Born in 2000 · Gen Z
Baby names of 2000
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,780,037 babies born in 2000: 1,816,036 girls and 1,964,001 boys. Emily and Jacob were the most popular names, and 11.9% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 17.8% in 1990. The name most tied to 2000 is Bailey: among boys, it was 15× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Gen Z
- Born 1997–2012
- Babies on record
- 3,780,037
- 1,816,036 girls · 1,964,001 boys
- Different names
- 17,660
- for girls, plus 12,119 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 11.9%
- of babies got one · girls 10.2%, boys 13.4%
Top 10 names of 2000
- Emily was the #1 name for girls every year from 1996 to 2007.
- Jacob was the #1 name for boys every year from 1999 to 2012.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 2000, 11.9% of babies were given one of that year's 10 most popular names. Across all years, that share fell from 29.0% in 1935 to 7.5% in 2025.
Names that sound like 2000
These names were far more common in 2000 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 2000 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bailey | Boy | #202 | 15× |
| Alexus | Girl | #252 | 9.3× |
| Shania | Girl | #291 | 8.9× |
| Jalen | Boy | #106 | 7.7× |
| Jaqueline | Girl | #268 | 6.1× |
| Destiny | Girl | #24 | 5.7× |
| Jakob | Boy | #173 | 5.5× |
| Diamond | Girl | #162 | 5.5× |
| Sidney | Girl | #265 | 5.3× |
| Sydney | Girl | #23 | 5.2× |
Names that peaked in 2000
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 2000, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 2000.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Hannah | Girl | #2 |
| Brianna | Girl | #15 |
| Cameron | Boy | #31 |
| Hunter | Boy | #35 |
| Sydney | Girl | #23 |
| Destiny | Girl | #24 |
| Kaitlyn | Girl | #30 |
| Luis | Boy | #49 |
| Seth | Boy | #63 |
| Garrett | Boy | #74 |
New to the top 1,000 in 2000
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 2000 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Litzy722 babies
- Brisa563 babies
- Amya458 babies
- Jackeline319 babies
- Kaya301 babies
- Jaquelin297 babies
- Hailie295 babies
- Nyah290 babies
Boys
- Elian578 babies
- Luca297 babies
- Finn192 babies
- Kaiden192 babies
- Sincere189 babies
- Maximus188 babies
- Xzavier182 babies
- Blaze179 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 2000 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 2000 and 2025.
Girls
- Katelyn #54 in 2000 , now #1,077 in 2025
- Courtney #59 in 2000 , now #2,335 in 2025
- Caitlin #76 in 2000 , now #2,333 in 2025
- Marissa #78 in 2000 , now #1,679 in 2025
- Breanna #80 in 2000 , now #2,548 in 2025
- Jada #84 in 2000 , now #1,201 in 2025
Boys
Every top-100 boys' name from 2000 is still in the 2025 top 1,000.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data