Born in 2016 · Gen Alpha
Baby names of 2016
The Social Security name files, which cover every name given to at least 5 babies, list 3,669,760 babies born in 2016: 1,772,022 girls and 1,897,738 boys. Emma and Noah were the most popular names, and 8.2% of all babies got a top-10 name, down from 9.4% in 2006. The name most tied to 2016 is Jayceon: among boys, it was 15× as common that year as in the decades around it.
Quick facts
- Generation
- Gen Alpha
- Born 2013–2025
- Babies on record
- 3,669,760
- 1,772,022 girls · 1,897,738 boys
- Different names
- 18,885
- for girls, plus 14,207 for boys (5+ babies each)
- Top-10 names
- 8.2%
- of babies got one · girls 8.3%, boys 8.2%
Top 10 names of 2016
- Emma was the #1 name for girls every year from 2014 to 2018.
- Noah was the #1 name for boys every year from 2013 to 2016.
How many babies got a top-10 name?
In 2016, 8.2% 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 2016
These names were far more common in 2016 than in the decades around it: the multiplier compares each name's share of 2016 babies with its average share 6–25 years before and after.
| Name | Sex | Rank | Vs. nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jayceon | Boy | #249 | 15× |
| Brantley | Boy | #156 | 12× |
| Daleyza | Girl | #239 | 11× |
| Paislee | Girl | #284 | 9.7× |
| Iker | Boy | #235 | 8.3× |
| King | Boy | #153 | 7.9× |
| Bentley | Boy | #100 | 7.1× |
| Jase | Boy | #240 | 6.6× |
| Harper | Girl | #11 | 6.2× |
| Adaline | Girl | #172 | 6.2× |
Names that peaked in 2016
Each of these reached its highest share of US babies in 2016, the high point in records going back to 1880. Rank is for 2016.
| Name | Sex | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Owen | Boy | #24 |
| Jaxon | Boy | #41 |
| Riley | Girl | #22 |
| Claire | Girl | #40 |
| Ximena | Girl | #120 |
| Abraham | Boy | #157 |
| Maximus | Boy | #187 |
| Teagan | Girl | #150 |
| Paxton | Boy | #203 |
| Adaline | Girl | #172 |
New to the top 1,000 in 2016
Names that made the national top 1,000 for the first time in 2016 (records go back to 1880).
Girls
- Royalty584 babies
- Poppy382 babies
- Kaylani375 babies
- Antonella370 babies
- Itzayana368 babies
- Alessia345 babies
- Reign345 babies
- Kehlani325 babies
Boys
- Fox327 babies
- Zyaire248 babies
- Alistair247 babies
- Eason238 babies
- Kylo238 babies
- Tadeo221 babies
- Ahmir220 babies
- Mikael215 babies
Where are they now?
Top-100 names of 2016 that have since dropped out of the top 1,000. Ranks are for 2016 and 2025.
Girls
- Alexa #51 in 2016 , now #1,029 in 2025
Boys
Every top-100 boys' name from 2016 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