While there are many headlines about popular baby names and emerging trends, less attention goes to the names falling out use.
On Thursday, the parenting website BabyCenter published a report highlighting the baby names that are apparently at risk of “going extinct” this year.
According to the data, popular names from the ’80s and ’90s ― like Kelsey, Chelsea, Erin, Jamie and Taylor ― are steeply declining.
“Being a millennial myself, it’s a little bittersweet to see popular millennial names fade,” said Rebekah Wahlberg, BabyCenter’s baby name specialist. “But it’s completely normal for Gen Z and millennial parents to want to switch things up, so I get it.”
Names of members of the British royal family are also dropping swiftly ― for instance Catherine, Anne, Phillip, Albert, and Edward.
“The decline in the popularity of royal family names is an intriguing phenomenon,” Wahlberg said. “These names have historically been very popular, and given the amount of royal family stardom ― which typically helps a name grow in popularity ― it’s unexpected to see the trend reverse.”
Other trends noted in the report include the fall of “aden”-ending names for boys and downtick in certain nickname names like Liv, Billy, Katie, Danny and Andy.
BabyCenter’s report draws from the names submitted by parent users for babies born in 2024 (through Oct. 15) and shows which picks saw the steepest drop within the Top 1,000 list compared to their standing in 2023.
“Parents who love an underdog story might be inspired seeing these names at risk of going extinct ― who wouldn’t want to say they helped bring a name back from the brink?” Wahlberg said. “And on the other hand, if you’re someone with one of these names, it can be fun and empowering to know you’re one of the proud few with a unique name.”
Keep scrolling for 20 girl and boy names that BabyCenter’s experts believe are at risk of going extinct and just how far they declined between 2023 and 2024. Visit the website for more trends and information about the report’s methodology.