things family and lifestyle. Stephanie lives in Kent with her husband and son, Ted. Just keeping on top of school emails/fund raisers/non-uniform days/packed lunches is her second full time job.

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