The Most Popular Names of 2022, So Far

Updated Sat Jun 25 2022

We’re halfway through the year — so what are the most popular names of 2022 so far?

If you’re expecting a baby, you probably want to know which names other parents are using now. The official statistics for your country are one place to look, but they’re out of date as soon as they’re published. The latest US popularity charts — topped by Liam and Olivia — represent babies born in 2021, while for England and Wales we only have the rankings for 2020.

To find out what parents-to-be are interested in right now, we have to look elsewhere… like the most viewed names on Nameberry.

Taken from over 20 million views, these lists show the names that were most popular here in the first half of 2022. They don’t look exactly like the official charts, but experience has shown that most of the top Nameberry names go on to rise in real life.

For example, our most popular baby names of 2021, Eloise and Arlo, both climbed the real-life US rankings significantly in 2021.

Since this time last year, we have new chart-toppers — take a bow, Maeve and Soren — and some intriguing new entries. Read on for the highlights and the full list.

Top 10 Names of 2022 So Far

Since this time last year, there have been big shifts in our ten most viewed names, especially for boys.

Top 10 Girl Names of 2022 So Far

There are three new girl names in the Top 10: Freya, Elodie, and Iris. They replace Lilibet and Lilibeth — which had a spike in views in 2021 after Harry and Meghan’s birth announcement — and Hazel. In a surprise shift that had us double-checking the data, Hazel fell from 9th place this time last year, to 90th now.

Top 10 Boy Names of 2022 So Far

Half the boys in the Top 10 have changed: Felix, Royal, Oscar, Hugo and Cassius are new entries. Just like on the girls’ side, the names they replace — Milo, Finn, Jude, Danger, and Leo — have dropped significantly. Leo doesn’t even make this year’s Top 100.

Hottest Girl Names 2022

The fastest-rising girl names since this time last year have a hefty helping of British influence. Names such as Sienna, Imogen, Mabel, Poppy, and Elsie are all more popular in England than in the States, as is Ottilie, the name of YouTube star Zoe Sugg’s daughter.

Parents are loving long, lyrical names like Anastasia and Clementine, but also light, streamlined choices like Eva and Mia. Along with Mia, several other fast-rising girl names are long-established favorites in real life, including Ella, Scarlett, and Chloe. Our rankings predict that they’ll stay popular for a long time yet.

These girl names have risen 20 or more places on the Nameberry chart since this time last year:

Hottest Boy Names 2022

The fastest-rising boy names since this time last year are headed by Royal, an on-trend word name boosted by the Prime series Outer Range. Classical names are a big trend, both from ancient Rome — such as Aurelius, Lucius, and Roman itself — and Greece, like Evander and Alexander.

While there are some bold, punchy names on the list, like Knox and Wolf, it’s not all about the high impact. Several soft classics, including Isaac, Simon and Ethan, have also seen a resurgence this year.

These boy names have climbed 40 or more places in the Nameberry chart since this time last year:

Read on for the full Nameberry Top 100 lists.

Top 100 Girl Names of 2022 So Far

Top 100 Boy Names of 2022 So Far

About the Author

Clare Green

Clare Green has been writing for Nameberry since 2015, covering everything from names peaking right now to feminist baby names, and keeping up-to-date with international baby name rankings. Her work has featured in publications such as The Independent and HuffPost. Clare has a background in linguistics and librarianship, and recently completed an MA dissertation researching names in multilingual families. She lives in England with her husband and son. You can reach her at clare@nameberry.com

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