Top Baby Names 2024: The Playground Analysis

Once again, the Social Security Administration crowned Olivia and Liam the most popular baby names in the US. But if you feel like you hear other names more often, you're not imagining things. Statistics can be deceiving, and certain names sound much more common than their ranking suggests.

The baby name data released each year by the SSA lists variant spellings like Eleanor and Elinor, Luca and Luka as totally separate names — which can impact their official position on the charts.

The Playground Analysis groups the names from the official US popularity charts according to their sound and then ranks the groups instead of the individual spellings. Listing the various spellings together gives us a more accurate view of the top names in the country.

When all variants are combined, these are the girl and boy names you are actually likely to hear most often on the playground!

Top Girl Names 2024

The girls’ Playground Analysis Top 5 remains unchanged from last year: Sophia, Amelia, Olivia, Emma, and Charlotte. Besides Adeline at #8 and Evelyn at #10, the rest of the Top 10 saw some shifts. Mia and Isabella switch places to #6 and #7, respectively, and Eliana jumps 4 spots to enter the Top 10 at #9 while Aria drops 3 spots to #12.

Within the Top 100, the biggest movers between 2023 and 2024 are Wrenley (#118 to #84), Alana (#114 to #82), Clara (#121 to #100), Juliette (#113 to #93), Melanie (#117 to #99), Lainey (#51 to #37), Vivian (#67 to #54), Aurora (#41 to #29), Valentina (#75 to #63). But Ailani had the highest jump by far — it moved 234 spots up from #300 to #66.

The names that moved down the most are Aubrey (#76 to #98), Madison (#32 to #47), Kaylee (#62 to #74), Addison (#77 to #89), and Gabriella (#83 to #94).

It’s also interesting to note that there are two separate spellings of Sophia in the SSA Top 10, which helped it handily take first place in the Playground Analysis. On SSA's official charts, Sophia is #6 and Sofia is #10.

Speaking of the SSA list, let’s compare it to the Playground Analysis to show how the combined spellings can really impact the popularity of a name. The names from the PA Top 100 influenced the most by combining the spellings are the following:

#1 Kaylee

— moved 147 places to #74

#2 Journee

— moved 121 places to #96

#3 Kehlani

— moved 113 places to #37

#4 Callie

— moved 97 places to #79

#5 Amaya

— moved 93 places to #76

#6 Isabel

— moved 90 places to #77

#7 Emerson

— moved 79 places to #72

#8 Charlie

— moved 73 places to #67

#9 Alaia

— moved 67 places to #45

#10 Wrenley

— moved 65 places to #84

See the Top 100 most popular girl names 2024, according to our Playground Analysis, below.

Names are given in their most popular form, together with their SSA rankings and total combined births, plus the most common variant spellings.

All spellings given to five or more babies are included in the figures, but I have only listed those with 50 or more births due to length. For example, Sophia has 10 alternate spellings used in 2024, but only 3 are listed here.

As happens with several names in the Playground Analysis, there has been some speculation that Aaliyah and Alaia are the same name and should be combined. In my analysis of names and their pronunciations, I go with my gut and with the full understanding that parents are going to pronounce them however they choose. I hear Aaliyah pronounced uh-lee-uh and Alaia as uh-lay-uh and have categorized spellings accordingly. If Aaliyah and Alaia were combined, however, the name would be in the Top 10.

Playground Analysis Top 100 Girl Names

#1 Sophia

(6) — 20336 births — Sofia, Sofiya

#2 Amelia

(3) — 18375 births — Emilia, Emelia, Amilia

#3 Olivia

(1) — 15777 births — Alivia, Alyvia

#4 Emma

(2) — 13629 births — Ema

#5 Charlotte

(4) — 12693 births — Charlette

#6 Mia

(5) — 12633 births — Miah, Miya, Miyah

#7 Isabella

(7) — 12056 births — Izabella, Isabela

#8 Adeline

(58) — 11764 births — Adalynn, Adaline, Adalyn, Adelyn, Adelynn, Addilyn, Addilynn, Adilene, Addalyn, Addelyn, Adilynn, Addalynn, Adelyne, Adalyne, Adilyn

#9 Eliana

(18) — 11219 births — Elliana, Elianna, Ellianna, Eliyanah, Elyana, Elyanna, Eliyana, Ellyana, Ellieana, Eleana

#10 Evelyn

(8) — 10695 births — Evelynn, Evalyn, Evalynn, Evelin

#11 Isla

(35) — 10666 births — Ayla, Iyla, Ila, Aila, Aylah, Eila, Aiyla, Iylah, Aayla, Ilah

#12 Aria

(26) — 10364 births — Arya, Ariyah, Ariya, Ariah, Aarya, Aryah

#13 Camila

(11) — 10096 births — Kamila, Camilla, Kamilla, Kamilah

#14 Zoe

(29) — 9673 births — Zoey, Zoie

#15 Madelyn

(65) — 9590 births — Madeline, Madilyn, Madeleine, Madelynn, Madilynn, Madalyn, Madalynn, Madelyne, Madelin

#16 Elena

(45) — 9328 births — Alaina, Elaina, Alayna, Alena, Aleyna, Elayna, Ellena

#17 Ava

(9) — 9037 births — Avah, Ayva, Ayvah

#18 Riley

(42) — 8997 births — Rylee, Ryleigh, Rylie, Rhylee, Reilly

#19 Layla

(37) — 8523 births — Leila, Laila, Leyla, Laylah, Lailah, Leilah

#20 Chloe

(20) — 7941 births — Khloe, Cloe

#21 Lily

(24) — 7879 births — Lilly, Lillie, Lili

#22 Eleanor

(14) — 7835 births — Elinor, Eleanore, Elanor, Eleonor

#23 Nora

(22) — 7528 births — Norah

#24 Harper

(12) — 7370 births

#25 Violet

(15) — 7365 births — Violette, Violett

#26 Emily

(25) — 7305 births — Emely, Emilie, Emilee, Emmalee

#27 Elizabeth

(17) — 7189 births — Elisabeth

#28 Luna

(13) — 7183 births

#29 Aurora

(16) — 6953 births

#30 Scarlett

(27) — 6889 births — Scarlet, Scarlette, Scarleth, Skarlett

#31 Gianna

(23) — 6885 births — Giana, Jianna, Jiana

#32 Lyla

(83) — 6747 births — Lilah, Lila, Lylah, Lylla

#33 Ellie

(21) — 6649 births — Elly, Elli, Ellee

#34 Hazel

(19) — 6572 births

#35 Avery

(31) — 6505 births — Averie, Averi

#36 Leah

(53) — 6357 births — Lia, Lea, Liah, Liya, Lya

#37 Kehlani

(150) — 6318 births — Kaylani, Kailani, Keilani, Kailany, Kelani, Keilany, Kaelani, Keylani, Kylani, Klani, Kaylanie, Kayloni

#38 Aaliyah

(93) — 6212 births — Aliyah, Alia, Aleah, Aliya, Aliah, Alya, Eliyah, Aleigha, Alyah, Aaliya, Alea

#39 Lainey

(38) — 6153 births — Laney, Laynee, Laynie, Lainee, Lanie

#40 Maya

(51) — 6131 births — Mya, Maia, Myah, Mayah, Maiya

#41 Ella

(30) — 5851 births — Ela

#42 Ivy

(36) — 5822 births — Ivey, Ivie

#43 Everly

(81) — 5783 births — Everleigh, Everlee, Everley, Everlie

#44 Penelope

(28) — 5765 births

#45 Alaia

(112) — 5758 births — Alaya, Alayah, Alaiya, Aleia, Alaiya, Alahia, Aleyah, Aleya, Alaiah, Eleia, Elaia, Elaya

#46 Abigail

(32) — 5742 births

#47 Madison

(46) — 5742 births — Maddison, Madisson, Madisyn, Madyson

#48 Mila

(33) — 5739 births — Milah

#49 Emery

(70) — 5684 births — Emory, Emerie, Emeri, Emori, Emmarie, Emry, Emmery, Emorie, Emrie

#50 Lucy

(34) — 5631 births — Lucie, Luci

#51 Naomi

(44) — 5501 births — Nyomi, Nahomi, Nahomy, Naiomi, Nayomi, Naomie, Niomi

#52 Nova

(39) — 5386 births — Novah

#53 Hannah

(52) — 5080 births — Hanna, Hana

#54 Vivian

(77) — 5041 births — Vivienne, Vivianne, Vivien

#55 Grace

(40) — 5019 births

#56 Leilani

(66) — 4883 births — Leilany, Laylani, Leylani, Lailani, Lelani

#57 Lillian

(54) — 4863 births — Lilian, Lilyann

#58 Delilah

(50) — 4843 births — Dalilah, Dalila, Delylah

#59 Liliana

(80) — 4778 births — Lilliana, Lilyana, Lilianna, Lillianna, Lilyanna, Lillyanna, Lillyana

#60 Willow

(41) — 4688 births

#61 Ariana

(103) — 4552 births — Arianna, Aryana, Aryanna

#62 Allison

(99) — 4524 births — Alison, Alisson, Allyson, Alyson, Allisson

#63 Valentina

(47) — 4438 births

#64 Sarah

(95) — 4374 births — Sara

#65 Genesis

(55) — 4373 births — Jenesis

#66 Ailany

(101) — 4370 births — Ailani, Aylani, Ailanny

#67 Charlie

(140) — 4355 births — Charlee, Charli, Charley, Charleigh, Charly

#68 Paisley

(61) — 4329 births — Paislee, Paisleigh

#69 Victoria

(48) — 4310 births

#70 Stella

(49) — 4291 births

#71 Anna

(94) — 4263 births — Ana

#72 Emerson

(151) — 4057 births — Emersyn, Emmerson, Emmersyn

#73 Kaylee

(220) — 4054 births — Kayleigh, Kaeli, Keily, Kaylie, Kailey, Caeli, Caylee, Kailee, Keyli, Caleigh, Kaley, Kaleigh, Kaily, Kaely

#74 Maria

(74) — 4053 births — Mariah, Mariyah

#75 Natalie

(73) — 3975 births — Nataly, Nathaly, Nathalie, Natalee

#76 Amaya

(169) — 3958 births — Amiyah, Amaia, Amayah, Amiya, Amya, Amyah

#77 Isabel

(167) — 3898 births — Isabelle, Isabell, Isobel, Izabel

#78 Hailey

(100) — 3894 births — Haley, Hayley, Hailee, Haylee, Hailie

#79 Callie

(176) — 3889 births — Kali, Cali, Kallie

#80 Sadie

(57) — 3851 births

#81 Kinsley

(85) — 3833 births — Kinslee, Kinsleigh, Kinzley, Kynslee, Kinzlee, Kynsley

#82 Alana

(143) — 3830 births — Alanna, Alannah, Elana, Alanah, Ilana

#83 Raelynn

(113) — 3819 births — Raelyn, Raylynn, Raylin

#84 Wrenley

(149) — 3796 births — Wrenlee, Wrenleigh, Wrenly, Renley, Renlee, Renleigh

#85 Ruby

(63) — 3795 births — Rubi

#86 Sophie

(60) — 3780 births — Sofie

#87 Josephine

(56) — 3773 births

#88 Eloise

(64) — 3740 births — Elouise

#89 Addison

(68) — 3724 births — Addyson, Addisyn

#90 Claire

(67) — 3709 births — Clare, Klaire

#91 Amira

(136) — 3700 births — Amirah, Amyra, Ameera, Ameerah, Emira, Amyrah

#92 Alice

(62) — 3641 births

#93 Juliette

(129) — 3572 births — Juliet, Julieth

#94 Gabriella

(106) — 3555 births — Gabriela

#95 Kennedy

(89) — 3516 births — Kennedi

#96 Journee

(217) — 3496 births — Journey, Journi, Journie, Journei, Jurnee, Journii

#97 Cora

(102) — 3451 births — Kora, Korra

#98 Aubrey

(130) — 3428 births — Aubree, Aubrie, Aubri

#99 Melanie

(122) — 3324 births — Melany, Melani

#100 Clara

(78) — 3294 births — Claira, Klara

Top Boy Names 2024

The first three names on the boys’ Playground Analysis stay the same from the PA 2023: Liam, Noah, and Oliver. The rest of the Top 10 — aside from James at #10 — has changed.

Mateo continues its rise by switching places with Jackson for #4 and #5, respectively. Luca also rises from #8 to #6, and Theodore jumps into the Top 10 from #11 to #8. Lucas drops one spot to #7, and Elijah drops two spots to #9. Aiden falls out of the Top 10 to #12.

This year’s biggest risers within the Top 100 are Thiago (#85 to #67), Santiago (#52 to #36), Beau (#74 to #59), Roman (#80 to #65), Bennett (#87 to #72), Wesley (#73 to #61), and Rowan (#75 to #64).

The biggest droppers are Kai (#58 to #80), Enzo (#74 to #88), Lincoln (#72 to #86), Axel (#69 to #81), Jayden (#33 to #44), Mason (#34 to #45), Aaron (#62 to #73), and Carson (#86 to #97).

Compared to the SSA list, the names from the PA Top 100 influenced the most by combining the spellings are the following:

#1 Kayson

— moved 223 spots to #68

#2 Zayn

— moved 149 spots to #100

#3 Kayden

— moved 106 spots to #19

#4 Elliot

— moved 68 spots to #82

#5 Malachi

— moved 60 spots to #89

#6 Nicholas

— moved 60 spots to #58

#7 Jace

— moved 57 spots to #57

#8 Aiden

— moved 35 spots to #12

#9 Giovanni

— moved 31 spots to #91

#10 Grayson

— moved 30 spots to #18

Below, see the full Top 100 most popular boy names 2024 according to our Playground Analysis.

Playground Analysis Top 100 Boy Names

#1 Liam

(1) — 22478 births — Lyam

#2 Noah

(2) — 20622 births — Noa

#3 Oliver

(3) — 15375 births

#4 Mateo

(7) — 14228 births — Matteo, Matheo

#5 Jackson

(35) — 13311 births — Jaxon, Jaxson, Jaxxon, Jaxen, Jaxyn

#6 Luca

(23) — 12358 births — Luka, Lucca, Lukah

#7 Lucas

(9) — 12097 births — Lukas

#8 Theodore

(4) — 12089 births — Theodor

#9 Elijah

(8) — 12055 births — Alijah

#10 James

(5) — 11827 births

#11 Henry

(6) — 11677 births — Henri

#12 Aiden

(47) — 11099 births — Ayden, Aidan, Adan, Eiden, Aden, Aydin, Eyden, Aydan, Eydan, Eidan, Adin, Aidyn, Aedan

#13 William

(10) — 10609 births

#14 Miles

(37) — 10178 births — Myles

#15 Ethan

(19) — 9993 births — Eithan, Eythan

#16 Benjamin

(11) — 9832 births

#17 Levi

(12) — 9643 births — Levy

#18 Grayson

(48) — 9497 births — Greyson, Graysen, Greysen, Gracen

#19 Kayden

(125) — 9496 births — Kaiden, Caden, Kaden, Cayden, Caiden, Kaidyn, Kaeden, Kadyn

#20 Ezra

(13) — 9092 births — Ezrah

#21 Michael

(18) — 8971 births — Mikael, Micheal, Mikel, Mykel

#22 Sebastian

(14) — 8722 births — Sebastien

#23 Daniel

(16) — 8482 births

#24 Jack

(15) — 8471 births

#25 John

(21) — 8416 births — Jon, Jhon

#26 Samuel

(17) — 8378 births

#27 Elias

(25) — 8304 births — Elyas, Ilyas, Alias, Ilias

#28 Dylan

(28) — 8266 births — Dilan, Dillon

#29 Asher

(20) — 8226 births

#30 Hudson

(22) — 8110 births — Hudsyn

#31 Alexander

(27) — 7861 births — Aleksander, Alexzander, Aleksandr

#32 Leo

(24) — 7837 births

#33 Julian

(30) — 7789 births — Julien

#34 Carter

(45) — 7738 births — Karter

#35 Owen

(26) — 7604 births

#36 Santiago

(29) — 7468 births — Santhiago

#37 David

(31) — 7365 births

#38 Matthew

(33) — 7328 births — Mathew

#39 Joseph

(32) — 7317 births — Josef

#40 Josiah

(53) — 7117 births — Jasiah, Jesiah, Joziah, Jessiah, Jaziah, Jahsiah

#41 Caleb

(49) — 7102 births — Kaleb

#42 Luke

(34) — 7079 births

#43 Isaac

(40) — 7064 births — Issac, Isaak, Izaak

#44 Jayden

(59) — 7036 births — Jaden, Jaiden, Jadon, Jeyden, Jaydon

#45 Mason

(42) — 6984 births — Maison, Mayson, Masyn

#46 Thomas

(39) — 6931 births — Tomas

#47 Maverick

(36) — 6916 births — Mavrick, Maverik

#48 Jacob

(41) — 6839 births — Jakob, Jaycob

#49 Wyatt

(38) — 6587 births

#50 Ezekiel

(54) — 6583 births — Ezequiel

#51 Gabriel

(43) — 6387 births

#52 Anthony

(44) — 6347 births

#53 Logan

(46) — 6277 births

#54 Cameron

(66) — 6234 births — Kameron, Kamryn, Camryn, Camron, Kamron, Camren, Kamren

#55 Isaiah

(56) — 6140 births — Izaiah, Isiah, Izayah

#56 Cooper

(50) — 5900 births — Kooper

#57 Jace

(114) — 5850 births — Jayce, Jase

#58 Nicholas

(118) — 5730 births — Nicolas, Nikolas, Niklaus, Nickolas

#59 Beau

(69) — 5663 births — Bo, Beaux

#60 Christian

(77) — 5654 births — Cristian, Kristian, Cristhian, Khristian

#61 Wesley

(58) — 5653 births — Westley, Weslee

#62 Christopher

(61) — 5594 births — Kristopher, Cristopher, Cristofer

#63 Charles

(51) — 5593 births

#64 Rowan

(71) — 5572 births — Rowen, Roen, Rowyn

#65 Roman

(52) — 5523 births

#66 Weston

(70) — 5481 births — Westin, Westyn, Westen

#67 Thiago

(55) — 5478 births — Tiago

#68 Kayson

(291) — 5470 births — Kaison, Kasen, Kason, Kaysen, Cayson, Casen, Cason, Kaisen, Kaycen, Caysen, Kaisyn, Kacen, Kasyn, Kaeson, Caison

#69 Nathan

(62) — 5386 births — Neythan, Neithan

#70 Waylon

(65) — 5377 births — Waylen

#71 Joshua

(57) — 5265 births

#72 Bennett

(60) — 5194 births — Bennet

#73 Aaron

(79) — 5174 births — Aron, Eren, Aren, Arin

#74 Nolan

(64) — 5027 births — Nolen

#75 Angel

(63) — 4977 births

#76 Silas

(81) — 4925 births — Sylas, Sylus

#77 Amir

(95) — 4904 births — Emir, Ameer, Ahmir, Aamir

#78 Adrian

(72) — 4878 births — Adrien

#79 Kai

(76) — 4834 births — Khai, Kye, Cai

#80 Axel

(78) — 4833 births — Axl, Aksel, Axle, Axell

#81 Jonathan

(83) — 4829 births — Johnathan, Jonathon, Johnathon

#82 Elliot

(150) — 4819 births — Elliott, Eliot, Eliott

#83 Brooks

(67) — 4802 births

#84 Andrew

(68) — 4793 births

#85 Ian

(75) — 4755 births — Ean

#86 Lincoln

(73) — 4745 births — Linkin

#87 Colton

(98) — 4634 births — Kolton, Colten, Kolten

#88 Enzo

(74) — 4560 births

#89 Malachi

(149) — 4549 births — Malakai, Malakhi, Malikai, Malaki, Malachai

#90 Damian

(110) — 4333 births — Damien, Damion

#91 Giovanni

(122) — 4266 births — Jovanni, Jovani, Giovani, Jiovanni, Geovanni, Giovanny, Jovanny

#92 Micah

(86) — 4221 births — Mikah

#93 Ryan

(87) — 4193 births — Rian, Riyan

#94 Dominic

(108) — 4141 births — Dominick, Dominik, Domenic

#95 Everett

(85) — 4136 births — Everette

#96 Theo

(80) — 4110 births

#97 Carson

(123) — 4108 births — Karson, Karsyn, Karsen, Carsen, Carsyn

#98 Walker

(82) — 4023 births

#99 Leonardo

(84) — 3951 births

#100 Zayn

(249) — 3932 births — Zane, Zayne, Zain, Zaine

Does this list reflect what you are hearing on the playground?