The Most Popular Baby Boy Names of 2025 Are Really Unexpected

If there's one thing that parents have shown, it's that all the "rules" for baby naming have gone out the window. (Good riddance!) Using last names as first names? "Girl" names for boys? Making up your own names? Anything goes!

That doesn't mean that within this topsy-turvy world of baby names there aren't patterns to be found. From looking through the data from the Social Security Administration (SSA), which keeps track of the most popular baby names in the United States, we can see that parents are still gravitating toward some names more than others. These are some of the trends driving boy names in 2025. From Western monikers to variant spellings, here's what we'll be seeing sewn onto lunchboxes and backpacks in the year to come.

Cowboy Names Go Next-Level

Call it the Yellowstone effect. "One of the biggest trends we’ll see for baby boy names in 2025 are 'Country Rebrand' names," says Sophie Kihm, editor-in-chief of baby-naming site Nameberry, which recently launched its own list of 2025 baby-name trends. "Cowboy-style names have been in fashion this decade, but the cohort of Country Rebrand names goes past last names as first names like Carter and Tate. This new group embraces names that were once considered hokey, like Abner and Hiram; names from non-English cultures like Navarone and Santos and even 'bad boy' country names associated with outlaws like Jessejames." Those who dig the Cowboy Carter vibes can mosey on over and try these Nameberry suggestions on for size.

1. Crockett

2. Enoch

3. Ephraim

4. Harlan

5. Hatcher

6. Huck

7. Jethro

8. Lyle

9. Truett

10. Waylon

Looking for more baby boy name inspiration? Check out these Good Housekeeping lists: Disney Baby Names | French Baby Names | Hispanic Boy Names | Indian/Hindu Boy Names | Italian Baby Names | Irish Boy Names | Japanese Baby Names | Long Boy Names | Nature-Inspired Baby Names | Short Boy Names | Baby Girl Names | Gender-Neutral Names

Fantasy Is the Genre of the Moment

Whether it's War of the Rohirrim or A Court of Thorns and Roses, something is driving an interest in ethereal, fantastical names. In its round-up of baby name trends, The Bump noted that its own list of fantasy baby names has rocketed up the site's ranks and sits in the top 15 baby name lists of the year. The SSA notes that the names Cassian, Lucien and Azriel — all characters from A Court of Thorns and Roses — are on the list of names that increased most in popularity this year. ACOTAR isn't the only fantasy world inspiring baby names as these can attest.

1. Arthur

2. Auron

3. Bastian

4. Caspian

5. Leif

6. Oz

7. Peregrin

8. Rowan

9. Seifer

10. Wolf

Boy Names Go Out of This World

If it's not fantasy that's ruling over boys' names, it's sci-fi, with The Bump also reporting an uptick in interest in space-themed names inspired by constellations, planets and basically anything up in the sky. It's a sub-set of a trend we've seen for a while now, which is a rise in nature-inspired names like River or Cove. "Orion increased in popularity on The Bump by about 24 percent," the site reports. "Cassiel spiked 15 percent in 2024, while Jupiter and Venus remain on a slow but steady climb. Finally, the name Nyx (meaning “night”), sits 41 percent higher than it did last year and will undoubtedly continue to skyrocket in 2025." Look up to these names for more celestial inspiration.

1. Atlas

2. Apollo

3. Castor

4. Cielo

5. Cosmo

6. Elio

7. Leo

8. Mars

9. Sky/Skyler

10. Sol

Parents Are Shaping Baby Names to Suit Their Needs

Nameberry invented a term for these made-for-the-moment names: fast fashion names. "Fast Fashion names are modeled on the genuine articles but with a unique twist that references neither the past nor the future but right now," the site reports. "These names do not exist, at least not in their current form, in the established lexicon. Part of the point of Fast Fashion names is varying the spelling, marrying elements from different names, and creating something totally unique that also perfectly captures the current name climate."

Many of the top names on the SSA's list of names that increased in popularity fit this bill, including Izael (which moved up 860 places in rank between this year and last year, making it the fastest-climbing name for boys), Chozen (up 666 places in rank), Kyren (up 391 places) and Semaj (or James spelled backward, up 339 places in rank). The point of these names is that they're supposed to be bespoke, but here are more for inspiration.

1. Adael

2. Eithan

3. Eyadan

4. Ezrah

5. Jakai

6. Kendry

7. Kyaire

8. Luxton

9. Sevyn

10. Wylder

Boy Parents Are at Es

Every year, there's a trend involving not what a name means, but how it sounds. (Remember the year that all boys' names ended with -ias, like Silas, Amias or Elias?) This year, BabyCenter has identified it for boys in its trend report: Names that begin with the letter E. "The unique Emrys took a huge jump up 839 spots, to No. 954 (making its first-ever appearance in the top 1,000 boy names in the U.S.)," the site notes. "Other E names gaining ground are Emir (up 146 to No. 632), Enrique (up 121, to No. 743), Edgar (up 171, to No. 799), Eliseo (up 204, to No. 847) and Eliel (up 185 to No. 824)." These names are rated E for excellent.

1. Easton

2. Elian

3. Elijah

4. Ellis

5. Emiliano

6. Emory

7. Enzo

8. Evander

9. Everett

10. Ezra

These Are the Most Popular Names for Boys — and the Ones Gaining Ground

In order to understand the trends for the next 12 months, you have to know which names are already the most common. The SSA keeps track of which names are the most popular and also which names have experienced the biggest year-over-year gains.

The Most Popular Boy Names in the United States Right Now

1. Liam

2. Noah

3. Oliver

4. James

5. Elijah

6. Mateo

7. Theodore

8. Henry

9. Lucas

10. William
    

11. Benjamin

12. Levi
    

13. Sebastian
    

14. Jack
    

15. Ezra
    

The Fastest-Climbing Boy Names in the United States Right Now

1. Izael

2. Chozen

3. Eiden

4. Cassian

5. Kyren

6. Semaj

7. Kaizen

8. Kyaire

9. Jahmir

10. Jesiah

11. Matheo

12. Ezrah

13. Dereck

14. Mael

15. Elio

Expect to see a lot more of these next year!

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