Baby Name Predictions for the 2022 U.S. Top 1000 (Boys)

Any day now (it could even be tomorrow!), we’ll find out what the most popular baby names in the U.S. are! Except for a COVID delay in 2020, the Social Security Administration releases a new list every May – just in time for Mothers’ Day! The new Top 10 (and especially the #1 spot) is what most people are anxious to hear since that can impact whether they pick a popular baby name. Many parents are concerned if a name even reaches the Top 100. As a name-writer, I’m more excited for the Top 1000.

Why am I so interested in the Top 1000? The Top 1000 is the best, most objective way we have to delineate the popularity or rarity of American baby names. If a name is in the Top 1000, that means at least a few hundred children received it in a given year (for 2021, the last year we have data for, a name needed at least 254 uses for girls and 217 uses for boys to be included). Generally, if a baby name is out of the Top 1000, we call it rare. Here, we’re not talking about names that are popular or unusual across age groups or globally – simply what’s popular or rare for babies born here and now in the United States.

I published my girls’ name predictions yesterday. Here are the boys’ names I think will leave or enter the U.S. Top 1000 in the 2022 dataset! If you’re viewing on mobile, be sure to scroll left to view the entire chart.

Names Likely to Exit the Top 1000:

Name	2021 Rank	2021 Babies	2020 Rank	2020 Babies	2019 Rank	2019 Babies
Abdullah	984	221	810	285	734	327
Aldo	983	222	783	297	761	311
Axl	845	278	757	316	679	377
Blaine	986	220	881	255	874	251
Brecken	922	244	792	291	791	292
Brennan	871	264	762	314	719	339
Cory	985	221	912	244	902	242
Crosby	932	240	802	288	778	299
Eliel	852	275	750	322	663	398
Ermias	814	295	647	413	541	521
Gary	904	252	804	288	775	302
Genesis	973	226	827	277	914	240
Harley	923	244	782	298	808	283
Jaxtyn	935	240	586	470	1154	168
Jakobe	946	237	837	272	1381	129
Karsyn	954	234	700	362	1063	191
Kody	979	224	955	229	836	269
Korbin	859	271	709	353	689	369
Kristopher	936	240	830	276	772	305
Landry	989	220	947	231	929	234
Nova	853	274	759	316	866	255
Rodney	965	230	865	261	855	259

Notes:

• Nova is wildly popular and trendy as a girls’ name, and now that it’s in the top 50 with no signs of stopping the ascent, some parents may shy away from Nova as a boys’ name.
• Re: Karsyn and Jaxtyn, I personally wonder if there’s a little bit of fatigue towards unique spellings of Jackson, Carson, and similar names. They are still popular and widespread, of course.
• In this case, Jakobe seems more like a variation of Kobe than Jacob, or a form of Jacob inspired by Kobe. Jakobe became popular again in 2020 after Kobe Bryant’s death.
• Ermias (a form of Jeremiah) was Nipsey Hussle’s legal name. It debuted in 2019 at a rank of #540 and has been falling ever since.
• Kody didn’t actually drop too much (just 5 babies between 2020 and ’21, with a rank change of -24), but with a rank of #979 and all the recent Sister Wives divorce stuff I think this name could be knocked out of the Top 1000.
• Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s going on at the bottom of the top 1000 because some of the names that look like they could fall out are surprisingly trendy or trendworthy. Parents choose from a much greater variety of baby names than they did in past generations, which makes rare names more popular as a whole. Name popularity also becomes erratic at the bottom of the charts. Karsyn dropped heavily between 2020 and 2021 as a boys’ name, but who knows if it will suddenly rebound? Mordechai is like Karsyn in that it’s dropping fast but ultimately depends on outside factors for popularity. That’s partly why I’m not marking Zev for a likely exit despite ranking #996 and dropping from 2020 to 2021; on the whole, the name is still rising.

Names Likely to Enter:

Name	2021 Rank	2021 Babies	2020 Rank	2020 Babies	2019 Rank	2019 Babies
Aspen	1056	200	1146	169	1190	160
Azaiah	1172	166	1748	87	1910	77
Beaux	1018	213	1307	137	1272	146
Benny	1006	216	1149	168	1186	161
Boaz	1019	213	1125	174	1067	190
Campbell	1043	204	1171	164	1297	142
Cashton	1044	204	1039	194	1165	166
Crue	1015	214	1171	164	1361	131
Danilo	1045	204	1176	163	1121	155
Eren	1185	164	2291	59	1688	94
Harris	1001	217	995	213	1025	202
Jrue	1123	180	1435	120	1714	92
Kacey	1002	217	1186	162	2027	72
Kaisen	1021	213	1048	191	1055	193
Lev	1053	201	1107	177	1003	208
Lux	1096	189	1294	140	1545	109
Massimo	1117	181	1376	127	1500	114
Mattias	1110	183	1289	141	1470	117
Monroe	1098	188	1479	115	1506	113
Montgomery	1032	209	1087	182	1085	184
Nikko	1022	213	1180	163	1296	143
Ollie	1085	193	1152	168	1269	147
Ozias	1046	204	1603	101	1356	132
Ren	1114	182	1319	136	1616	102
Rhodes	1042	205	1406	123	1568	107
Sevyn	1012	215	1114	176	1507	113
Shai	1070	197	1441	120	1653	98
Syncere	1047	204	1031	197	1145	170
Wren	1104	187	1240	150	1576	106
Zen	1191	163	1198	160	1389	128

I also have a list of maybes for names I’m not sure about. These may be more likely to enter in 2023 or 2024.

Other Names that Might Enter:

Name	2021 Rank	2021 Babies	2020 Rank	2020 Babies	2019 Rank	2019 Babies
Adiel	1097	189	1269	143	1121	174
Beck	1059	199	1032	196	1208	158
Benito	1139	175	1616	99	1589	104
Booker	1203	159	1667	95	1710	92
Canyon	1179	165	1471	116	1493	114
Casper	1119	180	1222	153	1202	159
Draco	1199	160	1599	101	1640	99
Imran	1036	207	1009	206	1150	169
Ivaan	1166	168	1303	138	1523	111
Izan	1192	162	1249	147	1549	108
Joan	1107	185	1133	172	1172	165
Kilian	1175	166	1224	153	1353	132
Kyren	1097	188	1203	157	1187	161
Kyzer	1025	212	1147	169	1064	191
Lazarus	1158	171	1282	142	1314	139
Merrick	1004	217	1013	205	985	216
Niam	1163	169	1300	139	1397	127
Ramiro	1034	208	1061	188	1056	193
Teddy	1177	166	1333	134	1446	121
Teo	1151	173	1366	129	1335	136
Veer	1103	187	1139	171	1211	158
Zamir	1023	213	1027	200	1031	200
Zephyr	1100	188	1285	142	1228	155

Notes:

• Rhodes – Celebrity baby name via Emma Roberts, who had her son in 2020.
• Zen was the name of Nick Cannon’s infant son who sadly passed away from cancer. Nick Cannon has many children, most of whom were born from 2020 on. Watch for these first names too: Powerful (g), Zion (b), Zillion (b), Legendary (b), Onyx (g), Rise (b), Beautiful (g), and Halo (g).
• We’re long past Harry Potter, so I don’t know what’s driving Draco up all of a sudden. TikTok, maybe? Did an influencer name their baby Draco?
• Sevyn is a variation of Seven, which have both gotten more popular in part thanks to the character in The Hate U Give.
• Re: Kilian, I wonder if Kylian Mbappe and the World Cup will give related names a boost.

Do you have any names you’re eyeing for the 2022 Top 1000? Not all of these can come or go, but I’m betting a good number will (plus a few surprises). We’ll see the results soon enough!