What is the most popular name in your birth year and how popular is yours?

Your given name is the most basic piece of information used to identify yourself and for most people that name is simply a fact of life. But have you ever wondered how common your name is amongst your contemporaries, or what you would have been called if you were born in a different era?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) gathers information on all children born in the United States and has comprised lists of the most popular names in each year for the past 100 years.

The most common names change regularly, but there are some that have remained popular throughout the past century. Names like James, Michael and Emma are frequently amongst the most common, but some enjoy short-lived surges of popularity.

In 2021, the most recent year on record, the SSA found that these were the top ten most common baby names in the US…

1. Liam, Olivia

2. Noah, Emma

3. Oliver, Charlotte

4. Elijah, Amelia

5. James, Ava

6. William, Sophia

7. Benjamin, Isabella

8. Lucas, Mia

9. Henry, Evelyn

10. Theodore, Harper

What are the most popular names in my birth year?

If you think back to your time in school, there are certain to have been some names that were common in every class you attended. Some names are perennially popular, while other enjoy a short spell as common choices.

The SSA has calculated the most popular names for each birth year dating back to 1930. Here are the most popular female and male names, by year, in the United States…

2021: Olivia, Liam

2020: Olivia, Liam

2019: Olivia, Liam

2018: Emma, Liam

2017: Emma, Liam

2016: Emma, Noah

2015: Emma, Noah

2014: Emma, Noah

2013: Sophia, Noah

2012: Sophia, Jacob

2011: Sophia, Jacob

2010: Isabella, Jacob

2009: Isabella, Jacob

2008: Emma, Jacob

2007: Emily, Jacob

2006: Emily, Jacob

2005: Emily, Jacob

2004: Emily, Jacob

2003: Emily, Jacob

2002: Emily, Jacob

2001: Emily, Jacob

2000: Emily, Jacob

1999: Emily, Jacob

1998: Emily, Michael

1997: Emily, Michael

1996: Emily, Michael

1995: Jessica , Michael

1994: Jessica , Michael

1993: Jessica , Michael

1992: Ashley, Michael

1991: Ashley, Michael

1990: Jessica, Michael

1989: Jessica , Michael

1988: Jessica , Michael

1987: Jessica , Michael

1986: Jessica , Michael

1985: Jessica , Michael

1984: Jennifer, Michael

1983: Jennifer, Michael

1982: Jennifer, Michael

1981: Jennifer, Michael

1980: Jennifer, Michael

1979: Jennifer, Michael

1978: Jennifer, Michael

1977: Jennifer, Michael

1976: Jennifer, Michael

1975: Jennifer, Michael

1974: Jennifer, Michael

1973: Jennifer, Michael

1972: Jennifer, Michael

1971: Jennifer, Michael

1970: Jennifer, Michael

1969: Lisa, Michael

1968: Lisa, Michael

1967: Lisa, Michael

1966:: Lisa, Michael

1965: Lisa, Michael

1964: Lisa, Michael

1963: Lisa, Michael

1962: Lisa, Michael

1961: Mary, Michael

1960: Mary, David

1959: Mary, Michael

1958: Mary, Michael

1957: Mary, Michael

1956: Mary, Michael

1955: Mary, Michael

1954: Mary, Michael

1953: Mary, Robert

1952: Linda, James

1951: Linda, James

1950: Linda, James

1949: Linda, James

1948: Linda, James

1947: Linda, James

1946: Mary, James

1945: Mary, James

1944: Mary, James

1943: Mary, James

1942: Mary, James

1941: Mary, James

1940: Mary, James

1939: Mary, Robert

1938: Mary, Robert

1937: Mary, Robert

1936: Mary, Robert

1935: Mary, Robert

1934: Mary, Robert

1933: Mary, Robert

1932: Mary, Robert

1931: Mary, Robert

1930: Mary, Robert