Born in 2003 · Gen Z
Baby names of 2003
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,802,494 babies born in 2003: 1,827,145 girls and 1,975,349 boys. Emily and Jacob were the most popular names, and 10.7% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 15.1% in 1993. The name most tied to 2003 is Jaden: among girls, it was 18× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Gen Z
- Born 1997–2012
- Babies on record
- 3,802,494
- 1,827,145 girls · 1,975,349 boys
- Different names
- 18,439
- for girls, plus 12,761 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 10.7%
- of babies got one · girls 9.6%, boys 11.8%
Top 10 names of 2003
- 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 2003, 10.7% 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 2003
These names were far more common in 2003 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 2003 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaden | Girl | #226 | 18× |
| Jadyn | Girl | #267 | 14× |
| Aidan | Boy | #39 | 8.1× |
| Lizbeth | Girl | #146 | 7.6× |
| Yahir | Boy | #258 | 6.5× |
| Jada | Girl | #79 | 5.6× |
| Jayden | Girl | #243 | 5.3× |
| Jalen | Boy | #155 | 5.2× |
| Jaden | Boy | #82 | 4.9× |
| Payton | Boy | #261 | 4.6× |
Names that peaked in 2003
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 2003, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 2003.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Abigail | Girl | #6 |
| Aidan | Boy | #39 |
| Hailey | Girl | #26 |
| Kylie | Girl | #52 |
| Isabel | Girl | #83 |
| Gabriela | Girl | #102 |
| Gage | Boy | #136 |
| Ana | Girl | #129 |
| Donovan | Boy | #176 |
| Abby | Girl | #164 |
New to the top 1,000 in 2003
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 2003 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Dayanara365 babies
- Janiyah355 babies
- Taniyah326 babies
- Sanaa310 babies
- Yahaira293 babies
- Kadence276 babies
- Amiyah262 babies
- Tamya262 babies
Boys
- Maddox378 babies
- Jamarion317 babies
- Yair259 babies
- Aydan243 babies
- Konner222 babies
- Damarion215 babies
- Jahir215 babies
- Konnor198 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 2003 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 2003 and 2025.
Girls
- Katelyn #58 in 2003 , now #1,077 in 2025
- Alexa #67 in 2003 , now #1,029 in 2025
- Jada #79 in 2003 , now #1,201 in 2025
- Marissa #95 in 2003 , now #1,679 in 2025
Boys
Every top-100 boys' name from 2003 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