Top Baby Names for 2024 Announced, With Popular Names Carrying On
(Kurt Metzger, May 22, 2025)
Michigan – Mother’s Day has passed and the Social Security Administration (SSA) has once again released its annual list of the top 1,000 most popular baby names in celebration. The agency began compiling the baby names list in 1997, with names dating back to 1880. In addition, SSA released the Top names by State shortly after. Parents apply for their child’s Social Security card when they are born, making the agency America’s top source for baby names.
The most popular baby names for 2024 are Liam and Olivia. It’s the sixth year in a row that the names took the top slot together. Liam has been first for eight consecutive years, with Noah in second place every year. Noah had been first between 2013 and 2016. Emma, which was most popular from 2014 – 2018, maintained second place for the sixth year in a row as well. While no new names entered the Top 10 for males, Theodore moved from 7th to 4th, and Elijah fell from 5th to 8th. The Top 20 saw the addition of Ethan (19) and Asher (20), replacing Leo and Owen.
On the female side, while there was some shifting among the Top 9, only Luna (#10 in 2023) fell out of the Top 10 to #13, while Sofia moved up from 12th to 10th. The Top 20 saw the addition of Aurora (16), Eliana (18), and Chloe (20), replacing Scarlett, Emily and Lily.
I have created 2 charts – one for males and one for females – that show how Michigan parents compared to the national trends. The charts are arranged in order of the national ranking – 1 through 10 – with rankings for names that appear in the Michigan Top 10 but not national.
The major differences for Male naming are:
- Liam only ranks 5th in Michigan (vs 1) – Noah is #1
- James ranks 10th in Michigan (vs 5)
- Henry ranks 4th in Michigan (vs 6)
- Mateo ranks 48th in Michigan (vs 7)
- Lucas and William do not make Michigan Top 10
- Jack, Hudson and Benjamin don’t make U.S. Top 10
The major differences for Female naming are:
- Olivia only ranks 3rd in Michigan (vs 1) – Charlotte is #1
- Mia ranks 11th in Michigan (vs 5)
- Isabella ranks 14th in Michigan (vs 7)
- Harper, Violet and Nora don’t make U.S. Top 10
Anyone interested in child naming over time will find the Social Security Administration site (https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/) a place to spend some time. One can trace a List of the nation’s Most Popular Names for any year after 1879, and state by state rankings for any year back to 1960. You can also select a name and track its popularity over time. Have fun!
For more stories about the Census and other interesting numbers, visit the Data-Base Stories Archives on Oakland County Times. Thanks to Data Expert Kurt Metzger for this work!
