Boy Names: Popular Boys Names, Meanings and Origins (SSA Data)
A sourced list of boy names for parents: the most popular names for boys in the US from Social Security data, what the classic and rising names mean, male names by origin, unique boy names, and a practical way to choose one.
What parents should know
- Liam was the No. 1 boy name of 2025 for the seventh year in a row; Noah, Oliver and Theodore held places 2 to 4 (SSA, May 8, 2026).
- SSA publishes with a lag: the newest official list covers babies born in 2025. Ranks for 2026 births will not exist until SSA's next release, normally around Mother's Day 2027.
- In SSA's 2024 national file, the No. 1 name Liam was given to 22,164 boys, about 1.3% of the roughly 1.72 million boys counted.
- Theodore climbed from No. 36 in 2019 to No. 4 in 2024; Mateo went from No. 26 to No. 7 over the same period.
- Boy names are more concentrated than girl names: SSA says the top 1,000 covered 75.59% of boys born in 2025 versus 67.25% of girls.
- Every spelling is ranked separately, so check variants (Luca and Luka, Theo and Theodore) before deciding how common a name really is.
The most popular boy names right now (SSA's 2025 top 10)
The Social Security Administration builds its list from Social Security card applications filed for babies born in the US, and it is the reference every other baby-name ranking is measured against. Its 2025 list, released on May 8, 2026, is the most recent official ranking of boy names available.
The top of the boys' list is remarkably stable. SSA notes that Liam, Noah, Oliver and Theodore all held the same places as the year before. Henry, James, Elijah, Mateo, William and Lucas complete the top 10, so the familiar mix of short Irish and Hebrew names, royal classics and the Spanish Mateo continues.
| 2025 rank | Boy name | 2024 rank | Boys given the name in 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liam | 1 | 22,164 |
| 2 | Noah | 2 | 20,337 |
| 3 | Oliver | 3 | 15,343 |
| 4 | Theodore | 4 | 12,011 |
| 5 | Henry | 6 | 11,547 |
| 6 | James | 5 | 11,793 |
| 7 | Elijah | 8 | 11,171 |
| 8 | Mateo | 7 | 11,302 |
| 9 | William | 10 | 10,596 |
| 10 | Lucas | 9 | 10,703 |
Boys names ranked 11 to 30, with real counts
SSA's press release only lists the top 10 for 2025, so for the next tier we use the latest complete national file, which covers boys born in 2024. These counts are the number of Social Security card applications for each exact spelling.
The second tier is where you see style shifts most clearly. Classic Bible and royal names (Benjamin, Daniel, Samuel, Michael, John, Alexander) sit beside softer modern picks such as Ezra, Asher, Hudson, Leo and Elias.
| 2024 rank | Boy name | Count (2024) | 2019 rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Benjamin | 9,814 | 7 |
| 12 | Levi | 9,513 | 25 |
| 13 | Ezra | 8,774 | 49 |
| 14 | Sebastian | 8,562 | 18 |
| 15 | Jack | 8,434 | 19 |
| 16 | Daniel | 8,391 | 15 |
| 17 | Samuel | 8,310 | 22 |
| 18 | Michael | 8,189 | 14 |
| 19 | Ethan | 8,170 | 11 |
| 20 | Asher | 8,123 | 43 |
| 21 | John | 8,047 | 28 |
| 22 | Hudson | 7,990 | 50 |
| 23 | Luca | 7,959 | 87 |
| 24 | Leo | 7,793 | 40 |
| 25 | Elias | 7,653 | 60 |
| 26 | Owen | 7,574 | 21 |
| 27 | Alexander | 7,517 | 10 |
| 28 | Dylan | 7,464 | 39 |
| 29 | Santiago | 7,407 | 70 |
| 30 | Julian | 7,368 | 31 |
What the top boy names mean
Meaning is one of the most common reasons parents give for choosing a name. The etymologies below are summarised from Behind the Name, a long-running reference that cites its sources for each entry.
- Liam: an Irish short form of William, popular in the UK from the 1980s before spreading to the US.
- William: from the Germanic Willehelm, combining elements meaning "will, desire" and "helmet, protection".
- Oliver: from Old French Olivier, possibly linked to the Latin oliva, "olive tree".
- Theodore: from the Greek Theodoros, "gift of god".
- Henry: from the Germanic Heimirich, "home ruler".
- James: the English form of Late Latin Iacomus, ultimately from the Hebrew Ya'aqov (Jacob).
- Elijah: from the Hebrew Eliyyahu, "my God is Yahweh".
- Mateo: the Spanish form of Matthew.
- Lucas: the Latin form of the Greek Loukas (Luke), used in many languages.
Rising boy names: who climbed fastest from 2019 to 2024
If you want a name that feels current without being in the top 10, look at the climbers. Comparing SSA's 2019 and 2024 national files among names now inside the top 200, the biggest risers were Stetson (No. 545 to No. 155), Tatum (487 to 195), Callum (448 to 159), Walker (230 to 82), Enzo (219 to 74), Thiago (184 to 55), Atlas (226 to 101), Arlo (271 to 146) and Theo (195 to 80).
Two themes stand out. Rugged, Western-feeling names (Stetson, Walker, Hayes, Jett) are rising, and so are Italian and Spanish names (Enzo, Luca, Thiago, Santiago). For 2025 births, SSA singled out Kasai, which it describes as meaning "fire" in Japanese and Swahili, as the fastest riser: it jumped 1,108 places to enter the top 1,000 at No. 639. Akari, Eziah, Jasai and Neithan followed. Our separate baby name trends 2027 guide tracks these movers in more depth.
Unique boy names that are still easy to live with
A truly unique name is one few other children will share. SSA's own numbers show how far down that is: in the 2024 file, the boy name ranked No. 1,000 (Stefan) was given to 225 babies nationwide, while the No. 1 name went to more than 22,000.
Many parents want a middle path: recognisable, easy to spell, but rare in a classroom. Names that are rising but still outside the top 100, such as Callum, Hayes, Jett or Stetson, fit that brief today. Older classics that have cooled, such as Mason (No. 9 in 2019, No. 42 in 2024) or Jaxon (No. 42 to No. 96), are another route to a familiar-yet-less-common name.
Before settling on an invented spelling, remember SSA ranks each spelling separately. A name can look rare on paper while sounding exactly like a very common one.
Male names by origin: Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese and Korean
Searches for boy names by culture are common, so here is how well-known names from several traditions actually rank in the US, using SSA's 2024 national file. SSA does not record a name's origin; the groupings below are general and many names are used across cultures.
| Origin | Name | 2024 US rank | Boys in 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | Santiago | 29 | 7,407 |
| Spanish | Alejandro | 184 | 1,992 |
| Italian | Luca | 23 | 7,959 |
| Italian | Enzo | 74 | 4,548 |
| Italian | Leonardo | 84 | 3,951 |
| Italian | Giovanni | 122 | 2,951 |
| Arabic | Amir | 95 | 3,625 |
| Arabic | Muhammad | 245 | 1,441 |
| Arabic | Zayn | 249 | 1,424 |
| Arabic | Omar | 260 | 1,343 |
| Japanese / Hawaiian | Kai | 76 | 4,276 |
| Japanese | Kenji | 855 | 283 |
| Japanese | Ren | 1,145 | 183 |
| Japanese | Hiro | 2,115 | 70 |
Japanese and Korean boy names in US data: a note of caution
Japanese names appear in the US data mostly at modest counts. Kai is the clear exception because it is also a Hawaiian, Welsh and Scandinavian name, which is why it sits near No. 76. Kenji, Ren and Hiro each went to fewer than 300 babies in 2024.
Korean given names are harder still to measure in SSA files. Many are written as two syllables with or without a hyphen, and SSA removes hyphens and spaces and ranks each spelling separately, so counts for names like Min-jun scatter across spellings or fall below SSA's privacy threshold of five births. If you are choosing a Korean name, family and community naming customs will tell you far more than US rankings.
How to choose a boy name: a five-step shortlist
- Each parent writes down 10 names they like without discussing them, then compare lists and keep the overlaps.
- Look up each surviving name on SSA's Popularity of a Name tool to see whether it is rising, steady or fading, and check other spellings.
- Say the full name aloud with the middle and last name, and write the initials to catch unfortunate combinations.
- List every likely nickname. Theodore becomes Theo or Teddy; William becomes Will, Liam or Billy. Make sure you can live with all of them.
- Live with your top two for a week, using them when you talk about the baby, before you commit.
Popular boy names across generations
Some boy names never really leave. SSA's list of the most popular names of the last 100 years (1926 to 2025) is led by James, Michael, John, Robert and David, with William at No. 6. James, John and William are still inside today's top 30. Choosing one of these gives a child a name that will read as familiar to every generation.
Others are strongly tied to an era. Comparing SSA's 2019 and 2024 files, Ethan slipped from No. 11 to No. 19 and Alexander from No. 10 to No. 27, while Theodore and Ezra surged. A name's trajectory is a good guide to whether it will feel fresh or dated when your child starts school.
Where to go next: girl names, trends and learning their name
If you are still deciding, our girl names guide covers the matching list for daughters. Our baby name trends 2026 and baby name trends 2027 guides explain the styles that are rising. Once your baby arrives, it helps to know when babies recognise their own name, usually in the second half of the first year.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most popular boy name?
Liam. It was the No. 1 boy name in the US in 2025, the seventh straight year at the top, according to the Social Security Administration.
What are the top 10 boy names?
SSA's 2025 top 10 boy names are Liam, Noah, Oliver, Theodore, Henry, James, Elijah, Mateo, William and Lucas.
Are there official boy name rankings for 2026?
Not yet. SSA publishes each year's ranks the following spring, so the 2026 list is expected around Mother's Day 2027. The 2025 list is the newest official one.
What are some unique boy names?
Names rising but still outside the top 100 in SSA's 2024 data include Callum, Hayes, Jett and Stetson. Check any name on SSA's Popularity of a Name tool to see how rare it is.
Which boy names are rising fastest?
Between 2019 and 2024, Stetson, Tatum, Callum, Walker, Enzo, Thiago, Atlas, Arlo and Theo climbed furthest among today's top 200. In 2025, Kasai was SSA's fastest riser.
Where does SSA baby name data come from?
From Social Security card applications for US births. SSA ranks names by sex and exact spelling and excludes names with fewer than five births for privacy.
Keep reading
Sources
This guide was checked against the current guidance below. Medical and safety recommendations can change; use the linked source and your child's clinician for decisions specific to your family.
- Social Security Administration: Olivia and Liam top America's most popular baby names for the seventh straight year (press release, May 8, 2026)
- Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names (2025 top 10, Popularity of a Name tool)
- Social Security Administration: Beyond the Top 1000 Names (national data files; share of births in the top 1,000)
- Social Security Administration: Background information and data qualifications for popular names
- Social Security Administration: Top names over the last 100 years
- Behind the Name: Liam
- Behind the Name: Theodore
- Behind the Name: Mateo