Social Security Administration Announces Most Popular Baby Names Of 2023

Once again, the most popular names for babies born in the United States are Liam and Olivia.

The rankings are determined by Social Security Administration (SSA) data based on applications for Social Security cards. According to their data, Social Security numbers were recorded for 3,580,350 new babies, with male births (1,831,150) edging out female births (1,749,200). That reflects a dip from 2022, which recorded 3,666,046 new babies, and continues an overall trend of fewer births in the U.S. since the highest year on record, 2007, which welcomed 4,330,961 new babies.

Top 10 Lists

Here’s the top 10 list for boys:

1. Liam
2. Noah
3. Oliver
4. James
5. Elijah
6. Mateo
7. Theodore
8. Henry
9. Lucas
10. William

And here’s the top 10 list for girls:

1. Olivia
2. Emma
3. Charlotte
4. Amelia
5. Sophia
6. Mia
7. Isabella
8. Ava
9. Evelyn
10. Luna

If those names sound familiar, they are. While the order is a little different, there is only one new name in the top 10, Mateo, which landed sixth in the list of most popular boys’ names, replacing Benjamin in the top ten. Notably, the top five names in both lists remained exactly the same.

For purposes of the list, variations and alternate spellings are treated as different names. That’s why Liam (1) and William (10) made the list. Ditto for Amelia (4) and Mia (6) – The Princess Diaries, anyone? That also explains why you’ll see Sophia (5) in the top ten list for girls and see Sofia (12) a little further down.

There is an exception to this rule. Name data are tabulated from the “First Name” field of the Social Security card application, which doesn’t allow for hyphens and spaces. That means Julie-Anne, Julie Anne, and Julieanne are counted as a single entry.

According to the agency, the top 1,000 names represent about 71% of all names of U.S. births in 2023.

Names included in the database are those where the year of birth, sex, and state of birth are on record, and where the given name is at least 2 characters long. And, data is restricted to births in the 50 States and District of Columbia—names from U. S. territories are not included in the national data.

Names That Changed The Most

Each year, the list also shares the names that changed the most in popularity. A change in popularity is indicated by the difference, either an increase or decrease, in ranks from one year to the next.

The names that changed the most for boys are:

1. Izael
2. Chozen
3. Eiden
4. Cassian
5. Kyren

And the names that changed the most for girls are:

1. Kaeli
2. Alitzel
3. Emryn
4. Adhara
5. Azari

Pop Culture Influence

Pop culture tends to play a part in baby names, and in 2023, it looks like parents were paying attention to social media. The fastest rising girl’s name, Kaeli, went viral in 2023, climbing a whopping 1,692 spots to 678—likely influenced by YouTube and TikTok star Kaeli McEwen (also known as Kaeli Mae). Variations ticked up, too, including Kelly (which is a pretty great name), which came in at 773.

There’s a TikTok component for the boys, too—the third fastest riser is Eiden, perhaps influenced by TikTok creator Wyatt Eiden who has over 3 million followers.

As for Chozen? He was a hero in the latest season of the hit Netflix
NFLX
show, Cobra Kai.

I was sure that Taylor would be in the top this year, thanks to Taylor Swift’s popularity, but it wasn’t—not even close. For 2023, the number of births with name Taylor is 1185, representing 0.068% of total female births that year. Interestingly, the year when the name Taylor was most popular is 2000, well before Taylor Swift’s debut album.

(Miley, on the other hand, did see a spike in name popularity, while Beyoncé did not make the top 1000.)

If you’re curious about the popularity of a particular name, you can find out more on the SSA website. The Social Security Administration has released baby name data since 1997, although if you head over to the site, you can find data ranging well before that: Names in the database range as far back as 1880. Be prepared – it’s addictive.

Applying For Social Security

The lists are compiled from names on Social Security card applications. Nowadays, getting a Social Security number at birth is so streamlined that the application typically happens when you submit information for the birth certificate.

If you decline to get a Social Security number for your child when you submit information for the birth certificate, you can always apply later, but that’s a little more complicated and time-consuming since the Social Security Administration will have to verify your child’s birth certificate.

You can start the process online, but if you cannot apply online, you can fill out Form SS-5. If your child is over the age of 12 when you make the application, the child has to come along with you even if you’re the person signing the application on that person’s behalf. You can find more information here.

Benefits

Of course, unless you have a Gerber baby, the chances are slim that your little one will be headed to work immediately. So why get a Social Security number at birth? Taxes. Your child must have a Social Security number for you to claim your child as a dependent on your income tax return.

If you can’t claim your child as a dependent, you can’t claim certain tax breaks, including the earned income tax credit (EITC), the child tax credit, and the additional child tax credit. Additionally, without a Social Security number for your child, you can’t file as head of household (HOH) or qualifying widow(er) with a dependent child.

Your child may also need a number if you plan to open a bank account (including a 529 savings plan) for them, buy savings bonds for their benefit, get medical coverage or insurance for them, or apply for government services on their behalf.

Opting Out

If you don’t want a Social Security number for your child, you don’t have to get one. In particular, some folks may object to having a Social Security number assigned for religious reasons. You can request an exemption/waiver on this basis, but ironically, you must get a Social Security number. What happens, practically speaking, is that you must obtain a number solely to fill out Form 4029 for the waiver. Assuming you qualify for the exemption/waiver, you must notify SSA that this is your intention and that you do not want a card created or mailed.

History And Numbers

Nearly half a billion people have received Social Security numbers since the first number was issued on December 2, 1936. That first number, SSN 055-09-0001, belonged to John D. Sweeney, Jr. of New Rochelle, New York (fun fact: Sweeney never received Social Security benefits).

The numbers on your card used to mean something—the first three digits were assigned by the geographical region where the person was residing when they obtained a number. Generally, numbers were assigned beginning in the northeast and moving westward. So people on the east coast tended to have the lowest numbers, and those on the west coast had the highest numbers. The remaining six digits in the number are more or less randomly assigned and were organized to facilitate the early manual bookkeeping operations associated with the creation of Social Security in the 1930s.

In 2011, the SSA implemented a new assignment methodology for Social Security Numbers, which uses a new randomized assignment methodology.

Social Security numbers are widely used today for various purposes, although only about 40 official uses are approved by Congress. The Social Security Act also allows state and local governments to require a Social Security number for tax and other reasons. As for the IRS? The agency didn’t begin using Social Security numbers as official taxpayer identification numbers until 1962—you can blame computers for ushering those in at the agency.