U.S. Baby Names Are Surprising People This Year

When the Social Security Administration releases their list of the most popular baby names in the U.S. every year, familiar favorites dominate the top 10. The names Liam, Noah, Emma and Olivia continue to be popular year after year. But the agency’s latest baby naming data also reveals some surprising stats.

These are some of the unexpected trends in baby names from the last year, according to the SSA.

• Maverick is more popular than Christopher - There were 5,535 newborn baby Christophers in 2022, landing the name at number 56. Surprisingly, there were 6,991 baby boys named Maverick last year, making it the 40th most popular boy’s name.
• Brynlee is more popular than Brittany - There were 1,410 girls named Brynlee in 2022, more than four times the number of girls named Brittany (329).
• Julian is the fifth most popular boys name in California - It’s ranked 35th in the U.S, but is number five in California.
• Messiah is more popular than Patrick - Messiah is gaining popularity, there were 2,006 newborn boys given the name in 2022, making it number 188 on the list. Only 1,703 were named Patrick last year, and it’s number 218.
• Wrenlee is the fastest-rising girls name - It broke into the top 1,000 names for the first time after rising 708 places from number 2021 to 712.
• Chosen is one of the fastest-rising names for boys - The name climbed 410 spots to number 898 last year, when there were 257 newborn boys named Chosen.
• Axel beats Robert in popularity - After 4,318 boys were named Axel in 2022, the name ranks 77th, making it more popular than the classic Robert, which ranks 84th and was given to 4,051 boys last year.
• Khaleesi is more popular than Erin - “Game of Thrones” baby names are still popular, as there were 444 baby girls named Khaleesi in 2022. That puts it at number 662, making it more popular than Erin, which is 685.