Naming a baby or a fur baby is serious business. You want a unique name that describes their personality, or a family name, or maybe you want to honor your favorite character. Whatever, the reason there are popular names that people continue to use for their babies.

I love naming my dogs and horses using "people" names. If you are like me and looking for a name for your new dog, cat, gerbil, or other furry friend read on. 

Digital parenting resource, BabyCenter, has just released their annual list of most popular baby names of the year. Take a look and become inspired or see if your favorite made the list. 

The top girl and boy name have not changed this year with Olivia and Noah holding their spots. However, there are new trends rising and some classic names returning to the top 100 girl and boy names. 

Trends

Parents are leaning into favorite first initials for girls and boys. Baby Center shared, "For girls, it’s E, with 15% of the top 100 girl names starting with E. For boys, J takes the top spot; 14% of the top 100 boy names start with J. 

Long names are returning. "29% of the top girl names and 31% of the top boy names have 7 or more letters."

New Names to the List

The girl names have stayed consistent with just one new name, Magnolia, rising to 88. The boys saw an addition of four new names: Milo, Stetson, Archer, and Dean. According to Baby Center, "Dean is a vintage name popular in the 1950s and '60s – is in the top 100 for the first time this century, at No. 100."

Top 50 Girl Names for 2026

1. Olivia
2. Eliana
3. Amelia 
4. Charlotte
5. Sophia
6. Isabella
7. Emma
8. Aurora
9. Evelyn
10. Mia
11. Ellie
12. Lily
13. Violet
14. Sofia
15. Hazel
16. Ava 
17. Aria
18. Luna
19. Ella
20. Willow
21. Nova
22. Harper
23. Eleanor
24. Gianna
25. Scarlett
26. Layla
27. Lucy
28. Isla
29. Elena
30. Iris
31. Penelope
32. Ivy
33. Lainey
34. Elizabeth
35. Nora 
36. Delilah
37. Chloe
38. Valentina
39. Camila
40. Paisley
41. Mila
42. Avery
43. Naomi
44. Leilani
45. Sadie
46. Zoe
47. Emilia
48. Stella
49. Zoey
50. Adeline

Top 50 Boy Names for 2026

1. Noah
2. Liam
3. Oliver
4. Elijah
5. Mateo
6. Lucas
7. Elias
8. Levi
9. Ezra
10. Leo
11. Asher
12. Luca
13. Henry
14. Hudson
15. Theodore
16. James
17. Sebastian
18. Samuel
19. Waylon
20. Daniel
21. Josiah
22. Theo
23. Cooper
24. Wyatt
25. Gabriel
26. Maverick
27. Jack
28. Julian
29. Benjamin
30. Grayson
31. Santiago
32. Michael
33. Rowan
34. Mason
35. Luke
36. Muhammad
37. Isaiah
38. Alexander
39. Roman
40. Ethan
41. Weston
42. Carter
43. William
44. David
45. Silas
46. Ezekiel
47. Thomas
48. Enzo
49. Owen 
50. John

Check out the complete list of 100 names for girls and boys here. We would love to hear what name you pick or your favorite (or two) from the list in the comments.