11-05-2025
These Are The Baby Names Everyone Loved In 2005 That Are Basically Extinct Now
The list of most popular baby names in the U.S. doesn't change too dramatically from one year to the next, but looking back over decades, some interesting shifts and trends do emerge.
Knowing the Social Security Administration's baby naming data goes back more than a century, we decided to take a look at the top names from two decades ago to see how they stack up to their ranking today.
While popular picks from 2005 like Emma, Olivia, and Michael remain in wide use today, others feel so 20 years ago. Think Tyler, Alexis, and Alyssa. And who could've known how the connotation of the name Brandon would've shifted?
'Millennial names — those of the current generation of parents — have dropped significantly from 2005 to today,' Sophie Kihm, the editor-in-chief at the website Nameberry, told HuffPost. 'Marissa is the fastest-falling girl name that was in 2005's Top 100. Today, it's outside of the Top 1,000. Along with Marissa, other Millennial names like Megan, Haley, and Katelyn for girls, Kyle, Cody, and Brandon for boys have fallen significantly since 2005 due to oversaturation and feeling tied to older generations.'
She noted that the names that have dropped the most in ranking between 2005 and today feel distinctly of another era.
'Names like Jennifer and Michelle, Brian, and Eric were holding on in the Top 100 of 2005 but peaked in the 1970s, making them true Gen X names,' Kihm said. 'Gen X is more likely to be the grandparents of today's babies, and parents are largely avoiding their names for fresher options.'
At the same time, we've seen a revival of what Abby Sandel, the creator of the baby name blog Appellation Mountain, calls 'old-school antiques.'
'Favorites of 2025 like Eleanor, Evelyn, and Hazel would've felt like granny names compared to Kayla, Taylor, and Destiny,' she said. 'But now Megan is the mom, and she's naming her baby Florence.'
Kihm also pointed to the decline of names ending in -ayden for boys and a counterpart to that trend ― names like Kaylee, Kailey, Kayleigh, Kaylie, Kaleigh, Kaley, Kayley, and Kayli for girls.
'Girl names with a strong K sound like Katelyn, Kaitlyn, Katie, Kayla, Kimberly, Kylie, Kaylee, and Katherine each fell more than 100 spots, reflecting a shift toward today's girl names with stronger vowel sounds, like Eleanor, Aurora, and Eliana,' she said.
Interestingly, many names that were popular for boys in 2005 but have since fallen are two-syllable monikers ending with the letter 'n.'
'Brandon and Gavin and Justin and Kevin all have history prior to 2005, of course,' Sandel said. 'Along with names like Ethan, Ryan, Nathan, Logan, Dylan, Austin, and Evan, they came to define the default sound for a 21st century boy's name.'
Mother holding toddler in front of new home
Although the 'n' ending hasn't fully fallen out of favor, things have shifted a bit.
'Softer, more flowing names, like Liam, Julian, and Sebastian are wildly popular,' Sandel said. 'Boys' names ending with vowels, like Elijah, Luca, Theo, and Kai have become Top 100 go-tos. Twenty years ago, vowel-ending names were just starting to enter the mainstream. It's a trend that continues to accelerate.'
'Overall we're seeing many more unisex and gender-neutral names used for both sexes today, whereas in 2005, male usage of a name typically dropped if it was rising for females,' she said. 'As society has shifted its views on gender and gender identity, parents have become more comfortable with children of any gender with names like Parker, Charlie, or River.'
Without further ado, keep scrolling to find 20 names that were in the Top 50 in 2005 but have dropped considerably down the SSA's list since then. Are any of these ripe for a revival? Only time will tell.
Girls:
1. Alexis (No. 13 in 2005, now No. 449)
2. Alyssa (No. 16 to No. 333)
3. Lauren (No. 21 to No. 343)
4. Taylor (No. 24 to No. 261)
5. Kayla (No. 25 to No. 324)
6. Jessica (No. 27 to No. 553)
7. Jasmine (No. 29 to No. 190)
8. Sydney (No. 30 to No. 306)
9. Destiny (No. 32 to No. 439)
10. Morgan (No. 33 to No. 247)
11. Kaitlyn (No. 34 to No. 621)
12. Alexandra (No. 37 to No. 204)
13. Rachel (No. 38 to No. 255)
14. Kaylee (No. 40 to No. 180)
15. Megan (No. 41 to No. 694)
16. Jennifer (No. 42 to No. 517)
17. Angelina (No. 43 to No. 314)
18. Makayla (No. 44 to No. 457)
19. Trinity (No. 48 to No. 349)
20. Faith (No. 49 to No. 242)
Boys:
1. Joshua (No. 3 to No. 60)
2. Andrew (No. 6 to No. 65)
3. Christopher (No. 10 to No. 55)
4. Ryan (No. 14 to No. 83)
5. Nicholas (No. 15 to No. 109)
6. Tyler (No. 16 to No. 177)
7. Jonathan (No. 19 to No. 82)
8. Christian (No. 22 to No. 77)
9. Brandon (No. 27 to No. 219)
10. Zachary (No. 29 to No. 171)
11. Jose (No. 30 to No. 93)
12. Kevin (No. 33 to No. 186)
13. Justin (No. 36 to No. 185)
14. Robert (No. 37 to No. 89)
15. Austin (No. 38 to No. 101)
16. Evan (No. 39 to No. 137)
17. Aidan (No. 43 to No. 300)
18. Jordan (No. 46 to No. 98)
19. Gavin (No. 47 to No. 231)
20. Connor (No. 48 to No. 126)
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
