Baby Name Wizard author Laura Wattenberg

Great legwork to acquire some US middle name data! I'd love to see this sorted by age -- Ann in particular has done a spectacular vanishing act as a first name bit.ly/GoodbyeAnn

Lovely! Is the unisex percentage calculated on a national or intra-state basis? Any way to tease out whether the taste is specifically for unisex names, or rather for a style of names that might be dominated by one sex locally but used differently elsewhere? (E.g. Spanish vs. English "Angel.")

Cruella & Co.: The Allure of Villainess Baroque Imagine a character name so luxuriantly villainous, it’s like a bubble bath of wickedness.

Indulge in some decadent depravity with Villainess Baroque style.
bit.ly/VillainessBa...

Suddenly enraged that we put paper in a folder to keep it from being folded

The Surprising Celebrity Who Changed American Baby Names Baby names have their own star system, and it’s all about sound and style.

Many thanks! I'm fascinated by your "ani" connection, which happens to also be one of the biggest baby name phenomena in years: bit.ly/ani-baby-names

The 2025 Name of the Year is Elara She doesn’t exist. Yet she’s everywhere—and she’s all of us.

Meet Elara, the Name of the Year. She doesn’t exist. Yet she’s everywhere—and she’s all of us.
bit.ly/Elara-Name-o...

What Name Captures the Spirit of 2025? The right name can be a time capsule, conjuring a moment, a place, a turning point, even a feeling. What's your choice for the 2025 Name of the Year?

Take a moment and think about the names that have been on your mind this year. What name feels new, or has changed, or somehow matters more? Like Barack in 2007, or Siri in 2011, or Karen in 2019? What's the 2025 Name of the Year? Please share your ideas (and this post, if you're inclined!)

Image of a sweet potato with stick-on googly eyes around a long skinny end like a snout. It looks adorable, and alarmed, and alarmingly adorable.

This Thanksgiving, spare a thought for the baby snuffleupagus

Why You Keep Hearing the Same Baby Names (No Matter What the Stats Say) Baby names are more diverse than ever. So why are there four Liams in your daughter’s preschool?

You keep hearing how diverse baby names are today. But three of your friends named their daughters Maya. Here's why. bit.ly/Same-Names

How Has Baby Naming Changed In 30 Years? Ask The Crow A movie remake reveals a radical shift in baby name style.

Back from an accidental hiatus with thoughts on our rapidly changing name culture: bit.ly/CrowName

Brady Quinn vs. Brady Quinn The curious case of a namesake following exactly in his predecessor’s footsteps.

In an age of self-monetization, does sharing a name dilute your personal brand?
bit.ly/BradyVsBrady

In 2019-20, even as the name Frank slid out of use, ten American boys were named Frankly. This is frankly astonishing on so many levels.

These Familiar Baby Names are on the Verge of Extinction Old favorites are disappearing, and a sound may be the culprit.

Looking at names on the brink of disappearing, I noticed a pattern bit.ly/VanishingNames

Image of animated fantasy campaigners from Vox Machina

The D&D series "The Legend of Vox Machina" hit big in the baby name arena. It introduced two brand-new names, Vex'ahlia and Keyleth, and spurred big jumps in the very old names Percival, Percy, Frederick and Archibald.

Three trends in a single baby name:
1. Turning "ing" words into "yn" names
2. Making names out of phrases, not just single words
3. "Bless" as a name root
The name: Ablessyn

Of course this is the name of my plane

6 boys were named Beaudi last year. It's pretty clearly meant to be a riff on two popular names: Bodhi spelled like Beau. But I have to think a lot of people will say "beauty."

Bandit, Methuselah and 22 More Intriguing New Boys’ Names These new names expand our style horizons in some surprising directions.

The deeper you look, the more you find....
bit.ly/NewBoyNames

I have a baby name category I call "notwords." They coincide with English words, but that's not why parents choose them. Past examples have included Craven and Anally. This year, Yam.

I'm certain it's Theo-driven. Theo is also a top-100 name, and there are surprising numbers of other Theo names like Theophilus, Theodoros and Theoden. But Teddy is quietly rising. Some of those Theodores will upend their parents' plans by ultimately choosing Teddy.

The New Top Baby Names of Every US State Lainey is #1 for girls in Montana. Theodore is #1 for boys in New Hampshire. See all of the top trends, state by state.

There are more Laineys and Theodores than you would have ever imagined.

Last year 6 American boys were named Ripper.

I just wanted to look up the name Keyior, but as soon as I typed in "keyi" the search engine suggested the autocomplete "keying teslas"

Rizzo, Koriand’r, and 26 More Brand-New Names for Girls Just when you think you’ve heard every possible name, parents prove there’s far more to discover.

The realm of names never stops growing.
bit.ly/NewGirlNames

The Surprising Celebrity Who Changed American Baby Names : Namerology Baby names have their own star system, and it’s all about sound and style.

It seems to me a genuine fashion phenomenon, the emerging direction of this wave: namerology.com/2022/10/11/t...

Abelyn Daizlynn Esslyn Knoxlyn Xailyn Airelyn Dashlyn Hallyn Nashlyn Yazzlyn Araelyn Desilyn Iclynn Naslyn Yehilyn Berklynn Dreamlyn Ivylyn Royalynn Yeslyn Brynnlyn Dreamlynn Izalyn Sagelyn Zoralyn Daislyn Eslynn Kazelynn Tycelyn Zuheilyn

All of the brand-new -LYN names debuting for American girls last year

Historical popularity chart showing the popularity of Oliver rising to meet the previously much greater popularity of Olivia

The interactive NameGrapher is updated with 2024 baby name popularity stats! Come explore--and marvel that Oliver and Olivia have converged namerology.com/baby-name-gr...

5 Things We Learned from the New Baby Name Popularity Stats A round-up of emerging themes in the new 2024 U.S. baby name statistics

From Susan to Messiah, some quick hits on the state of American baby names
namerology.com/2025/05/11/5...

A brand-new name in this year's American baby name stats: Grizz, the name of the Memphis Grizzlies' mascot as well as a cartoon bear and a goth/hip-hop musician.

Xyleek Nazai Zeovanni Zyleel Kenzai Ezelio Zylus Rahzi Mazieon Zyro Kamazi Kyzeir

There's zomething going on with boys' names. These were all among the top 25 fasted rising rare names for boys last year. No such pattern for girls.