These Are the Fastest-Falling Baby Names on the Latest Popularity Charts

Rita Templeton
·3 min read

Baby names, like any other trends, ebb and flow with the passage of time. Some names have their moment in the spotlight, while others dwindle steadily in popularity. Names that were once all but obscure can experience a popularity explosion, while names that used to be all the rage are used less and less frequently.

Every year, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) releases its latest data on the top 1000 most popular baby names — one list for boys, another for girls — and gives us a great snapshot of baby name trends in the United States … and what’s on the way out. We just revealed the fastest-rising baby names for boys and girls, but which baby names are losing traction? Let’s do a deep dive.

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What boy names are falling in popularity right now? Here’s the 2023 data for the top five:

1. Dior

2. Maxton

3. Davian

4. Heath

5. Braden

Dior comes as a bit of a surprise, as this name — meaning “of gold” — was actually one of the fastest rising names on the popularity charts just a couple of years ago in the early 2020s; in a complete turnaround, it saw the biggest decrease in popularity, dropping 384 spots (and leaving the top 1000 entirely). Maxton, an invented name that’s a combination of Max and the popular suffix -ton, dropped 273 spots, also falling off the chart. The rest of the top five dropped off the chart completely as well: Davian (another invented name), falling 206 spots; Heath, a transferred surname indicating someone who lived on a heath, falling 196 spots (after being in the top 1000 since 1966!); and Braden, a name of Irish origin meaning “salmon”, falling 186 spots — another indication that the Braden/Kaden/Jaden trend is pretty much over.

Meanwhile, here are the biggest declines in popular baby names for girls in 2023:

1. Addilynn

2. India

3. Madisyn

4. Chanel

5. Averi

Addilynn is actually a variant of a name that’s been in the top 1000 most popular girl names since pre-1900: Adeline! Seeing the biggest drop with 374 spots, it’s a good indicator that alternate spellings are becoming less popular (some other alternate spellings of this name — Adelynn, Adalyn, and Adalynn — all saw a decline). Next up is India, which also has some longevity in the top 1000 (it’s been on and off the charts pretty consistently since 1900!), falling 299 spots; Madisyn, from a surname meaning “son of Maud”, saw a decline of 257; Chanel, on the chart since the 1970s thanks to its association with the luxury brand, fell off completely with a drop of 236 spots, making us wonder if the “rich” baby name trend is in trouble; and Averi rounds out the top five biggest drops, falling 218 spots (though alternate spellings Avery and Averie saw slight drops too).

Other names that fell? For boys, Niklaus, Bryant, Dion, Kase, and Lux rounded out the top 10 biggest drops, and for girls, those slots are occupied by Itzayana, Jayda, Marleigh, Jada, and Jayleen. And from these, we can probably safely deduce that the Di- sound for boys and Jay- sound for girls, plus “kreative spellyngs” of traditional names, are losing steam.

That being said, though, the most popular baby name list is just a fun way of tracking the public’s preferences when it comes to naming new babies. You might use it to make sure your child isn’t going to be one of a dozen Emmas or Noahs in their class — but no matter where your preferred name falls on the popularity chart, you should use it. Because even if it’s on its way out … that just makes it more unique!

From Rhiannon to Bran, here are a few“dark cottagecore” baby names.

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