From original names to unique surprises, this year resulted in a list of the best baby names with some shocking placement changes. According to Baby Center, parents are no longer choosing from the group of pioneers (the common names that once dominated the U.S. directory) like Michael or Abigail. Instead, they’re opting for the quintessential outlier nicknames, like Luna or Asher, and eliminating long-time favorites.
For the children, a reference name for the last five years was fired. This year, Noah took first place over Liam. However, according to the Baby Center’s registration and analysis reports, Liam remained in the top three and took second place. Meanwhile, Oliver took third place for the second year in a row.
The top three names for girls weren’t a big surprise, as they were the same as last year: Olivia, Emma and Amelia.
Beyond the big three, the top 10 in each category showed unexpected popularity. Ezra and Luca ranked higher than usual, taking ninth and tenth places, respectively. “Ezra’s upward trajectory is especially notable, as she rose from No. 12 last year to No. 9, and now she’s in the top 10 for the first time,” the Baby Center stated.
Charlotte jumped from ninth to fifth this year. Additionally, an unexpected number of “M” names moved up the list. Miley, Mavis, Mallory, Milan and Mckinley were the most desired, jumping at least 200 spots to the top.
“Girl names that end in the letter ‘A’ also win among parents,” the Baby Center noted. Nine of the top 10 girl names ended in “A,” including Sophia (fourth place), Isabella (seventh place), Luna (ninth place), and Mia (eighth place).
It’s interesting to see which names were the most popular for this generation of babies, but some of the most intriguing names fell below the top 20. For example, Nova and Kai ranked 21st, with Nova for girls and Kai for boys. Willow was ranked 26th for girls and Ezekiel (like healthy bread) was ranked 46th for boys.
Future mothers of daughters must have felt bathed in a giant wave of calm after giving birth, because most of them chose to honor the feeling of peace by naming their daughters Serenity (60th place). Following a theme of protection and unity, parents loved the name Zion (60th place) for their children.
The seasons were another inspiration for girl names this year, specifically Fall (67th place) and Summer (68th place). Although Roman (71st place) was a generally attractive nickname for baby boys, parents thought why not simply change the “M” to a “W” for the similar, but different, Rowan (72nd place).
Several future male rock stars or professional skateboarders were born in 2023, with Axel (96th place) in the top 100, while geography lovers got exposure by naming their son Atlas (86th place). Myles ranked 89th, proving that the letter “Y” is better than the typical “I.”
The lovely Melody (91st place) was a fashion choice for girls, as was Daisy (99th place).
Finally, the 100th spot on the boys list surprisingly went to a very easy choice: Max. However, the opposite happened with the girls’ list. For a fun twist, Neevah (“heaven” spelled backwards) made it to #100.
