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Fastest-Rising Boy Names 2025

Sophie Kihm
By Sophie Kihm
Updated Wed May 13 2026
Fastest-Rising Boy Names 2025

What are the fastest-rising boy names on the most recent US name popularity list?

Here's a list of the boy names vaulting the furthest and fastest up the list, including those that have moved up 20 or more places in 2025 compared with 2024. Note that the Social Security Administration issues the official baby name count for the US more than a year later, so 2025 is the most recent year counted.

All of these names are on the official list of US Top 1000 Boy Names for 2025, though some moved up from below the line. Some are familiar and many may be new to you. What they have in common is that they're hot right now.

Does that mean they're destined to be the most popular boy names of the future? Maybe, and maybe not.

Some of the fastest-rising names got that way because of a pop culture event or a celebrity and may fade just as quickly. But some — and these are the names you'll probably want to pay the most attention to — are male names that have been simmering along just below the surface and are ready to pop.

Nameberry favorites such as Caius, Evren, and Soren have become big favorites with the rest of the country, which means they are almost certainly heading to the top of the popularity list. A few of the fastest-rising names are grandpa names rising from the ashes: Roland, Francis, and Wallace.

Landry and Scottie have the distinction of making both the girls' and boys' fastest-rising lists.

The fastest-rising boys' names on this list are ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.

RELATED:

Fastest-Rising Girl Names

Boy Names

  1. Cassian

    • Origin:

      Latin, variation of Cassius

    • Meaning:

      "hollow"

    • Description:

      Rugged but gentle at the same time, Cassian is a saintly and stylish choice that was derived from the name Cassius. Before 2017, it was an obscure choice, given to a tiny handful of boys each year. As of 2023, however, it's become one of the top ten fastest-rising names in the US, more than doubling in usage since 2022 and edging closer towards the Top 500.
  2. Callum

    • Origin:

      Scottish form of Columba, Latin

    • Meaning:

      "dove"

    • Description:

      Callum is a gentle, charming name of Scottish origin, that is a popular choice across the UK. In the US, it was a rare option until the late 2000s, however, since 2017 it's been rising up the ranks. Complete with easy, breezy and cool nickname Cal, it climbed more than 60 places in the US in 2024, placing it just outside the Top 150.
  3. Ellis

    • Origin:

      English surname derived from Elijah or Elias or Welsh

    • Meaning:

      "my God is Yahweh; benevolent"

    • Description:

      Ellis is a former Old Man Name turned gender-neutral choice for the 21st century. It's one of the less used names in the currently popular El-family, unless you're in the UK, where it's a Top 100 choice.
  4. Hugo

    • Origin:

      Latinized form of Hugh

    • Meaning:

      "mind, intellect"

    • Description:

      Hugo, the Latin form of Hugh, has more heft and energy than the original -- and of course we love names that end (or begin, for that matter) with an o. This one is especially appealing because it's backed up by lots of solid history and European style.
  5. Caspian

    • Origin:

      Place name

    • Meaning:

      "white"

    • Description:

      One of the most romantic of appellations, Caspian is a geographical name referring to the large salty sea between Asia and Europe. It's also the name of the hero of C.S. Lewis's beloved Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian.
  6. Kieran

    • Origin:

      Irish

    • Meaning:

      "little black-haired one"

    • Description:

      Long popular in Ireland and England, Kieran, the name of Ireland's first-born saint and twenty-five other saints, has been building its U.S. fan base thanks to its strong and attractive sound, and its fashionable Irish brogue. While Ciaran is the more authentic Irish spelling, Kieran is more popular this side of the Atlantic.
  7. Elio

    • Origin:

      Italian, Spanish

    • Meaning:

      "sun"

    • Description:

      Elio is a sunny and spirited Italian and Spanish name that makes a great crossover prospect, which could catch on as Enzo has. Derived from the Roman Aelius and the Greek Helios, it has an appealing summery meaning and a similar sound to stylish choices, like Elliott, Elias, Leo, and Eli.
  8. Simon

    • Origin:

      Hebrew, Greek

    • Meaning:

      "he has heard; flat-nosed"

    • Description:

      Simon is pure and simple (not in the nursery rhyme sense), and an appealingly genuine Old and New Testament name that's not overused. These factors make Simon a stylish yet classic choice.
  9. Soren

    • Origin:

      Danish, Norwegian

    • Meaning:

      "stern"

    • Description:

      This gentle Scandinavian name, soft and sensitive, is being discovered in a major way by parents in the US. It's most closely identified with the nineteenth century philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, but there have been modern fictional Sorens as well, in The Matrix Reloaded and the book series Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Charlie and Lola, and Underworld.
  10. Conrad

    • Origin:

      German

    • Meaning:

      "brave counsel"

    • Description:

      Solid and intellectual, with just a touch of ruggedness thanks to that rad ending, Conrad has appeared consistently in on the US popularity charts since the 19th century. Over the years, it has been leant a literary air by the writer Joseph Conrad, a pop of rock energy by the Elvis-like character in the movie Bye, Bye, Birdie, and more recently, a serious, kind-hearted, and handsome feel by The Summer I Turned Pretty.
  11. Bennett

    • Origin:

      English medieval form of Benedict, Latin

    • Meaning:

      "blessed"

    • Description:

      Bennett is Ben with a bow tie, kind of a cross between Benjamin and Beckett. It's been trending up on the popularity charts in recent years, and its choice by The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Jane Krakowski could shoot it even higher.
  12. Rory

    • Origin:

      Irish

    • Meaning:

      "red king"

    • Description:

      This spirited Gaelic classic, which became popular in Ireland via the illustrious twelfth century king Rory O'Connor, makes a highly energetic choice, now used for either sex. Rory's gender split is still trending boyward; it's one of the coolest boys' names starting with R.
  13. Atlas

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "bearer of the heavens"

    • Description:

      Atlas is one of those names that was previously thought too powerful for a baby boy, who would have to be strong enough to carry the world on his shoulders. Now Atlas has joined the pantheon of Greek and Roman god and goddess names in the realm of possibility, along with Mars, Zeus and Apollo.
  14. Nico

    • Origin:

      Italian diminutive of Nicholas, Greek

    • Meaning:

      "people of victory"

    • Description:

      Nico is one of the great nickname names, full of charm, energy and effortless cool -- a neo Nick.
  15. Lachlan

    • Origin:

      Scottish

    • Meaning:

      "from the fjord-land"

    • Description:

      Lachlan is as Scottish as haggis and tartan plaid kilts—a favorite used throughout England, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand—and just beginning to be noticed in the US: it reached the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013. An ancient name, Lachlan was originally used to describe the Viking invaders of Scotland, those from the land of the lochs.
  16. Evander

    • Origin:

      Scottish; Greek

    • Meaning:

      "bow warrior; strong man"

    • Description:

      Evander is a name that could build on the popularity of shorter form Evan, and could work and play well with schoolmates like Zander and Xander.
  17. Charlie

    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Charles, French from German

    • Meaning:

      "free man"

    • Description:

      Charlie derives, of course, from the classic name Charles which, in turn, comes from a German word meaning "free man." Charles became very popular in France during the Middle Ages due to the fame of Charles the Great, also known as Charlemagne. Charley is an alternate spelling.
  18. Nael

    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Nathanael or Gwenael, French, Arabic

    • Meaning:

      "gift of God; generous; attainer, winner"

    • Description:

      Nael - or Naël as it is often spelled - originated as a French diminutive of names ending in -nael, though in recent years, it has risen up the charts as a standalone choice. A Top 20 name in France, it is also popular in Belgium and Switzerland, where it fits in beside Léo, Sacha, Lou, Noé, and Ben.
  19. Otis

    • Origin:

      Variation of Otto, German

    • Meaning:

      "wealthy"

    • Description:

      Otis has real appeal for parents attracted to its catchy O initial and combination of strength and spunk. The appealing hero of the British TV show Sex Education has done much to propel Otis into the forefront of cool names.
  20. Quinn

    • Origin:

      Irish

    • Meaning:

      "descendant of Conn, chief leader, intelligence"

    • Description:

      Quinn is an engaging Celtic surname, zippy, concise and strong. While it may now lean feminine in the US, given to girls about 80% of the time, it is still given to a substantial number of boys: 615 in a recent count.

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