Top Baby Names Revealed, From Surprising To Typical

Picking out a baby's name is like navigating a candy store with endless options. Some people go into full-on detective mode, searching for a name with meaning in each syllable or hoping to gift their offspring with a name that screams success. It's as if naming your kid will be the ultimate crystal ball gazing into their future.

But now, baby naming has leveled up. It's not just about finding a name. Some have turned it into a whole sport. Enter TikTok, the arena where baby name “experts” gather to spill the tea on what's hot and what's definitely not. Seriously, there are creators out there with thousands of followers just by dissecting baby name trends and calling out the names that blatantly point out "been there, done that."

But what are the names people are leaning towards more and more? Recently, the Social Security Administration (SSA) released its annual list of the most popular baby names in the U.S. The top two are looking really familiar compared to last year.  

Every year, Social Security celebrates Mother’s Day by announcing the 1000 most popular baby names.

Olivia and Liam are once again America’s most popular baby names, with 2023 being the fifth consecutive year that parents have chosen the monikers for their little ones. Also, for the fifth consecutive year, Noah took the second slot for boys, and Emma for girls. The SSA pointed out that only one new name appeared in the Top 10 lists this year, with Mateo joining the boys for the first time.

Izael and Kaeli are the fastest-rising baby names. Following behind are Chozen and Alitzel. In spot number 3 for boys and girls is Eiden and Emryn. The number 3 names are Cassian and Adhara. Wrapping up the top 5 fastest-rising baby names are Kyren and Azari.

They said social media celebs had a major influence on new parents last year. The fastest-rising girl’s name, Kaeli, went viral in 2023, rising 1,692 spots. “Parents must have really smashed the ‘like’ button for YouTube and TikTok star Kaeli McEwen (also known as Kaeli Mae), who routinely promotes a clean, tidy, and neutral-aesthetic lifestyle,” they said.

On the boy’s side, they suggest it was TikTok creator Wyatt Eiden’s 1.6 billion views and over 3 million followers that prompted this name’s “meteoric rise.”

You can view the full list at www.ssa.gov/babynames, and see how popular your name was the year you were born and where it’s ranked now.

For many parents, naming a child can become a stressful process. Perhaps, it's the pressure of giving a tiny human a name they will have for their entire life. Some families name their kids after a family member, someone famous, fictional characters, or sometimes something that reminds them of a sweet memory. Parents have the right to choose a child's name. However, that responsibility comes with a few restrictions.

Some states have naming laws and restrictions that define whether new parents are allowed to choose a certain name for their baby or not. According to USBirthCertificates.com, a vital records application preparation assistance service, certain states have other kinds of naming restrictions in place to protect children. This includes banning the use of obscenity in names.

Several states limit the number of characters that can be used in a name because of official birth records software used in the U.S. Apparently, in Nebraska first, middle and last names must be less than 100 characters total.

While other states go as far as banning the use of numerical digits or emojis. For example, Massachusetts only allow letters found on the standard English keyboard to be used in baby names. There are also states who prohibit naming children after people who have committed heinous crimes. We don't know why anyone would, but this means you can’t name your child "Adolf Hitler."

Many of the common naming restrictions include derogatory terms, obscenity, offensive names, numbers, and certain characters like asterisks. However, there are celebrities like Grimes and Elon Musk who didn’t let their states restrictions stop them from naming their kids Exa Dark Sideræl referred to as "Y" and  X Æ A-XII, nicknamed "X."

If you are in the "naming" process, you should become familiar with the restrictions set in place by each state to avoid birth certificate surprises.

In 2013, a child support magistrate in East Tennessee ruled that a 7-month-old boy named Messiah must have his name changed to Martin. "The word 'Messiah' is a title, and it’s a title that has only been earned by one person, and that one person is Jesus Christ," said  Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew.

In 2009, New Jersey parents Heath and Deborah Campbell were taken into state custody after authorities got involved in a cake incident. A bakery refused to decorate a cake with the words "Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler." The Campbell’s gave their three children Nazi-inspired names including Adolf Hitler . Though the state said that their names were not the reason, it's been reported that the parents didn't believe them.

In 2018, Elizabeth Handy and Bilal Walk of Georgia sued their home state after officials refused to let them name their daughter ZalyKha Graceful Lorraina Allah. The issue was Allah, the two-year-old girl's last name. Georgia law requires that children bear the last name of at least one of their parents. The parents won the case, with the help of lawyers from the ACLU.

In 1976, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled that short-order cook and high school teacher Michael Herbert Dengler could not change his name to "1069."

In December 1999, Robert William Handley of Ohio filed a petition to change his name to Santa Robert Claus. Judge Lawrence Belskis denied his petition saying that "the public has a proprietary interest, a proprietary right in the identity of Santa Claus, both in the name and the persona."

A 1984 ruling from the California Courts of Appeal denied a request from Thomas Boyd Ritchie III to change his name to the Roman numeral "III," pronounced "Three." The court said that, "a change to a roman numeral did not constitute a name change within the meaning of the law and that the new 'name' used by appellant was inherently confusing."