Browse our data articles on baby and pet names.
Our SSA database of 116,550 names reveals fascinating patterns: names starting with A dominate (4,374 names), 6-letter names are the most common, and parents consistently gravitate toward specific phonetic features. Here's the science behind why.
Some countries have opinions about your baby's name. Strong opinions. From protecting children from lifelong embarrassment to defending sacred religious titles, name bans reveal what different cultures truly value.
Myrtle once had over 136,000 bearers. Carole peaked at 8,407 in a single year. Today, neither appears in the SSA's ranked list at all. Some names don't just fade — they vanish.
Baby naming in America isn't one story — it's 50 stories happening at once. We dug into the data to map how culture, immigration, and regional identity shape which names rise to the top across the country.
James has been given to over 5.2 million Americans. Mary once commanded 8% of all baby girls in a single year. Here's what 140+ years of naming data actually looks like.
Every year, thousands of baby names move up and down the charts in small, predictable increments. Then there are the names that break the laws of naming physics — that go from nowhere to everywhere in the space of a single year. These are the names that tell the story of who we were, what we watched, and what we feared.
Once upon a time, Ashley was a name for boys. So were Leslie, Beverly, and Shannon. Then something happened. These names started showing up on girls, and within a generation, the transformation was complete. The Great Gender Flip is one of the most fascinating patterns in American naming history — and it's still happening right now.
They've been trading the top spots for a decade. But Liam, Noah, and Oliver are three very different names with very different personalities. Here's the full breakdown.
They're the Big Three of girls' names right now. But Olivia, Emma, and Charlotte are each very different names with very different stories. Here's the full comparison.
Dorothy was once a "grandma name." Now it's chic. Ruth went from dated to fresh. Which names sitting in the grandma zone right now are about to have their moment?
There are names that dominated an era and names that quietly endure across every era. This is the list of the quietly enduring ones — and why "safe" doesn't mean "boring."
Jennifer peaked in 1972 with 63,000 babies in a single year. Today she's ranked #547. What happened? The story of the fastest-falling names in American history.