Born in 2006 · Gen Z
Baby names of 2006
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,956,482 babies born in 2006: 1,901,209 girls and 2,055,273 boys. Emily and Jacob were the most popular names, and 9.4% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 13.6% in 1996. The name most tied to 2006 is Jadyn: among girls, it was 16× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Gen Z
- Born 1997–2012
- Babies on record
- 3,956,482
- 1,901,209 girls · 2,055,273 boys
- Different names
- 20,064
- for girls, plus 14,047 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 9.4%
- of babies got one · girls 8.7%, boys 10.1%
Top 10 names of 2006
- 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 2006, 9.4% 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 2006
These names were far more common in 2006 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 2006 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jadyn | Girl | #288 | 16× |
| Jayden | Girl | #203 | 8.8× |
| Aidan | Boy | #44 | 8.4× |
| Keira | Girl | #110 | 6.1× |
| Aniya | Girl | #262 | 5.8× |
| Cadence | Girl | #214 | 5.3× |
| Jaden | Boy | #88 | 5.2× |
| Landen | Boy | #203 | 5.2× |
| Brayan | Boy | #294 | 5.0× |
| Kaden | Boy | #92 | 5.0× |
Names that peaked in 2006
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 2006, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 2006.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Angel | Boy | #31 |
| Isaiah | Boy | #39 |
| Diego | Boy | #56 |
| Hayden | Boy | #73 |
| Maya | Girl | #57 |
| Kaden | Boy | #92 |
| Riley | Boy | #101 |
| Jayla | Girl | #99 |
| Adriana | Girl | #107 |
| Keira | Girl | #110 |
New to the top 1,000 in 2006
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 2006 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Rihanna572 babies
- Addisyn471 babies
- Akeelah403 babies
- Adison358 babies
- Lilyana351 babies
- Nathalia346 babies
- Paisley327 babies
- Yaretzi320 babies
Boys
- Krish371 babies
- Yandel336 babies
- Beckett281 babies
- Kael236 babies
- Bode235 babies
- Koen233 babies
- Santana224 babies
- Zayden224 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 2006 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 2006 and 2025.
Girls
- Alexa #39 in 2006 , now #1,029 in 2025
- Katelyn #61 in 2006 , now #1,077 in 2025
- Jada #92 in 2006 , now #1,201 in 2025
Boys
Every top-100 boys' name from 2006 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