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Most popular baby names of the 2000s

In the 2000s, the most popular name for girls born in the U.S. was Emily, given to 223,768 girls, about 1 in 83 girls born that decade. For boys it was Jacob, given to 274,077, about 1 in 73 boys.

Together, the top 20 girls’ names went to 15% of girls born in the 2000s, and the top 20 boys’ names to 19% of boys.

Top girls’ names

Top girls’ names of the 2000s
RankNameBabiesShare
#1Emily223,7681 in 83
#2Madison193,2221 in 96
#3Emma181,4141 in 100
#4Olivia156,0541 in 120
#5Hannah155,7841 in 120
#6Abigail150,9261 in 120
#7Isabella149,5711 in 120
#8Samantha134,3131 in 140
#9Elizabeth133,5681 in 140
#10Ashley133,0511 in 140
#11Alexis130,8341 in 140
#12Sarah124,5451 in 150
#13Sophia119,2511 in 150
#14Alyssa114,5071 in 160
#15Grace110,7201 in 170
#16Ava104,5391 in 180
#17Taylor100,9991 in 180
#18Brianna99,7981 in 190
#19Lauren97,1621 in 190
#20Chloe96,5031 in 190

Top boys’ names

Top boys’ names of the 2000s
RankNameBabiesShare
#1Jacob274,0771 in 73
#2Michael250,7151 in 80
#3Joshua232,0531 in 86
#4Matthew221,6311 in 90
#5Daniel203,9751 in 98
#6Christopher203,3721 in 98
#7Andrew202,5881 in 99
#8Ethan201,8351 in 99
#9Joseph194,9621 in 100
#10William194,4151 in 100
#11Anthony191,9281 in 100
#12David180,0981 in 110
#13Alexander178,8471 in 110
#14Nicholas177,6091 in 110
#15Ryan173,2441 in 120
#16Tyler165,5871 in 120
#17James163,1791 in 120
#18John161,1041 in 120
#19Jonathan144,8481 in 140
#20Noah143,5331 in 140

What changed

11 of the decade’s top 20 girls’ names were not in the top 20 of the 1990s: Madison, Emma, Olivia, Abigail, Isabella, Sophia, Alyssa, Grace, Ava, Brianna and Chloe. 4 of the decade’s top 20 boys’ names were not in the top 20 of the 1990s: Ethan, Alexander, Jonathan and Noah.

Each table ranks names by how many babies of that sex got the name across the decade’s years in Social Security’s data, with the share of all babies of that sex it went to. A name links to its own page when it has one, with its births and rank in every year since 1880.

Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.