Given names statistics show how naming choices change across time and place. Recent U.S. rankings put Liam and Olivia first in 2025, while century-scale totals are led by James and Mary. In Wales and England, regional and cultural patterns produce a different picture.
Contents
- The leading U.S. given names in 2025
- Birth counts for the 2020–2025 period
- The most common U.S. names across a century
- How recent and historical rankings differ
- Welsh names compared with England
- Regional leaders in England
The leading U.S. given names in 2025
The latest annual U.S. list places Liam first among boys and Olivia first among girls. The rankings describe position in the 2025 list, not the number of babies receiving each name. The source is the Social Security Administration’s Popular Baby Names, covering the United States in 2025.
Among boys, the top 10 were Liam, Noah, Oliver, Theodore, Henry, James, Elijah, Mateo, William, and Lucas. Among girls, the top 10 were Olivia, Charlotte, Emma, Amelia, Sophia, Mia, Isabella, Evelyn, Sofia, and Eliana.
| Rank | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liam | Olivia |
| 2 | Noah | Charlotte |
| 3 | Oliver | Emma |
| 4 | Theodore | Amelia |
| 5 | Henry | Sophia |
| 6 | James | Mia |
| 7 | Elijah | Isabella |
| 8 | Mateo | Evelyn |
| 9 | William | Sofia |
| 10 | Lucas | Eliana |
This list is useful for identifying names that were most prominent in one specific year. It should not be read as a lifetime popularity list: a name can rank highly in 2025 without appearing near the top when births are combined across many decades.
Birth counts for the 2020–2025 period
The Social Security Administration’s Top names of the period 2020–2025 provides occurrence counts for U.S. births during 2020–2025. These figures cover six birth years, so they show cumulative frequency over that period rather than a single year’s rank.
Liam ranked first among boys with 124,842 occurrences. Noah ranked second with 116,024, followed by Oliver with 89,293. James ranked fourth with 72,523, Elijah fifth with 72,049, William sixth with 68,067, Henry seventh with 68,047, Lucas eighth with 65,795, Theodore ninth with 65,579, and Benjamin tenth with 64,922.
Olivia ranked first among girls with 95,853 occurrences. Emma ranked second with 85,652, Charlotte third with 78,055, Amelia fourth with 76,108, and Sophia fifth with 74,758. Mia ranked sixth with 68,154, Isabella seventh with 67,643, Ava eighth with 63,350, Evelyn ninth with 55,734, and Harper tenth with 47,509.
The period list also shows why rank and count should be kept together. The leading boys’ name, Liam, had 124,842 recorded occurrences, while the leading girls’ name, Olivia, had 95,853. Those are counts for the stated six-year period; they are not estimates of everyone currently living with those names and do not represent all historical births.
The most common U.S. names across a century
For genealogy, a much longer time frame can be more informative. The Social Security Administration’s Top Names Over the Last 100 Years reports U.S. birth occurrences for 1926–2025. The list is a historical total across that period, not a forecast and not a measure of current popularity.
James was the leading boys’ name, with 4,505,076 occurrences. Michael ranked second with 4,359,450, John third with 4,204,996, Robert fourth with 4,191,413, and David fifth with 3,560,303. William ranked sixth with 3,358,163, Richard seventh with 2,365,369, Joseph eighth with 2,246,662, Thomas ninth with 2,105,675, and Christopher tenth with 2,063,964.
Mary led the girls’ list with 2,845,637 occurrences. Patricia ranked second with 1,531,355, Jennifer third with 1,471,356, Linda fourth with 1,447,992, and Elizabeth fifth with 1,380,056. Barbara ranked sixth with 1,362,329, Susan seventh with 1,099,802, Jessica eighth with 1,049,169, Karen ninth with 986,098, and Sarah tenth with 981,437.
These totals are especially relevant when researching older relatives because they summarize a full century of U.S. births. They should still be interpreted with the period and geography attached: the figures concern U.S. births from 1926 through 2025, rather than names recorded in a particular family, state, or decade.
How recent and historical rankings differ
Comparing the 2025 annual list with the 1926–2025 list illustrates the difference between current fashion and accumulated use. James appears in both: it ranked sixth among boys in the United States in 2025 and first across the century-scale period. William also appears in both, ranking ninth in 2025 and sixth across 1926–2025.
The overlap does not mean that the rankings measure the same thing. The 2025 list is an annual snapshot. The 2020–2025 list combines six birth years and gives Liam 124,842 occurrences, while the century list combines 100 years and gives James 4,505,076. A name can therefore be historically dominant while being less prominent among current births, or it can be highly current without having had enough time to accumulate a century-scale total.
For family-history work, use the period that matches the question. A search for likely names among babies born in 2025 calls for the annual list. A study of naming patterns across grandparents, parents, and children benefits from the 1926–2025 totals, provided the results are treated as broad U.S. context rather than proof about an individual family.
Welsh names compared with England
The Office for National Statistics reported Baby names in England and Wales: 2023. Its comparisons show how strongly geography can affect a name’s position. The following rankings are for 2023 births: each Welsh rank is compared with the name’s ranking in England.
Among boys, Osian ranked ninth in Wales but 728th in England. Harri ranked 21st in Wales and 1,227th in England. Macsen ranked 28th in Wales and 1,033rd in England. Jac ranked 30th in Wales and 1,837th in England. Tomos ranked 59th in Wales and 1,929th in England.
The pattern is also visible among girls. Mali ranked 16th in Wales compared with 1,222nd in England. Alys ranked 39th in Wales and 1,469th in England. Cadi ranked 60th in Wales and 5,479th in England. Mabli ranked 60th in Wales and 3,085th in England. Ffion ranked 63rd in Wales and 705th in England.
| Name | Wales rank, 2023 | England rank, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Osian | 9 | 728 |
| Harri | 21 | 1,227 |
| Mali | 16 | 1,222 |
| Alys | 39 | 1,469 |
| Cadi | 60 | 5,479 |
These comparisons are rankings, not counts. They indicate relative position within each geography, so they help identify names that are much more prominent in Wales than in England. They do not establish why the differences occur, and they should not be treated as direct measures of Welsh or English population size.
Regional leaders in England
The same 2023 Office for National Statistics release shows that England did not have one single leading name in every region. Olivia was the top girls’ given name in five of England’s nine regions, while Amelia led in the remaining four regions. Together, those two names accounted for the regional first-place positions among girls in the supplied 2023 comparison.
Boys’ regional leaders were more varied. Muhammad was the top boys’ given name in four of the nine regions. Noah led in three regions: the East Midlands, East of England, and South East. Oliver led in one region, the North East, and Arthur led in one region, the South West.
| Name | Sex category | Number of English regions led | Named regions where specified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olivia | Girls | 5 of 9 | Not specified in the source facts |
| Amelia | Girls | 4 of 9 | Remaining four regions |
| Muhammad | Boys | 4 of 9 | Not specified in the source facts |
| Noah | Boys | 3 of 9 | East Midlands; East of England; South East |
| Oliver | Boys | 1 of 9 | North East |
| Arthur | Boys | 1 of 9 | South West |
Regional rankings matter in genealogy because a national list can hide local concentration. A given name that is not the national leader may still be the most common choice in a particular region. For historical interpretation, retain the 2023 measurement year and the England-wide regional scope alongside the name itself.