The Alphabet Has Winners and Losers
Not all letters are created equal when it comes to baby names. Some letters consistently produce more popular names than others — and the distribution shifts over time as naming trends evolve. We pulled data from our database of 116,550 names to map exactly which starting letters are dominating right now, and what each letter's trend tells us about where naming is headed.
The Current Leaderboard
Here's how many currently-ranked names start with each letter:
- A — 4,374 names. The undisputed champion, and it isn't close.
- K — 2,883 names. A powerhouse, especially for girls.
- M — 2,499 names. Timeless and broad.
- J — 2,175 names. Still massive despite fading from its peak.
- S — 2,138 names. Steady and diverse.
- R — 1,675 names. More concentrated than it looks.
- E — 1,602 names. Climbing fast.
- D — 1,586 names. Classic, reliable.
- L — 1,550 names. On a significant upswing.
- C — 1,426 names. Broad but stable.
At the other end: U (84 names) and Q (82 names) are the rarest starting letters in active use, with X (208) and V (432) also in the bottom tier.
A: America's Favorite First Letter
A-names dominate for girls more than any other letter — and it's not just because of Ava, Amelia, and Aurora. The soft vowel sound at the start of a name is genuinely aesthetically pleasing to the English-speaking ear, and A-names have a cross-cultural reach that few other letters match. Arabic, Latin, Sanskrit, Greek, Hebrew — almost every naming tradition has beloved A-names.
For boys, the A-wave is led by Asher, Alexander, Axel, and Atlas. Strong consonant sounds after the A give the names weight. These aren't going anywhere.
Browse all A names: Names Starting with A
K: The Kustom Letter
K is the letter that benefits most from the American tradition of spelling creativity. Almost every K-name has a C equivalent: Katherine/Catherine, Kylie/Kylee, Kaden/Caden, Kayla/Cayla. The K spelling gets chosen for stylistic reasons — it looks modern, slightly edgier, more distinctive. That's driven the K count in our database way up relative to how many unique sounds K actually covers.
Top K-names right now: Kai, Kennedy, Kieran. Browse: Names Starting with K
E: The Rising Star
E-names are quietly having a moment. Eleanor is at #14. Ellie is at #21. Elias is at #25. Ezra is at #13. The trend toward vintage-sounding names with a soft, elegant feel has been very good to E. Names like Evelyn, Emmett, and Eleanor feel both old and fresh at once — which is exactly what parents want right now.
Browse: Names Starting with E
L: The Liquid Letter
L-names have a musicality that makes them eternally appealing. Luna (#13), Lily (#24), Leo (#24), Liam (#1 boys), Levi (#12), Luca (#23) — the current top of the rankings is flooded with L-names. The "liquid consonant" effect (L and R sounds) is well-documented in phonetics as especially pleasing, and baby name trends consistently bear this out.
Browse: Names Starting with L
J: Still Standing After Everything
J was the dominant letter of the 1970s-90s. Jennifer, Jessica, Jason, Joshua, Justin, Jacob — at their peaks, these names were used by 1 in every 30 babies. The era of J supremacy is over, but J still has 2,175 currently-ranked names, which shows how broad and deep the J catalog is. Today's J-names lean toward the softer end: Julian, Jasmine, Jade, Jude.
Browse: Names Starting with J
N: The Quiet Climber
N-names don't get enough credit. Noah has held a top-2 position for years. Nora is at #22. Naomi, Nathaniel, and Nova are all climbing. N-names tend to feel grounded and trustworthy — there's a solidity to the N sound that pairs well with both classic and modern vibes.
Browse: Names Starting with N
O: Small Pool, Big Stars
Only 463 currently-ranked names start with O — one of the smaller counts — but the O-names that are popular are very popular. Olivia is the #1 girls' name in America. Oliver is #3 for boys. The O-name wave is driven by a handful of standout names rather than broad distribution, which actually makes it a smart choice if you want your child to share a starting letter with the most popular names without competing in the most crowded namespace.
Browse: Names Starting with O
X: The Frontier Letter
Only 208 currently-ranked names start with X, and the vast majority of X-name popularity comes from Xander, Xavier, and Ximena. But X as a starting letter is growing. The desire for distinctiveness — a name that stands out without being strange — has pushed X into new territory. Names like Xander, Xiomara, and the trendy syllable Jax (which starts with J but has the X sound) all reflect this appetite.
Browse: Names Starting with X
Q and U: The Rarest Territories
Q (82 names) and U (84 names) are the frontier. Quinn is the only Q-name with significant modern traction, which skews the whole letter. U has Uriah, Uma, and a handful of Scandinavian and Gaelic names that show up occasionally. These aren't letters to avoid — they're letters to consider if genuine uniqueness is what you're after. A U-name in a kindergarten class will almost certainly be the only one.
Browse: Names Starting with U | Names Starting with Q
What This Means for Your Name Search
If you want your child's name to feel current and popular without being Top 10 mainstream, E, L, and N are your sweet spots right now — high-quality names with great options across a range of styles. If you want genuine uniqueness, head to the bottom of this list: U, Q, X, and V all have hidden gems that most parents never think to look at.
Start browsing by letter on our rankings page, or use our comparison tool to see how your favorites stack up. You might find the perfect name just by following the alphabet.
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration. Analysis by NamesPop.
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