The final months of 2020 are thankfully upon us, and with this time comes BabyCenter’s annual list of the most popular baby names. For the 11th year in a row, Sophia is the top name for girls, while Liam remains at No. 1 for boys for a second year.
Although the top 10 names are quite similar to the 2019 rankings, there were some interesting shifts within the lists. Riley rose six spots from No. 9 to No. 3 for girls, and Aaliyah bumped down Amelia and Mia. Meanwhile, Noah overtook Jackson, Elijah rose from No. 8 to No. 5, and Mateo replaced Muhammad as the 10th most popular name for boys.
Beyond the top 10, BabyCenter also identified interesting trends in the broader baby names data. The name Kobe rose 379 spots to No. 216 for boys in 2020, the year the basketball icon died in a helicopter accident. The name of his daughter Gianna, who also perished in the crash, got a boost as well, moving 52 spots to No. 24 for girls. Another rising name was Kamala, which saw a 104% increase in popularity.
BabyCenter compiles its list based on data from more than 520,000 parents who shared their babies’ names with the website in 2020. Keep scrolling for the top 10 names for boys and girls, and visit BabyCenter for the top 50 lists. (Note that the rankings combine multiple spellings of similar names like Sophia and Sofia.)
Girls
- Sophia
- Olivia
- Riley
- Emma
- Ava
- Isabella
- Aria
- Aaliyah
- Amelia
- Mia
Boys
- Liam
- Noah
- Jackson
- Aiden
- Elijah
- Grayson
- Lucas
- Oliver
- Caden
- Mateo
