Image credit: EVERST, Adobe Stock
What's in a name? According to Shakespeare's Juliet, not a whole lot. But we bet parents around the world would beg to differ as we thumb through baby name books from the moment we learn we are expecting (if not sooner!).
Names.org released predictions for the Most Popular Baby Names of 2020. The rankings were determined by analyzing the most recent data from the Social Security Administration, trends from the past five years, and current user interest from millions of visitors to their site. The result? Liam and Emma have a strong hold onto that #1 spot!
Top 10 Boy Names in 2020:
- Liam
- Noah
- William
- Oliver
- Lucas
- Benjamin
- Elijah
- James
- Henry
- Alexander
Top 10 Girl Names in 2020:
- Emma
- Olivia
- Ava
- Isabella
- Charlotte
- Sophia
- Amelia
- Mia
- Mila
- Harper
Just outside the top 10 for boys is Sebastian. The site says to look for this name to rise in popularity in the coming years. The same can be said for Luna, Camila, and Aria over on the girl side.
In past years, the site's predictions have proven to be very close to the actual rankings. In 2018, nine of their top 10 boy name predictions and 10 out of 10 girl name predictions were in the actual top 10 once official numbers were released.
Name.org goes on to say that Americans are choosing more unique baby names so the "wildcards" and other modern baby names could unexpectedly beat their predictions if they see a large enough change. Wildcard names are those that see a sharp rise in popularity (for example, Debra jumped from No. 18 in 1951 to No. 9 in 1952 with over 10,000 more babies born with the name in 1952 than the year before). Here's a look at the wildcard predictions for 2020:
Top 10 Wildcard Names for Boys in 2020:
- Theodore
- Asher
- Leo
- Hudson
- Ezra
- Carson
- Santiago
- Mateo
- Elias
- Jack
Top 10 Wildcard Names for Girls in 2020:
- Luna
- Nova
- Everly
- Camila
- Isla
- Ivy
- Emilia
- Valentina
- Willow
- Emery
