These Unique Baby Names For Boys & Girls Are On The Rise & There Are So Many Fresh Ideas
Looking for something rare and special?
There are plenty of tried-and-true baby name options available if you're an expecting parent in 2023, but if you'd rather pick something unique for your boy or girl, new data shows that there are plenty of great ideas on the rise right now.
The U.S. Social Security Administration has released its list of the top 1,000 names for boys and girls from 2022, and there are several entries that are absolutely surging up the charts.
And no, we're not talking about the likes of Liam, James, Olivia or Ava, which continue to dominate the overall top 10 list of baby names in the United States.
Instead, we're looking at the names that have blown up over the last year, with many of them coming out of nowhere to land a spot on the 2022 list.
The two fastest-rising names for a boy right now are Dutton and Kayce, and we can explain that with one word: Yellowstone. The hit TV show is all about a family of ranch-owning cowboys called the Duttons, and one of the of them is named — you guessed it — Kayce Dutton.
Dutton climbed the list faster than any other boy or girl name, going from 1,821st position in 2021 to No. 835 on the list last year, the SSA data shows.
There were several other unique boy names that climbed the charts, including Chosen, Jrue, Zen and Sevyn -- a name that's "got cache up the ying yang," if you ask George Constaza from Seinfeld.
In terms of girls' names, Wrenlee was the fastest-rising choice. The name is simply a modification to Wren, the name of a songbird, according to The Bump.
Neriah was the second fastest-rising name in 2022, followed by Arlet, Georgina and Amiri. Other unique names on the list included Wrenley (again), Jream, Alora and Zendaya, in what's clearly a nod to the Euphoria actress.
Here are the top 50 male names to increase in popularity in the U.S. in 2021:
- Dutton
- Kayce
- Chosen
- Khaza
- Eithan
- Waylen
- Asaiah
- Karim
- Kaizen
- Zen
- Kylian
- Ezrah
- Eren
- Amiri
- Jrue
- Kolson
- Kanan
- Colter
- Teo
- Koa
- Zamir
- Abdullah
- Koen
- Azriel
- Ryatt
- Sevyn
- Truett
- Ivaan
- Madden
- Dion
- Camilo
- Cartier
- Crue
- Westyn
- Leif
- Yahya
- Eliseo
- Murphy
- Callahan
- Jairo
- Stetson
- Jaziel
- Brayan
- Rome
- Jakai
- Cal
- Khai
- Rhodes
- Meir
- Lux
Here are the top 50 female names to increase in popularity in the U.S. in 2021:
- Wrenlee
- Neriah
- Arlet
- Georgina
- Amiri
- Arleth
- Amayah
- Winona
- Love
- Inaya
- Isabela
- Jream
- Cielo
- Adalee
- Sol
- Wrenley
- Zhuri
- Scottie
- Carla
- Alora
- Sapphire
- Arlette
- Yamileth
- Zendaya
- Aadhya
- Zoya
- Marigold
- Taytum
- Julieta
- Tru
- Araya
- Kenia
- Vienna
- Estella
- Elowyn
- Samira
- Violeta
- Silvie
- Zaria
- Aspyn
- Lottie
- Meilani
- Emerald
- Scout
- Brynleigh
- Anahi
- Lenora
- Azariah
- Yasmin
- Cleo

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