Have We Reached Peak Charli?
Every year, we calculate which baby names have reached their peak — their highest ranking ever — in the U.S. name statistics that year. Here, for instance, are the Names That Peaked in 2023, which include classics like Eloise and Theodore along with newcomers such as Kylo and Nori.
Most of the names on that list are hot and only getting hotter, so that next year, the same names that peaked in 2023 will rise even higher, reaching new peaks in 2024 and '25 and so on.
Except when they don't.
Which got us wondering: Which names have reached their peak over the past few years that are heading back downhill?
We looked at girl and boy names that peaked in 2020 and 2021 in search of those making decided moves downward over the next two or three years. We ruled out any names whose rank didn't get lower every year, along with names making tiny downward adjustments and those that consistently wobble up and down.
What's left are names that for a range of reasons have already hit their peak and are destined to become less and less popular going forward. Some of these are variations of super popular names — Karsyn for Carson, for instance, or Jaxxon for Jackson — that usually bounce higher and fall faster than the original names. Some are gender-neutral names that are continuing to rise for one sex and not another. And then there are celebrity names that may have proven too special (Saoirse, anyone?) for ordinary American life.
But most interesting are the names that have been zooming straight uphill for several years and now at last seem to have hit their highest point ever and are settling down. It looks like Charli and Jackson, Atticus and Phoenix may never after all make the Top 10.
Whether that's good or bad news depends on you. You may be delighted that a favorite name seems to have pulled back on its upward trajectory and so won't become overused. Or you may feel disappointed that a name you've held dear for years seems to be falling out of style.
While this list is based on statistics, it isn't necessarily comprehensive. Our parameters may differ from the ones that interest you. If you'd like a broader look at names that have been trending downward over the past decade or more, for instance, check out the Names We're Totally Over.
And we're not, in the end, infallible. Any name heading down can easily head right back up, or vice versa.
Girl Names That Have Peaked
- Alaiya
- Alaya
- Alayah
- Avalynn
- Avianna
- Bexley
- Brynlee
- Camilla
- Charlee
- Charli
- Ensley
- Gracelyn
- Gracelynn
- Harmoni
- Jianna
- Kamiyah
- Liana
- Maren
- Marleigh
- Naya
- Octavia
- Reina
- Saoirse
- Tinsley
- Treasure
- Wynter
Boy Names That Have Peaked
- Alaric
- Atticus
- Brixton
- Cannon
- Declan
- Finnegan
- Flynn
- Ford
- Huxley
- Jackson
- Jaxxon
- Kabir
- Mccoy
- Nasir
- Niko
- Odin
- Rhett
- Wesson
- Wilder
- Zayne