Most popular baby names of 2014

In the US, there was a notable change in the top three girls' names from 2013 to 2014, with Emma rising from second place to claim the top spot, displacing Sophia which had reigned supreme the previous year. Olivia remained steadily in third position. For boys, Noah maintained its number one position from 2013, while Liam climbed to second place, pushing Jacob down to fourth after a long run near the top. Mason held steady at the third position across both years.

Among the top 10 girls' names in the US for 2014, Charlotte made an impressive climb into the top 10, landing at position 10 after being ranked 11th the previous year. The classic name Elizabeth dropped slightly from 10th to 13th place. We're seeing a clear preference for names ending with the soft "a" sound, with Emma, Sophia, Olivia, Isabella, and Ava all ranking in the top five. Shorter names also seem to be gaining favor, with four of the top five having just two or three syllables.

For American boys' names, James showed remarkable strength by climbing to 9th place in 2014 from 13th in 2013. The traditional masculine names continue to dominate the top 10, with William, Ethan, and Michael maintaining their positions in the 5th, 6th, and 7th spots respectively. Biblical names remain extremely popular, with Noah, Jacob, Ethan, Michael, Alexander, James, and Daniel all appearing in the top 10. There's also a notable trend toward names with strong consonant sounds like "m" and "n" appearing in six of the top 10 names.

In the UK, naming patterns showed remarkable stability in the top spots. Jack remained the most popular boys' name for both 2013 and 2014, while Olivia held onto the crown for girls across both years. Interestingly, Isla climbed dramatically to third place for girls in 2014, up from fifth place the previous year. The UK and US show diverging preferences, with only Olivia appearing in both countries' top three for girls, while the boys' lists share no names in their respective top three positions. The UK continues to favor shorter, more traditional names like Jack and Harry for boys, and shows a preference for classic, slightly vintage-sounding names for girls such as Olivia, Emily, and Isla.

Top baby names of 2014