The Most Popular Baby Boy Name Trends 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.

Lots of parents are choosing names from words they hear in daily life. There's no hidden meaning there — they just say what they mean! This includes Truce and Chosen, two of the fastest-climbing names of last year; Truce rose a whopping 11,118 places in rank between last year and the year before, so they're taking the list by storm! Other names include Royal, Sincere and Loyal — all good qualities to have.

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 girl name inspiration? Check out other Good Housekeeping lists: Nature Baby Names | Disney Baby Names | Indian/Hindu Boy Names | Indian/Hindu Girl Names | Italian Baby Names | Japanese Baby Names | French Baby Names | Hispanic Boy Names | Hispanic Girl Names | Irish Boy Names | Irish Girl Names | Long Names for Boys | Long Names for Girls | Short Names for Boys | Short Names for Girls | Gender-Neutral Names | Western/Cowboy Baby Names | 1920s Names | 1930s Names | 1940s Names | 1950s Names | 1960s Names

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

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

Will Pixar’s next movie Elio, which means "sun," spark an interest in the name?

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 Bryer (which moved up 615 places in rank between this year and last year), Chozen (up 70 places in rank), Kyren (up 135 places) and Jettson (up 212 places). 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

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

Emrys Jones was an actor in the ’40s, and his name is due for a comeback.

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. Theodore
   
5. James
6. Henry
   
7. Mateo
8. Elijah
   
9. Lucas
10. William
    
11. Benjamin
12. Levi
    
13. Ezra
14. Sebastian
    
15. Jack

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

1. Truce
2. Colsen
3. Bryer
4. Halo
5. Azaiah
6. Noa
7. Azai
8. Eliam
9. Kolter
10. Eliel
11. Zymir
12. Rocky
13. Evren
14. Kace
15. Kyaire

Expect to see a lot more of these next year!

Marisa LaScala

Senior Parenting & Relationships Editor

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.