The Social Security Administration Released the Top 1,000 Names for Baby Boys

One of the first decisions you make as a parent is also one of the most long-lasting: choosing a baby name. You want to find the right blend of trendy and timeless, so you don't wind up with baby-name regret (or with a name your child will want to change later on).

If you want to check on the popularity of a name before you decide, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is the first stop. It keeps a list of the top 1,000 baby boy names every year. It also tracks data about names that are rising and falling in rank, so you can see how the use of a name has changed over time. From there, we can also see trends, which are confirmed through lists made by baby-naming sites that know which names its users are looking up and settling on more and more often.

So, what names are we seeing more of in 2022, and what trendy boy names do we expect to be on the rise for 2023? When we scoured the popular naming trends for this year and next, these were the ones that rose to the top.

Looking for more baby boy name inspiration? Check out our list of top Indian/Hindu boy names, Irish boy names, Hispanic boy names, long boy names and short boy names, along with baby girl names and gender-neutral names for good measure. No matter which one you choose, your son is sure to find a way to make that name embody his own, unique personality.

These are currently the most popular baby names for boys.

The SSA released its list of the most popular names of 2021, and these are the names used most often, as of the end of 2021.

1. Liam

2. Noah

3. Oliver

4. Elijah

5. James

6. William

7. Benjamin

8. Lucas

9. Henry

10. Theodore

They should look pretty familiar — almost all of them were in the top ten in the previous year, too. The only newcomer is the last one, Theodore, which ousted Alexander from the tenth spot. Welcome to all the baby Theos out there!

These baby boy names are becoming trendy.

In addition to keeping track of the most-often-used names, the SSA also looks at which names took the biggest leaps in popularity. These names are rising fastest through the ranks:

1. Amiri

2. Eliam

3. Colter

4. Ozzy

5. Loyal

6. Khai

7. Evander

8. Camilo

9. Mac

10. Jiraiya

11. Banks

12. Gian

13. Wylder

14. Elio

15. Kylian

16. Cillian

17. Bridger

18. Onyx

19. Zyair

20. Koen

As you can see, Kylian/Cillian made it on there twice, and variant spelling Killian also made it onto the SSA Top 1,000 (in place No. 347). Could it be a nod to Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy?

Boy names that have decreased most in popularity, however, include Jaxtyn, Karsyn, Xzavier, Willie, Tristan, Aldo, Hakeem, Bentlee, Marley and Korbyn. It seems that once variant spellings of popular names were having a moment, but that moment has passed.

Cute names are the future of baby boy names.

What about the trends that are so new, they haven't shown up on the SSA list yet? "For boys, we've been moving away from the patrilineal traditionally masculine names for at least a generation, though James and William are hanging on tight and Henry is even rising through the ranks," says Pamela Redmond, CEO of Nameberry, a baby-naming site that keeps track of baby name trends. "These softer unconventional boy name trends include surnames ending in S such as Wells and Rhodes and nouveau cowboy names like Dutton and Wilder." She says that means choosing names like Kit over Christopher, Royal over Charles and Huck or Sawyer over Tom.

Nameberry also sees a rise in what it calls "old money names." These names pull together a few trends that have been rising for a bunch of years now: they're classic (and not too trendy), many of them originated as last names, and there's also a gender-neutral component, since some of the names — like Aubrey and Courtney — have also become popular as girls' names. Other old-money boys' names Nameberry has identified include Alistair, Conrad, Evelyn, Guy, Penn, Piers, Sidney and Ward.

Everyone wants to get in the great outdoors with unique, nature-inspired names.

Has the pandemic made everyone feel cooped up? Boy names are looking more and more to the great outdoors. Both Nameberry and BabyCenter, which also keeps track of the baby names its users pick, have found an uptick in names that feel at home in the wilderness, like Forest (or Forrest), River, Everest, Ocean, Reef and Woods. Maybe it's time to plan that trip you've been putting off? Or go even further: The Bump dug into its baby-name data and found a rise in space-themed names, like Orion, Apollo and Atlas.

Look out for the animals.

What do Zooey Deschanel, Kylie Jenner, Lauren Conrad, rapper Eve and Jason Momoa all have in common? They all named their sons Wolf, though often it was a middle name (and Jenner changed her son's name to Aire). And Wolf isn't the only animal in the pack. Look for Fox, Bear, Falcon, Lynx and Tiger to show up in the future.

Pop culture still inspires baby names.

A name that just squeaked onto the SSA list? Neo, a moniker familiar to any fan of The Matrix movies. (Keanu has been bouncing on and off the list since the year 2000, but it's been a steady presence since 2016.)

Star Wars fans have also claimed spots on the list, with Kylo (No, 526), Anakin (No, 644) and Cassian (No. 969) making the top 1,000. (No Obi-Wans yet.) Even Rocky gets some love, with Creed, Adonis, and, yes, Rocky himself all making the list. And could the fast-rising Bridger be inspired by Bridgerton? It's entirely possible!

Gender-agnostic names make gender-neutral names more modern.

There's been a rise in unisex and gender-neutral names for a while now, and the trend shows no signs of stopping. But both Nameberry and BabyCenter also see that parents don't care if a name is traditionally a boys' name, a unisex name or girl's name. If they like it, they're going for it.

BabyCenter has seen names like Tatum, Finley and Eden — usually more popular on their girls' list — rise on the boys' side. And Nameberry has seen more and more boys with "goddess names like Artemis, Echo and Nyx; nature names like Indigo, Sunny and Wren and unisex names that previously leaned female, like Blair, Laurie and Sasha."

However you feel about those trends, if you're looking for baby boy name inspiration, something might jump out at you from scanning the SSA's list — for good or for bad.

The Current Top 1,000 Baby Boy Names

According to the Social Security Administration, these are the most popular names for baby boys in the United States.

1. Liam

2. Noah

3. Oliver

4. Elijah

5. James

6. William

7. Benjamin

8. Lucas

9. Henry

10. Theodore

11. Jack

12. Levi

13. Alexander

14. Jackson

15. Mateo

16. Daniel

17. Michael

18. Mason

19. Sebastian

20. Ethan

21. Logan

22. Owen

23. Samuel

24. Jacob

25. Asher

26. Aiden

27. John

28. Joseph

29. Wyatt

30. David

31. Leo

32. Luke

33. Julian

34. Hudson

35. Grayson

36. Matthew

37. Ezra

38. Gabriel

39. Carter

40. Isaac

41. Jayden

42. Luca

43. Anthony

44. Dylan

45. Lincoln

46. Thomas

47. Maverick

48. Elias

49. Josiah

50. Charles

51. Caleb

52. Christopher

53. Ezekiel

54. Miles

55. Jaxon

56. Isaiah

57. Andrew

58. Joshua

59. Nathan

60. Nolan

61. Adrian

62. Cameron

63. Santiago

64. Eli

65. Aaron

66. Ryan

67. Angel

68. Cooper

69. Waylon

70. Easton

71. Kai

72. Christian

73. Landon

74. Colton

75. Roman

76. Axel

77. Brooks

78. Jonathan

79. Robert

80. Jameson

81. Ian

82. Everett

83. Greyson

84. Wesley

85. Jeremiah

86. Hunter

87. Leonardo

88. Jordan

89. Jose

90. Bennett

91. Silas

92. Nicholas

93. Parker

94. Beau

95. Weston

96. Austin

97. Connor

98. Carson

99. Dominic

100. Xavier

101. Jaxson

102. Jace

103. Emmett

104. Adam

105. Declan

106. Rowan

107. Micah

108. Kayden

109. Gael

110. River

111. Ryder

112. Kingston

113. Damian

114. Sawyer

115. Luka

116. Evan

117. Vincent

118. Legend

119. Myles

120. Harrison

121. August

122. Bryson

123. Amir

124. Giovanni

125. Chase

126. Diego

127. Milo

128. Jasper

129. Walker

130. Jason

131. Brayden

132. Cole

133. Nathaniel

134. George

135. Lorenzo

136. Zion

137. Luis

138. Archer

139. Enzo

140. Jonah

141. Thiago

142. Theo

143. Ayden

144. Zachary

145. Calvin

146. Braxton

147. Ashton

148. Rhett

149. Atlas

150. Jude

151. Bentley

152. Carlos

153. Ryker

154. Adriel

155. Arthur

156. Ace

157. Tyler

158. Jayce

159. Max

160. Elliot

161. Graham

162. Kaiden

163. Maxwell

164. Juan

165. Dean

166. Matteo

167. Malachi

168. Ivan

169. Elliott

170. Jesus

171. Emiliano

172. Messiah

173. Gavin

174. Maddox

175. Camden

176. Hayden

177. Leon

178. Antonio

179. Justin

180. Tucker

181. Brandon

182. Kevin

183. Judah

184. Finn

185. King

186. Brody

187. Xander

188. Nicolas

189. Charlie

190. Arlo

191. Emmanuel

192. Barrett

193. Felix

194. Alex

195. Miguel

196. Abel

197. Alan

198. Beckett

199. Amari

200. Karter

201. Timothy

202. Abraham

203. Jesse

204. Zayden

205. Blake

206. Alejandro

207. Dawson

208. Tristan

209. Victor

210. Avery

211. Joel

212. Grant

213. Eric

214. Patrick

215. Peter

216. Richard

217. Edward

218. Andres

219. Emilio

220. Colt

221. Knox

222. Beckham

223. Adonis

224. Kyrie

225. Matias

226. Oscar

227. Lukas

228. Marcus

229. Hayes

230. Caden

231. Remington

232. Griffin

233. Nash

234. Israel

235. Steven

236. Holden

237. Rafael

238. Zane

239. Jeremy

240. Kash

241. PrestonRowan

242. Kyler

243. Jax

244. Jett

245. Kaleb

246. Riley

247. Simon

248. Phoenix

249. Javier

250. Bryce

251. Louis

252. Mark

253. Cash

254. Lennox

255. Paxton

256. Malakai

257. Paul

258. Kenneth

259. Nico

260. Kaden

261. Lane

262. Kairo

263. Maximus

264. Omar

265. Finley

266. Atticus

267. Crew

268. Brantley

269. Colin

270. Dallas

271. Walter

272. Brady

273. Callum

274. Ronan

275. Hendrix

276. Jorge

277. Tobias

278. Clayton

279. Emerson

280. Damien

281. Zayn

282. Malcolm

283. Kayson

284. Bodhi

285. Bryan

286. Aidan

287. Cohen

288. Brian

289. Cayden

290. Andre

291. Niko

292. Maximiliano

293. Zander

294. Khalil

295. Rory

296. Francisco

297. Cruz

298. Kobe

299. Reid

300. Daxton

301. Derek

302. Martin

303. Jensen

304. Karson

305. Tate

306. Muhammad

307. Jaden

308. Joaquin

309. Josue

310. Gideon

311. Dante

312. Cody

313. Bradley

314. Orion

315. Spencer

316. Angelo

317. Erick

318. Jaylen

319. Julius

320. Manuel

321. Ellis

322. Colson

323. Cairo

324. Gunner

325. Wade

326. Chance

327. Odin

328. Anderson

329. Kane

330. Raymond

331. Cristian

332. Aziel

333. Prince

334. Ezequiel

335. Jake

336. Otto

337. Eduardo

338. Rylan

339. Ali

340. Cade

341. Stephen

342. Ari

343. Kameron

344. Dakota

345. Warren

346. Ricardo

347. Killian

348. Mario

349. Romeo

350. Cyrus

351. Ismael

352. Russell

353. Tyson

354. Edwin

355. Desmond

356. Nasir

357. Remy

358. Tanner

359. Fernando

360. Hector

361. Titus

362. Lawson

363. Sean

364. Kyle

365. Elian

366. Corbin

367. Bowen

368. Wilder

369. Armani

370. Royal

371. Stetson

372. Briggs

373. Sullivan

374. Leonel

375. Callan

376. Finnegan

377. Jay

378. Zayne

379. Marshall

380. Kade

381. Travis

382. Sterling

383. Raiden

384. Sergio

385. Tatum

386. Cesar

387. Zyaire

388. Milan

389. Devin

390. Gianni

391. Kamari

392. Royce

393. Malik

394. Jared

395. Franklin

396. Clark

397. Noel

398. Marco

399. Archie

400. Apollo

401. Pablo

402. Garrett

403. Oakley

404. Memphis

405. Quinn

406. Onyx

407. Alijah

408. Baylor

409. Edgar

410. Nehemiah

411. Winston

412. Major

413. Rhys

414. Forrest

415. Jaiden

416. Reed

417. Santino

418. Troy

419. Caiden

420. Harvey

421. Collin

422. Solomon

423. Donovan

424. Damon

425. Jeffrey

426. Kason

427. Sage

428. Grady

429. Kendrick

430. Leland

431. Luciano

432. Pedro

433. Hank

434. Hugo

435. Esteban

436. Johnny

437. Kashton

438. Ronin

439. Ford

440. Mathias

441. Porter

442. Erik

443. Johnathan

444. Frank

445. Tripp

446. Casey

447. Fabian

448. Leonidas

449. Baker

450. Matthias

451. Philip

452. Jayceon

453. Kian

454. Saint

455. Ibrahim

456. Jaxton

457. Augustus

458. Callen

459. Trevor

460. Ruben

461. Adan

462. Conor

463. Dax

464. Braylen

465. Kaison

466. Francis

467. Kyson

468. Andy

469. Lucca

470. Mack

471. Peyton

472. Alexis

473. Deacon

474. Kasen

475. Kamden

476. Frederick

477. Princeton

478. Braylon

479. Wells

480. Nikolai

481. Iker

482. Bo

483. Dominick

484. Moshe

485. Cassius

486. Gregory

487. Lewis

488. Kieran

489. Isaias

490. Seth

491. Marcos

492. Omari

493. Shane

494. Keegan

495. Jase

496. Asa

497. Sonny

498. Uriel

499. Pierce

500. Jasiah

501. Eden

502. Rocco

503. Banks

504. Cannon

505. Denver

506. Zaiden

507. Roberto

508. Shawn

509. Drew

510. Emanuel

511. Kolton

512. Ayaan

513. Ares

514. Conner

515. Jalen

516. Alonzo

517. Enrique

518. Dalton

519. Moses

520. Koda

521. Bodie

522. Jamison

523. Phillip

524. Zaire

525. Jonas

526. Kylo

527. Moises

528. Shepherd

529. Allen

530. Kenzo

531. Mohamed

532. Keanu

533. Dexter

534. Conrad

535. Bruce

536. Sylas

537. Soren

538. Raphael

539. Rowen

540. Gunnar

541. Sutton

542. Quentin

543. Jaziel

544. Emmitt

545. Makai

546. Koa

547. Maximilian

548. Brixton

549. Dariel

550. Zachariah

551. Roy

552. Armando

553. Corey

554. Saul

555. Izaiah

556. Danny

557. Davis

558. Ridge

559. Yusuf

560. Ariel

561. Valentino

562. Jayson

563. Ronald

564. Albert

565. Gerardo

566. Ryland

567. Dorian

568. Drake

569. Gage

570. Rodrigo

571. Hezekiah

572. Kylan

573. Boone

574. Ledger

575. Santana

576. Jamari

577. Jamir

578. Lawrence

579. Reece

580. Kaysen

581. Shiloh

582. Arjun

583. Marcelo

584. Abram

585. Benson

586. Huxley

587. Nikolas

588. Zain

589. Kohen

590. Samson

591. Miller

592. Donald

593. Finnley

594. Kannon

595. Lucian

596. Watson

597. Keith

598. Westin

599. Tadeo

600. Sincere

601. Boston

602. Axton

603. Amos

604. Chandler

605. Leandro

606. Raul

607. Scott

608. Reign

609. Alessandro

610. Camilo

611. Derrick

612. Morgan

613. Julio

614. Clay

615. Edison

616. Jaime

617. Augustine

618. Julien

619. Zeke

620. Marvin

621. Bellamy

622. Landen

623. Dustin

624. Jamie

625. Krew

626. Kyree

627. Colter

628. Johan

629. Houston

630. Layton

631. Quincy

632. Case

633. Atreus

634. Cayson

635. Aarav

636. Darius

637. Harlan

638. Justice

639. Abdiel

640. Layne

641. Raylan

642. Arturo

643. Taylor

644. Anakin

645. Ander

646. Hamza

647. Otis

648. Azariah

649. Leonard

650. Colby

651. Duke

652. Flynn

653. Trey

654. Gustavo

655. Fletcher

656. Issac

657. Sam

658. Trenton

659. Callahan

660. Chris

661. Mohammad

662. Rayan

663. Lionel

664. Bruno

665. Jaxxon

666. Zaid

667. Brycen

668. Roland

669. Dillon

670. Lennon

671. Ambrose

672. Rio

673. Mac

674. Ahmed

675. Samir

676. Yosef

677. Tru

678. Creed

679. Tony

680. Alden

681. Aden

682. Alec

683. Carmelo

684. Dario

685. Marcel

686. Roger

687. Ty

688. Ahmad

689. Emir

690. Landyn

691. Skyler

692. Mohammed

693. Dennis

694. Kareem

695. Nixon

696. Rex

697. Uriah

698. Lee

699. Louie

700. Rayden

701. Reese

702. Alberto

703. Cason

704. Quinton

705. Kingsley

706. Chaim

707. Alfredo

708. Mauricio

709. Caspian

710. Legacy

711. Ocean

712. Ozzy

713. Briar

714. Wilson

715. Forest

716. Grey

717. Joziah

718. Salem

719. Neil

720. Remi

721. Bridger

722. Harry

723. Jefferson

724. Lachlan

725. Nelson

726. Casen

727. Salvador

728. Magnus

729. Tommy

730. Marcellus

731. Maximo

732. Jerry

733. Clyde

734. Aron

735. Keaton

736. Eliam

737. Lian

738. Trace

739. Douglas

740. Junior

741. Titan

742. Cullen

743. Cillian

744. Musa

745. Mylo

746. Hugh

747. Tomas

748. Vincenzo

749. Westley

750. Langston

751. Byron

752. Kiaan

753. Loyal

754. Orlando

755. Kyro

756. Amias

757. Amiri

758. Jimmy

759. Vicente

760. Khari

761. Brendan

762. Rey

763. Ben

764. Emery

765. Zyair

766. Bjorn

767. Evander

768. Ramon

769. Alvin

770. Ricky

771. Jagger

772. Brock

773. Dakari

774. Eddie

775. Blaze

776. Gatlin

777. Alonso

778. Curtis

779. Kylian

780. Nathanael

781. Devon

782. Wayne

783. Zakai

784. Mathew

785. Rome

786. Riggs

787. Aryan

788. Avi

789. Hassan

790. Lochlan

791. Stanley

792. Dash

793. Kaiser

794. Benicio

795. Bryant

796. Talon

797. Rohan

798. Wesson

799. Joe

800. Noe

801. Melvin

802. Vihaan

803. Zayd

804. Darren

805. Enoch

806. Mitchell

807. Jedidiah

808. Brodie

809. Castiel

810. Ira

811. Lance

812. Guillermo

813. Thatcher

814. Ermias

815. Misael

816. Jakari

817. Emory

818. Mccoy

819. Rudy

820. Thaddeus

821. Valentin

822. Yehuda

823. Bode

824. Madden

825. Kase

826. Bear

827. Boden

828. Jiraiya

829. Maurice

830. Alvaro

831. Ameer

832. Demetrius

833. Eliseo

834. Kabir

835. Kellan

836. Allan

837. Azrael

838. Calum

839. Niklaus

840. Ray

841. Damari

842. Elio

843. Jon

844. Leighton

845. Axl

846. Dane

847. Eithan

848. Eugene

849. Kenji

850. Jakob

851. Colten

852. Eliel

853. Nova

854. Santos

855. Zahir

856. Idris

857. Ishaan

858. Kole

859. Korbin

860. Seven

861. Alaric

862. Kellen

863. Bronson

864. Franco

865. Wes

866. Larry

867. Mekhi

868. Jamal

869. Dilan

870. Elisha

871. Brennan

872. Kace

873. Van

874. Felipe

875. Fisher

876. Cal

877. Dior

878. Judson

879. Alfonso

880. Deandre

881. Rocky

882. Henrik

883. Reuben

884. Anders

885. Arian

886. Damir

887. Jacoby

888. Khalid

889. Kye

890. MustafaValery

891. Jadiel

892. Stefan

893. Yousef

894. Aydin

895. Jericho

896. Robin

897. Wallace

898. Alistair

899. Davion

900. Alfred

901. Ernesto

902. Kyng

903. Everest

904. Gary

905. Leroy

906. Yahir

907. Braden

908. Kelvin

909. Kristian

910. Adler

911. Avyaan

912. Brayan

913. Jones

914. Truett

915. Aries

916. Joey

917. Randy

918. Jaxx

919. Jesiah

920. Jovanni

921. Azriel

922. Brecken

923. Harley

924. Zechariah

925. Gordon

926. Jakai

927. Carl

928. Graysen

929. Kylen

930. Ayan

931. Branson

932. Crosby

933. Dominik

934. Jabari

935. Jaxtyn

936. Kristopher

937. Ulises

938. Zyon

939. Fox

940. Howard

941. Salvatore

942. Turner

943. Vance

944. Harlem

945. Jair

946. Jakobe

947. Jeremias

948. Osiris

949. Azael

950. Bowie

951. Canaan

952. Elon

953. Granger

954. Karsyn

955. Zavier

956. Cain

957. Dangelo

958. Heath

959. Yisroel

960. Gian

961. Shepard

962. Harold

963. Kamdyn

964. Rene

965. Rodney

966. Yaakov

967. Adrien

968. Kartier

969. Cassian

970. Coleson

971. Ahmir

972. Darian

973. Genesis

974. Kalel

975. Agustin

976. Wylder

977. Yadiel

978. Ephraim

979. Kody

980. Neo

981. Ignacio

982. Osman

983. Aldo

984. Abdullah

985. Cory

986. Blaine

987. Dimitri

988. Khai

989. Landry

990. Palmer

991. Benedict

992. Leif

993. Koen

994. Maxton

995. Mordechai

996. Zev

997. Atharv

998. Bishop

999. Blaise

1000. Davian

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