Name Explorer
Type any name to see how its popularity rose and fell. Add several to compare. (Names with at least ~3,000 total births since 1880 are available — that's names.)
Name Generator
Can’t decide? Let the data choose for you. Pick boy or girl, hit generate, and get a real American name along with its full stats and history.
The Reigning #1 Name, Year by Year
Mary ruled girls' names for most of a century; boys' #1 has changed hands more often lately. Each block is one name's run at the top — click to load it in the explorer.
Boys
Girls
Top Names of Any Year
Drag the slider to any year and see the ten most popular boys' and girls' names. Click a name to chart it.
Boys
Girls
The Big Trends
Zoom out and the data tells a story about a whole country — booms and busts in births, and an explosion in the sheer variety of names.
Births recorded per year
How many different names are used each year
Share of babies given a top-10 name
Average name length (letters)
Letter Patterns
One of the most famous quirks in naming: the share of boys' names ending in -n exploded (Aiden, Jayden, Mason, Logan…). Pick any letter and toggle between the first and last letter of the name.
Fastest Risers & Fallers
The biggest momentum swings of the last 12 years (), among names with real volume. Click any row to chart it.
▲ On the rise
| Name | × |
|---|
▼ Falling out of favor
| Name | × |
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Unisex Names & Gender Flips
Some names are shared almost evenly between boys and girls. Others started out one gender and ended up the other — and the switch is almost always toward girls.
Most-shared unisex names (all-time split)
Gender flips: % of babies that were girls
One-Hit Wonders & Comebacks
Pop culture leaves fingerprints all over this data: names that spiked for a moment, and old-fashioned names staging a revival. Click any to chart it.
Sudden spikes (a single standout year)
| Name | Peak | Peak count | Likely driver |
|---|
Vintage comebacks (big → quiet → back)
| Name | Old peak | 1990 | 2025 |
|---|