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Kasai and Klarity on the rise, Emma on the outs in Social Security’s new baby-name rankings

Liam and Olivia remain unchallenged at number one.

By

Tod Perry

newborns, babies, baby names, crying baby, happy baby,
Photo credit: Canva – A sad baby and a happy baby.

As they do every year around Mother’s Day, the Social Security Administration released its list of the top 1,000 most popular baby names. The SSA is uniquely positioned to track the rise and fall of baby names because it collects information on every baby born in the United States.

The 2025 list found no major changes among the top 10 names for girls and boys. Olivia and Liam again held the number one spots in the rankings, as they have for the past seven years. The biggest changes were among girls’ names, where Charlotte rose to second place, ending Emma’s six-year run in the spot. Ava dropped out of the top 10 and was replaced by Eliana.

baby, newborn, happy baby, smiling baby, babies
Three babies. Photo credit: Canva

No big changes in the top 10s for 2025

No big changes for the boys, where the top four remained unchanged: Liam, Noah, Oliver, and Theodore.

Boys’ names

  1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. Oliver
  4. Theodore
  5. Henry
  6. James
  7. Elijah
  8. Mateo
  9. William
  10. Lucas

Girls’ names

  1. Olivia
  2. Charlotte
  3. Emma
  4. Amelia
  5. Sophia
  6. Mia
  7. Isabella
  8. Evelyn
  9. Sofia
  10. Eliana
baby, newborn, happy baby, crying baby, babies
A crying baby. Photo credit: Canva

When it comes to the names rising fastest in popularity, there were some decidedly unconventional choices rocketing up the charts. There also appears to be a clear trend toward names with a strong “K” sound.

Names that are rapidly gaining in popularity

Boys’ names

  1. Kasai
  2. Akari
  3. Eziah
  4. Jasai
  5. Neithan

Girls’ names

  1. Klarity
  2. Rynlee
  3. Ailanny
  4. Naylani
  5. Madisson
baby, newborn, happy baby, smiling baby, babies
A happy baby. Photo credit: Canva

Kasai made the greatest leap among boys’ names, moving up 1,108 spots on the list to land at 639. Kasai means “fire” in both Japanese and Swahili. Although the name is a fast mover in the boys’ category, it has also been used as a girls’ name. It’s believed that the name is rising in popularity due to actress Skai Jackson naming her baby Kasai and the popularity of entrepreneur and rapper Kasai Guthrie.

Klarity’s origins are a bit more obvious: it’s “Clarity” with a twist, spelled with a K instead of a C. “A rediscovered virtue name with a modern makeover, Klarity has the zippy sounds of Felicity along with the familiar feel of Kate, Katie, Kitty, and Klara,” Nameberry writes.

Akari is another name with Japanese origins, meaning “star” or, depending on how it’s written, “moon,” “bright,” “light,” or “red jewel.” It’s a rapidly rising boys’ name, but it’s also used for girls.

Rynlee is a modern construction that follows the current trend of using popular names, such as Ryan, and adding a -lee or -leigh suffix. Alternative spellings include Rynleigh and Rinlee.

Another unique name is Jasai. It’s a modern take on the traditional name “Jason” and may have ancient Hindi or Sanskrit origins, meaning “victory” or “achievement.” On the girls’ side, Ailanny appears to be a recent creation centered on the opening sound “Ai,” which is often associated with love and affection.

You can access the SSA’s full name database here. 

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    Phrase #2: “I would love to hear you out, and my request is that in return you respect my right to make a personal decision even if it does not align with what you’ve shared.”

    “Even when their kids are grown, parents still love the chance to influence their children,” says Bullock. “This phrase lets your parents know that you would love to hear their opinion, you welcome it, AND reminds them gently that you are grown and they should offer you similar respect.”

    Phrase #3: “This conversation seems to keep causing tension between us, and I’d rather focus on something we have in common right now. Can we set it aside for a bit?”

    According to Bullock, “This acknowledges the tension without placing blame. It gives the adult child an opportunity to stop the conversation before it deteriorates further, while emphasizing the positive pieces of the relationship.”

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    The viral video starts out with no trigger warning before he says though clenched teeth, “my son has worms in his anus.” Yeah, you read that right. It’s a thing. A slightly terrifying but totally normal thing.

     

    These don’t look so bad until you realize where they live. By DPDx, PHIL – Public Domain

    About 20% of kids will get pinworms at some point. They can affect anyone, but adults rarely get them because they generally have better hygiene habits and awareness about putting their hands in their mouth after touching surfaces. (You usually get a pinworm infection by accidentally swallowing the eggs. Yeah… sorry for that) The first signs will be an itchy butthole, trouble sleeping, and irritability or loss of appetite.

    If you’re a glutton for punishment, read on! Pinworms are hard to diagnose, for obvious reasons. They’re very small and hard to see, plus they like to live in a very sensitive, hard to reach area. But they are visible to the naked eye, so diagnosis sometimes involves quite literally looking at a child’s butt with a flashlight. Sometimes doctors will use tape to see if they can collect eggs from the area, which can be seen under a microscope.

    No word from Justin on how he figured out that his kid had pinworms, but that’s probably for the best.

    “No one tells you about this stuff when you’re thinking about being a parent but apparently it’s like super normal for a child to just have worms in his booty hole,” a flustered, baffled Justin says. In the video, he’s on his way to pick up medicine for his kid while trying to somehow wrap his head around the reality of the situation.

    Then a pediatrician made it worse

    Dr. Cerissa Key, a pediatrician, chimed in on Justin’s disturbing revelation and assured him and every parent watching that pinworms are a common thing that happens in young children.

    But she also dropped some info that others including Justin may not have been ready to hear.

    “Justin, sir. I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But if your son has worms in his booty hole, sir, politely and respectfully, you also have worms in your booty hole,” Key reveals.

    Key goes on to explain that kids are “disgusting” and don’t wash their hands well so pinworms spread easily if a child at school or daycare has them. She advises that parents stock up on the chalky banana flavored medication that clears them up and to wash everything on hot while being sure to vacuum your floors well. Luckily, there are good over-the-cofteoaboutunter options for suffering families, as well as stronger prescription methods available. Typically, medication can get rid of the pinworm infection pretty quickly.

    Parents on the internet did not take this well

    People in the comment section of both videos were horrified that this was an actual thing while others commiserated with the stressed dad.

    “I have no kids and now I’m paranoid I have pinworms with no symptoms,” one person writes.

    “I’ve raised 4 kids and never had this happen. Tomorrow this will be my entry on my gratitude journal,” a mom confesses.

    “Do I have kids? No…Do I even work around kids? Also no…do I still have the urge to take this medicine just in case anyways? 100000%,” someone says.

    Several people were forced to question if they even wanted kids anymore knowing there’s a 20% chance they may have to deal with this at some point in the future.

    @therealdrkey

    #stitch with @Justin Allllll about pinworms! It your kid has them, YOU have them. 😩 #pinworms #pinworm #pediatrician #momlife #itchybottom #itchyvulva #pinwormssuck #parenting

    ♬ original sound – DrCerissaKey

    Not everyone was stressed, some were thankful for the information. “Thank you! We haven’t experienced pinworms yet, but super informative and helps to make parenting normalized,” another commenter writes.

    Key suggests that if your child has pinworms that the entire family should take a dose of the medication two weeks apart to make sure any left over newly hatched eggs are also killed. Why so thorough? Well, it’s estimated that one pinworm (or threadworm) can lay up to 16,000 eggs.

    And on that note…

    While you may not have been warned about pinworms, no one ever said parenting would be glamorous. It just seems people weren’t prepared for how unglamorous it could get.

    This article originally appeared three years ago. It has been updated.

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