Most Popular Baby Names of 2008

In 2008, Emma was the most popular name for girls, given to 18,830 babies, and Jacob topped the boys' list with 22,621. Emma took the top spot from Emily, and Jacob held on to number one for a tenth year in a row.

Social Security counted 1,890,938 girls and 2,040,150 boys born in 2008 under names given to at least five babies, spread across 20,482 different girls' names and 14,625 boys' names.

Top 100 names of 2008

Top girls' names, 2008
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 2007
1	Emma	18,830	up 2
2	Isabella	18,629	same
3	Emily	17,448	down 2
4	Olivia	17,088	up 3
5	Ava	17,051	down 1
6	Madison	17,047	down 1
7	Sophia	16,091	down 1
8	Abigail	15,088	same
9	Elizabeth	12,027	up 1
10	Chloe	11,836	up 6
11	Samantha	11,190	up 1
12	Addison	10,767	down 1
13	Natalie	10,201	up 4
14	Mia	10,173	up 1
15	Alexis	9,734	up 4
16	Alyssa	9,653	down 2
17	Hannah	9,577	down 8
18	Ashley	9,408	down 5
19	Ella	9,364	up 2
20	Sarah	9,055	down 2
21	Grace	9,042	down 1
22	Taylor	8,344	up 2
23	Brianna	8,278	down 1
24	Lily	8,128	up 3
25	Hailey	7,872	down 2
26	Anna	7,278	down 1
27	Victoria	7,127	up 2
28	Kayla	6,835	down 2
29	Lillian	6,817	up 4
30	Lauren	6,455	down 2
31	Kaylee	6,302	up 4
32	Allison	6,241	up 14
33	Savannah	6,134	down 3
34	Nevaeh	6,112	down 3
35	Gabriella	6,039	up 3
36	Sofia	5,985	same
37	Makayla	5,957	up 10
38	Avery	5,829	up 10
39	Riley	5,774	up 13
40	Leah	5,634	up 27
41	Julia	5,620	down 7
42	Aubrey	5,570	up 27
43	Jasmine	5,536	down 11
44	Audrey	5,443	up 7
45	Katherine	5,350	down 6
46	Morgan	5,333	down 3
47	Destiny	5,320	down 6
48	Brooklyn	5,317	up 9
49	Sydney	5,264	down 12
50	Alexa	5,226	down 10
51	Kylie	5,194	up 12
52	Brooke	5,186	down 7
53	Kaitlyn	5,117	down 9
54	Evelyn	5,101	up 1
55	Layla	4,931	up 30
56	Madeline	4,820	up 5
57	Kimberly	4,814	down 3
58	Zoe	4,781	down 2
59	Jessica	4,739	down 17
60	Peyton	4,738	up 63
61	Alexandra	4,612	down 12
62	Claire	4,601	up 4
63	Maria	4,593	down 10
64	Madelyn	4,567	up 40
65	Mackenzie	4,474	same
66	Arianna	4,426	up 4
67	Jocelyn	4,372	down 17
68	Amelia	4,352	up 9
69	Angelina	4,299	down 11
70	Trinity	4,276	up 2
71	Maya	4,270	down 9
72	Andrea	4,263	down 12
73	Valeria	4,206	up 25
74	Rachel	4,087	down 15
75	Sophie	4,065	up 7
76	Aaliyah	4,046	up 7
77	Mariah	4,041	up 15
78	Vanessa	4,032	down 7
79	Gabrielle	4,027	down 11
80	Katelyn	3,976	down 5
81	Ariana	3,916	down 8
82	Bailey	3,907	up 2
83	Camila	3,847	up 46
84	Jennifer	3,797	down 20
85	Melanie	3,714	down 4
86	Charlotte	3,671	up 15
87	Autumn	3,669	up 3
88	Gianna	3,669	up 3
89	Paige	3,647	same
90	Faith	3,636	down 16
91	Payton	3,612	up 62
92	Sara	3,595	down 12
93	Isabelle	3,573	down 14
94	Caroline	3,545	up 5
95	Genesis	3,523	up 45
96	Mary	3,514	down 3
97	Isabel	3,489	down 10
98	Zoey	3,450	up 14
99	Gracie	3,427	down 3
100	Megan	3,416	down 22

Top boys' names, 2008
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 2007
1	Jacob	22,621	same
2	Michael	20,652	same
3	Ethan	20,223	same
4	Joshua	19,231	same
5	Daniel	19,032	same
6	Alexander	18,711	up 5
7	Anthony	18,417	same
8	William	18,403	same
9	Christopher	17,966	down 3
10	Matthew	17,604	down 1
11	Jayden	17,167	up 7
12	Andrew	16,779	down 2
13	Joseph	16,599	same
14	David	16,347	down 2
15	Noah	15,808	down 1
16	Aiden	15,592	up 11
17	James	15,190	down 2
18	Ryan	14,686	down 2
19	Logan	13,861	down 2
20	John	13,336	down 1
21	Nathan	13,262	up 3
22	Elijah	13,241	up 8
23	Christian	13,069	down 1
24	Gabriel	13,041	up 4
25	Benjamin	12,958	up 1
26	Jonathan	12,905	down 3
27	Samuel	12,774	down 2
28	Tyler	12,709	down 7
29	Nicholas	12,533	down 9
30	Gavin	11,752	up 2
31	Dylan	11,710	down 2
32	Jackson	11,641	up 1
33	Brandon	11,482	down 2
34	Caleb	10,579	up 2
35	Mason	10,489	up 2
36	Angel	10,357	down 2
37	Isaac	10,030	up 4
38	Evan	9,926	up 2
39	Jack	9,897	down 1
40	Jose	9,826	down 5
41	Kevin	9,798	down 2
42	Isaiah	9,670	up 1
43	Luke	9,424	up 3
44	Justin	9,365	up 1
45	Landon	9,361	up 4
46	Lucas	9,328	up 7
47	Zachary	9,235	down 5
48	Jordan	9,099	down 4
49	Robert	8,841	down 2
50	Aaron	8,545	up 1
51	Brayden	8,445	up 13
52	Thomas	8,370	same
53	Cameron	8,305	down 3
54	Hunter	8,045	up 3
55	Austin	7,997	down 7
56	Adrian	7,938	up 5
57	Connor	7,817	down 2
58	Owen	7,802	down 2
59	Aidan	7,709	down 5
60	Jason	7,662	down 1
61	Julian	7,469	up 5
62	Wyatt	7,313	up 7
63	Charles	7,288	down 1
64	Luis	7,135	down 4
65	Carter	7,069	up 15
66	Juan	7,034	down 3
67	Chase	7,003	up 12
68	Jeremiah	6,594	down 1
69	Diego	6,572	down 11
70	Brody	6,299	up 36
71	Xavier	6,290	down 3
72	Adam	6,098	down 7
73	Carlos	6,054	down 3
74	Sebastian	6,041	down 1
75	Liam	5,982	up 14
76	Hayden	5,949	down 5
77	Nathaniel	5,858	up 5
78	Henry	5,788	up 12
79	Jesus	5,758	down 2
80	Ian	5,723	down 5
81	Tristan	5,659	up 6
82	Bryan	5,505	down 4
83	Sean	5,471	down 7
84	Alex	5,400	down 12
85	Cole	5,389	down 1
86	Eric	5,377	down 3
87	Brian	5,263	down 6
88	Jaden	5,193	down 14
89	Carson	5,127	up 2
90	Blake	5,099	down 2
91	Ayden	5,058	up 11
92	Cooper	5,051	up 4
93	Dominic	4,965	down 8
94	Brady	4,815	down 1
95	Josiah	4,785	up 10
96	Caden	4,773	down 4
97	Kyle	4,705	down 11
98	Colton	4,550	up 20
99	Eli	4,526	up 30
100	Kaden	4,508	down 2

Biggest climbers in 2008

The names that gained the most ground within the top 1,000 compared with 2007.

Girls

Khloe: up 467 places, from 663rd to 196th
Marlee: up 426 places, from 793rd to 367th
Marely: up 413 places, from 747th to 334th
Audrina: up 354 places, from 708th to 354th
Adalyn: up 348 places, from 880th to 532nd
Londyn: up 334 places, from 842nd to 508th
Yaretzi: up 322 places, from 920th to 598th
Yaritza: up 282 places, from 962nd to 680th
Myla: up 266 places, from 867th to 601st
Adelyn: up 258 places, from 847th to 589th

Boys

Gauge: up 254 places, from 988th to 734th
Emery: up 222 places, from 967th to 745th
Kane: up 202 places, from 640th to 438th
Jacoby: up 200 places, from 622nd to 422nd
Madden: up 186 places, from 807th to 621st
Heath: up 186 places, from 903rd to 717th
Beckett: up 184 places, from 665th to 481st
Ronin: up 182 places, from 984th to 802nd
Yandel: up 176 places, from 740th to 564th
Raiden: up 164 places, from 944th to 780th

New to the top 1,000 in 2008

Girls

Allisson, 420th (its first time ever)
Caylee, 513th (its first time ever)
Isla, 624th (back after dropping out)
Destiney, 717th (back after dropping out)
Mareli, 725th (its first time ever)
Milagros, 729th (back after dropping out)
Dayami, 754th (its first time ever)
Amirah, 770th (back after dropping out)
Alisson, 786th (its first time ever)
Nylah, 822nd (its first time ever)

Boys

Aaden, 342nd (its first time ever)
Chace, 661st (its first time ever)
Uriah, 697th (back after dropping out)
Marley, 766th (its first time ever)
Kash, 776th (its first time ever)
Cordell, 786th (back after dropping out)
Trevin, 798th (back after dropping out)
Franco, 830th (back after dropping out)
Brogan, 841st (its first time ever)
Kymani, 843rd (its first time ever)

How spread out were names in 2008?

The ten most popular girls' names went to 8.5% of the girls counted in 2008, and the top ten boys' names to 9.5% of the boys. In 1988, those shares were 17.3% for girls and 21.4% for boys.

Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.