Presenting: The Most Popular Baby Names of 2019 (& Some Unexpected Wild Cards)

Well, here we have it: the most popular baby names of 2019 courtesy of Names.org — did your favorites make the list?

We admit it. We’re suckers for baby-name predictions, forecasts, what-have-you. It’s entirely too much fun in a schadenfreude kind of way to figure out who will be the Jennifers and Michaels of 2030. Plus it’s good practice — if you *might* be in the market for a baby name — to get a sense of what’s out there already. (This Jennifer’s mother insists to this day she hadn’t heard of one other baby named Jennifer. Ahem.) Use the gift of the internet, parents. Knowledge is power.

Names.org makes its predictions without the help of a crystal ball. The site uses birth data rounded up from the Social Security Administration combined with user interest at Names.org and voila! Magical name predictions that may make you broody for another baby — or at least a goldfish or two, so you can use any names that catch your eye.

Here are the top 10 boys’ names of 2019, according to Names.org:

1. Liam (previously No. 1, still holding)
2. Noah (previously No. 2, also still holding)
3. Logan (coming up fast, was No. 5)
4. James (oldie-but-goodie, holding steady at No. 4)
5. Oliver (previously No. 9)
6. Elijah (previously No. 8, and, like No. 1 in Biblical times and stuff)
7. Benjamin (slipping there, Ben, previously No. 6)
8. William (uh-oh, previously No. 3)
9. Lucas (previously No. 11, nice work)
10. Mason (on the rocks, previously No. 7)

And here are the top 10 girls’ names of 2019, according to Names.org and their magical formula:

1. Emma (still holding at No. 1, yawn)
2. Ava (previously No. 3)
3. Olivia (previously No. 2, we know, we know)
4. Isabella (holding that No. 4 slot still)
5. Amelia (previously No. 8, strong work there, Amelia)
6. Mia (holding steady at No. 6)
7. Evelyn (this author’s grandmother’s name, nice to see it back in rotation, previously No. 9)
8. Charlotte (Duchess Catherine helped this one along, previously No. 7)
9. Sophia (this author has one of these heading off to college next year, so that’s some serious staying power, previously No. 5)
10. Harper (previously No. 11, gaining impressive top-ten staying power)

Those predictions are, well, predictable enough. But what we love are Names.org’s wild-card predictions: names that show a crazy jump in popularity, i.e., The Year of the Ashleys, 1983, when suddenly there were 18,000 more Ashleys on the planet than the year before.

So what names are 2019’s long jumpers?

Enjoy the top 15 wild-card names for boys in 2019, according to Names.org:

1. Ezekiel (come on, who doesn’t love a Zeke?)
2. Maverick (he’s gotta have a Goose BFF though)
3. Jameson (keep him away from the liquor cabinet)
4. Ezra (you know you’re old when a Pretty Little Liars character inspires a name trend)
5. Mateo (so Euro-chic, we’re on board)
6. Elias (ELIA-YASSS.)
7. Theodore (old-school vibing)
8. Asher (vaguely Biblical, but with a sporty bent)
9. Santiago (just do not add “Carmen” and you will be fine)
10. Sawyer (perfect for those of us who still watch reruns of Lost for its quintessential bad boy)
11. Grayson (son of Gray or nah?)
12. Josiah (again with the vaguely Biblical, but with a pinch of Wild West saddle leather)
13. Greyson (deja vu is real)
14. Easton (Kanye and Kim, don’t even)
15. Leo (impossible not to fall in love with a Leo, as Kate Winslet can tell you)

And here’s the top 15 wild-card contenders for girls in 2019:

1. Nova (good for the offspring of starry-eyed optimists)
2. Everly (swiped from Channing and Jenna)
3. Kinsley (kind of cute-meets-sex-researcher)
4. Willow (if it’s good enough for Pink and Carey Hart…)
5. Aurora (Nova’s twin sister?)
6. Luna (well, maybe starry-eyed triplets — this one is all Chrissy Teigen and John Legend’s fault)
7. Emilia (Queen of Dragons? Yes, please.)
8. Valentina (she’d be wickedly funny at cocktail parties, and she’d loathe Valentine’s Day)
9. Hazel (Emily Blunt and Julia Roberts both have Hazels)
10. Quinn (the secretly sensitive ice queen from Glee)
11. Amelia (we picture her scribbling in a turret, wearing a Victorian lace nightgown)
12. Eliana (badass female rabbi someday, mark our words)
13. Stella (Stella is finally taking center stage — again with the star theme, too)
14. Naomi (wispy prettiness with a boho wardrobe from Anthropologie?)
15. Paisley (Prince would approve)

So there you have it, 2019’s predictables and wild cards, served up by Names.org. Any surprises? Any “damn, that was MY idea” moments? We’ve got more baby name predictions for you over here, so be sure to check them out.