Emma and Liam Top 2018 Baby Names

Every year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is the authority on the most popular baby names from the prior year based on requests for Social Security numbers for newborns.

 

The agency revealed the top name for boys in 2018 was Liam, and the top name for girls was Emma.

 

Coming in at number 10 are Logan and Evelyn, dropping down five spots and one spot in comparison to the 2017 list, respectively. At number nine, Mason and Harper. Mason dropped from its number seven spot in 2017, and this is Harper’s highest spot on the list so far!

 

The list shows how pop culture affects naming trends year to year. The fastest rising girl’s name in 2018, moving 701 spots from number 1,404 to 703, was Meghan, after Meghan Markle, who joined the royal family in 2018. The hit HBO show “Game of Thrones” has several popular characters, but the name Yara jumped 314 spots from number 986 in 2018 to 672, and it could be attributed to the character Yara Greyjoy. Another well-known Yara is Yara Shahidi, the actor of “Black-ish” and “Grown-ish” fame.

 

For boys, Genesis was the fastest climbing name in 2018, climbing 608 spots from number 1,592 to 984. There has been a resurgence of classic names in the top 10 baby names in recent years, so perhaps Genesis is a harkening back to the classic English rock band led by Phil Collins. Alicia Keys, award winning Grammy singer and coach on “The Voice,” also has a son named Genesis.

 

The top 10 names for boys in 2018 were:

1. Liam
2. Noah
3. William
4. James
5. Oliver
6. Benjamin
7. Elijah
8. Lucas
9. Mason
10. Logan

 

The top 10 names for girls in 2018 were:

1. Emma
2. Olivia
3. Ava
4. Isabella
5. Sophia
6. Charlotte
7. Mia
8. Amelia
9. Harper
10. Evelyn

 

Visit the baby names page to see how popular your name or your child’s name was over the past 100 years!