Popular Isn't the Same as Loved

Nov 6, 2026 Abigail Adams, Editorial writer

We keep two scoreboards on this site. The first is the birth chart: which names parents actually gave their babies. The second is quieter — a 1-to-5 star rating on every name page, where visitors score the names themselves.

You would expect the two scoreboards to agree. They really don't.

The champions get a polite nod

Olivia has been the #1 girls' name in America for seven straight years (2019–2025) and was given to 13,544 babies in 2025. Her rating from our voters: 4.50 out of 5, across 100 votes. Respected. Admired, even. Not adored. (Our own widget rounds her up, by the way — her page displays "5/5," but her true average is the 4.50 you see here.)

Emma ruled the chart for six years (2008, and 2014–2018) and still sits at #3. She has 92 votes — the most of any girls' top-five name — and the lowest score of the group: 4.22. The full girls' top five, by births, with their love scores beside them:

Olivia — #1 in births → 4.50 (100 votes)
Charlotte — #2 → 4.48 (31 votes)
Emma — #3 → 4.22 (92 votes)
Amelia — #4 → 4.67 (30 votes)
Sophia — #5 → 4.44 (62 votes)

The boys' side is harsher. Noah — #2 in births in 2025 with 20,358 babies, and a former #1 for four years — averages 4.12 across 77 votes. Of the 321 names with at least 50 votes, only twelve score lower than Noah. Benjamin, #11 in births, manages 4.07.

And then there are the immortals. John — the name that never ranked worse than #28 in 116 years — scores 3.62 on 37 votes, the coldest reception of any classic we checked. Mary, who spent 46 years at #1, sits at 3.85. The crowd does not hate these names. It is simply finished with them.

The loved are not the chosen

Now flip the lens. The names our voters rate highest and most often are barely visible in the delivery ward:

Harlyn — 259 votes (the second-most of any name), a glowing 4.56 average. Babies actually named Harlyn in 2025: 23. She ranks #2,760.
Taelyn — 163 votes at 4.47. Babies in 2025: 28.
Araya — our most-loved name with a serious jury (130 votes, 4.80). Babies in 2025: 170.

The big exception proves the rule is interesting: Kinsley, the most-voted name on the site (262 votes, 4.51), genuinely broke through — #93 in births in 2025, peaking at #57 in 2021. She is what it looks like when the fan club and the general public agree. She's nearly alone up there.

Even spelling gets a vote. Sofia, the "rarer" spelling at #9 in births, is rated 4.71 — noticeably warmer than Sophia herself at 4.44. Same sound, same name, but the crowd rewards the one that feels less common. (As our spelling investigation showed, combine the two and they're secretly #1 — beloved and everywhere, just split in two.)

Why the two scoreboards disagree

It's not hypocrisy; it's selection. A famous name gets rated by everyone — including the millions who are tired of it. A rare name gets rated almost only by the people who went looking for it, and people look up names they already like. Births measure a decision made by all parents, under pressure, with a partner vetoing things. Ratings measure the enthusiasm of the interested.

Neither number is the truth. They're answers to different questions: what did America choose? and what do name-lovers admire?

Our advice: Check both charts before you decide. A name high on both — Aria is #26 in births and our most-loved name at 4.90 — is the rare sweet spot. A name high in births but lukewarm in love is one people pick safely and praise politely. A name low in births but blazing in ratings has a fan club waiting for it. Know which of the three you're choosing.

Compare them yourself: Olivia, Emma, Noah, Harlyn, Aria.