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These Are the Most Popular Baby Names of 2026—Can You Guess What’s in the Top 10?

My brother and his wife just had a baby, and once we all got over our joy and elation that mom and baby were doing great, everyone’s attention turned to the name. What will it be? Will they go with a family name, a name that means something personal to them or maybe something pulled from a movie or trending TV show? I won’t spill it here, but my brother and his wife made a beautiful choice.

If you’re expecting a baby this year, or you’re just here to see what’s happening in the baby-naming world (why wouldn’t you be?), we have the top baby names of 2026 from the absolute authority: BabyCenter. I got the scoop from Steph Coffield, BabyCenter’s baby-name advisor, who breaks down the most popular names and lets us in on why these names are so big right now. Read on to squee over the top baby names of 2026.

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How did BabyCenter determine the most popular baby names?

These popular baby names come straight from mom and dad. “Hundreds of thousands of parents register their babies’ names on BabyCenter every year,” Coffield says. “That data is updated on our app and website every month, giving us an up-to-date look at which names are rising and falling.”

You may know that the Social Security Administration (SSA) puts out a list every year too, but Coffield says the SSA only updates its data once per year, and we won’t find out what 2026’s top baby names are until May 2027. “Our data gives parents an early look at what’s trending now, so they can make an informed decision about their baby’s name.”

What are the top baby names of 2026?

For the fourth year in a row, Olivia and Noah are the reigning champs. Olivia has been steadily climbing for more than a quarter-century (she was sitting at No. 16 back in 2000), and it’s going to be hard to knock this pretty name off the top of the charts. Noah is equally enduring, taking the top spot from Liam in 2022 after being in the top 10 for years.

“Once a name makes it to the No. 1 spot, it usually sticks around for a while,” Coffield says. “Olivia and Noah are both beautiful names, which helps explain why they’ve been popular for so long.” Plus, Coffield says “parents have been really in love with vowel-heavy names for a few years now, and Olivia and Noah fit that bill.”

Were there any new additions to the top 10?

Evelyn is back, baby! This sweet name is at No. 9 this year after last being being spied in the top 10 in 2023. The rest of the girls’ top 10 is filled with familiar faces, though there was some jockeying for position.

For boys, Elias made the top 10 for the first time ever, rising 8 spots to sit at No. 7. The top 5 boys names have remained unchanged for three years, but Asher and Luca dropped out of the top 10 to make room for Elias and Leo, who was last seen in the top 10 in 2024.

The top 20 girl names

Coffield says names starting with E are “super popular” this year—a full quarter of the top 20 girl names start with this letter. Case in point: Eliana, which made huge moves in 2026, jumping five spots to No. 2. Longer names are also surging, and soft-sounding names that end in vowels are still going strong. “Eliana has all of that: It’s long, soft, melodic and it starts with E. That’s why it’s having such a big moment this year.”

Here are the top 20 girl names for 2026:

  • Olivia
  • Eliana
  • Amelia
  • Charlotte
  • Sophia
  • Isabella
  • Emma
  • Aurora
  • Evelyn
  • Mia
  • Ellie
  • Lily
  • Violet
  • Sofia
  • Hazel
  • Ava
  • Aria
  • Luna
  • Ella
  • Willow

The top 20 boy names

This group doesn’t see as much movement as the girls’ list, but all of them would be perfect for your new baby. “Parents are a lot less experimental with boy names than with girl names, generally speaking,” Coffield says. “They’re more likely to choose a boy name that’s established, feels classic and will stand the test of time.”

Here are the top 20 boy names for 2026:

  • Noah
  • Liam
  • Oliver
  • Elijah
  • Mateo
  • Lucas
  • Elias
  • Levi
  • Ezra
  • Leo
  • Asher
  • Luca
  • Henry
  • Hudson
  • Theodore
  • James
  • Sebastian
  • Samuel
  • Waylon
  • Daniel

Were there any big surprises in the top 100?

Oh, yeah. Several longtime faves are out of the top 100, including Leah and Ryan, and one brand-new name hit the charts: Magnolia, which jumped an impressive 40 spots to No. 88. Four boy names made the top 100 for the first time: Archer (No. 96), Stetson (No. 95), Milo (No. 89) and Dean, which sneaked in at No. 100 for the first time this century.

Coffield says these last three boy names each tap into a different trend. “Stetson is a rugged cowboy name that evokes the Wild West. Dean is having a pop-culture comeback, thanks to the characters on the new hit show Off Campus and the nostalgic classic Gilmore Girls. And Milo has that vowel-heavy, soft sound parents are loving right now.”

Longer names are also on the rise, with 29% of girl names and 31% of boy names clocking in at more than seven letters. “Baby-name trends are cyclical, and the pendulum always swings back,” Coffield says. “After a few years of short names dominating the charts, parents are looking for names that feel new and different, so they’re gravitating toward longer names.”

What baby-naming trends will we see in 2027?

Pop culture has a major influence on baby-name trends, and next year, many parents will likely be borrowing from hit movies and must-see TV. Some of these baby names haven’t been heard in years! Here are some trends to watch for in 2027, according to Coffield and BabyCenter.

  • Gilmore Girls: Dean, a name that hasn’t been widespread since the 1950s and ’60s, is seeing a major comeback thanks to GG rewatches and the new documentary that’s in the works, and BabyCenter expects that to continue in 2027. Other Gilmore Girls names that moved up in 2026 and should continue to climb next year are Rory, Lorelai, Christopher and Luke.
  • Hockey drama: Another show that propelled Dean into the top 100 is the wildly popular Off Campus on Amazon Prime. With Season 2 set to premiere in 2027, Coffield expects names from this series to keep rising. Beau is already in the top 100, at No. 57, but Garrett, Allie and Jules could see big moves too. And Ilya, from that other hockey show, Heated Rivalry, is up an incredible 6,000-plus spots in 2026, so keep your eye on it for 2027.
  • Greek gods: Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster The Odyssey seems to have sparked an interest in Greek mythology, with parents increasingly choosing names like Atlas, Ares, Titan and Troy for boys, and Iris, Lydia, Daphne and Gaia for girls. Odysseus himself is up nearly 1,500 spots, and Coffield expects this trend to continue into 2027.
  • “X” marks the spot: Names with X’s in the middle, like Jaxson (which reentered the top 100 in 2026), Braxton and the wonderful Maximillian are all trending right now. Other “X” names to watch in 2027 include Knox and Xaiden for boys, and Xolani, Alexandra and Bexley for girls. Onyx and Huxley actually made both lists in 2026, giving parents looking for more gender-neutral names plenty of choices.
  • Wild West resurgence: We mentioned Stetson and Archer earlier, but other Western-themed names that should keep rising in 2027 include Walker, Gunner and Wilder (possibly a nod to the Little House on the Prairie reboot) for boys, and Sadie, Tatum, Oakley and Cassidy for girls.
  • Bye-bye, Taylor: Maybe it’s all the lettuce recalls, or perhaps Miss Swift has finally reached peak saturation, but Taylor has dropped to its lowest point for both girls (No. 399) and boys (No. 1,093) since BabyCenter began releasing its top-baby-name lists, according to Coffield.

Sources:

  • Steph Coffield, baby-name advisor for BabyCenter; email interview, Oct. 29, 2026
  • BabyCenter: “The top trends that’ll influence baby names in 2027”
  • BabyCenter: “The most popular baby names of 2026”

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The post These Are the Most Popular Baby Names of 2026—Can You Guess What’s in the Top 10? appeared first on Reader's Digest.



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