William Shakespeare may think "a rose by any other name" is still the same, but for American parents, the top baby names are holding fairly consistent, though some fast risers are getting into the mix.
To celebrate Mother's Day, the U.S. Social Security Administration announced its 1,000 most popular baby names for 2023, based on new Social Security card applications.
While classics like Liam, James, Charlotte and Mia remain in the top 10, the names with the biggest jumps in popularity from 2022 seem to be influenced most by social media, celebrity and pop culture.
"Each year, the list reveals the effect of pop culture on naming trends," the Social Security Administration wrote in a press release.
"Parents must have really smashed the 'like' button for YouTube and TikTok star Kaeli McEwen (also known as Kaeli Mae), who routinely promotes a clean, tidy and neutral-aesthetic lifestyle," per the press release.
Kaeli was the fastest rising girl's name in 2023, soaring 1,692 spots.
The top five fastest rising female names in 2023 are:
- Kaeli
- Alitzel
- Emryn
- Adhara
- Azari
On the boy side, one of the faster risers is Eiden, which the administration says could be due in part to TikTok creator Wyatt Eiden, who has over 1.6 billion views and more than three million followers.
The top five fastest rising male names in 2023 are:
- Izael
- Chozen
- Eiden
- Cassian
- Kyren
"Happy Mother's Day to all the incredible moms in our lives," Martin O'Malley, social security commissioner, said in a press release Friday. "Your love, strength and selflessness motivate us all, and we thank you for everything you do.
The 2023 Top 10 most popular male names overall are:
- Liam
- Noah
- Oliver
- James
- Elijah
- Mateo
- Theodore
- Henry
- Lucas
- William
The 2023 Top 10 most popular female names overall are:
- Olivia
- Emma
- Charlotte
- Amelia
- Sophia
- Mia
- Isabella
- Ava
- Evelyn
- Luna
While social media may have influenced some of the charts, Mateo is the only new name to the Top 10 list for either gender, according to Pam Redmond, the creator of Nameberry.com, the world's largest baby name site.
"Look forward to a lot of little boys named Theo or Teo in the playground!" Redmond told Newsweek.
Redmond said she is surprised by the name Mia's "long-term staying power," calling it a "modern classic."
"Mia is a name that connects with parents from a lot of different cultural backgrounds," Redmond said. "And it makes a modern honor name for all the grandmas and great-grandmas named Mary, Maria or Marie."
Emily Kim, an influencer who goes by emdoodlesandstuff on Tiktok and specializes in baby name predictions said she was surprised my the "minimal" changes to the top 10.
"I was surprised, or maybe underwhelmed, to see minimal change to the top ten most popular US baby names," Kim said.
She added that she liked seeing Mateo rise up the list, noting that it is "generally from families with Spanish-speaking origins" and is a "great example that the US name popularity list is a glimpse into the American melting pot."
The federal agency began compiling the baby names list in 1997, using data dating back to 1880.
To see the entire list, and where your baby's name ranks now and over the past 100 years, click here.
Do you have a story we should be covering? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com
Update 5/10/2024, 3:40 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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