All hail Liam, all hail Olivia. Again.
Liam and Olivia were the top baby names in 2023, according to the Social Security Administration, which released its annual list of the most popular names for newborns Friday.
Both names have been at the top for years. Liam’s reign among baby boy names is now in its seventh year, with 20,802 of the 1.7 million boys born in 2023 sharing the name. Olivia has been the top name for girls since 2019.
The top five names for boys and girls didn’t change from 2022 to 2023. Noah and Emma, still held second position. Oliver and Charlotte still come in third. Mateo, which ranked sixth for baby boys, was the only new top 10 name in 2023.
The Social Security Administration’s baby name data gives a window into the names that are of the moment and the names that no longer are.One name on the downslope is Taylor. In 1996, it was the sixth most popular name for girls. But despite a huge 2023 for singer Taylor Swift, and though Taylor serves as a name for girls and boys, its popularity has fallen continually since then.
“Game of Thrones” baby names remain popular. The show was a cultural force in the 2010s, with nearly 5,000 children having names inspired by its characters in 2018. And even still, five years after the original series ended, there were 397 baby girls named Khaleesi in 2023.
Baby names are growing more diverse: There were nearly 29,000 distinct names given to children in 2023, compared to just over 14,000 in 1973. Izael and Chozen were the fastest-rising names among boys, while Kaeli and Alitzel were the fastest-rising girls’ names. And 71.0% of babies were given names in the 1,000 most popular boys’ and 1,000 most popular girls’ names, down from more than 90% in 1973.
