Annual field notes / 2022

2022 U.S. baby names: the published record

The ten leading spellings in each national SSA recorded-sex field, with published birth counts and their change in calculated position from 2021.

What stands out in 2022

Luna entered the female-field top ten from position 11 in 2021, replacing Harper. The male-field top ten contained the same ten spellings as in 2021, but their order changed.

Two names worth checking beyond the first ten are Iris, which moved from 107 to 84 in the female field, and Walker, which moved from 130 to 78 in the male field.

Female recorded field

Top ten published female-field spellings, 2022
Position*	Name	Count	From 2021
1	Olivia	16,670	same
2	Emma	14,512	same
3	Charlotte	12,952	same
4	Amelia	12,415	same
5	Sophia	12,382	up 1
6	Isabella	11,761	up 1
7	Ava	11,107	down 2
8	Mia	11,077	same
9	Evelyn	9,332	same
10	Luna	8,977	up 1

Male recorded field

Top ten published male-field spellings, 2022
Position*	Name	Count	From 2021
1	Liam	20,579	same
2	Noah	18,758	same
3	Oliver	15,176	same
4	James	12,119	up 1
5	Elijah	12,094	down 1
6	William	11,356	same
7	Henry	11,272	up 2
8	Lucas	10,973	same
9	Benjamin	10,912	down 2
10	Theodore	10,824	same

What these lists leave out

These are exact spellings, not totals for related forms. Birth counts are raw published SSA observations and are not adjusted for total births or historical coverage. The same spelling may appear in both recorded-sex fields. Published national files omit rows below the SSA disclosure threshold; absence is never proof of zero births.

*Positions are calculated from the pinned published file and are not official SSA ranks. Changes compare calculated positions in the two adjacent files.

Explore the name profiles or look up a different spelling in the annual popularity tool.

Sources: SSA national data and suppression rules · our data method. Data reviewed 1 November 2026.