Honor a last name
Parents who want to honor a family member — or a whole clan of family members — can look to surnames for inspiration. It'll feel right on trend, since surnames-as-first-names have been a fad for a while now, like with these boys' names:
- Brooks
- Carter
- Cooper
- Emerson
- Fletcher
- Flynn
- Harrison
- Houston
- Jackson
- Keegan
- Lennon
- Monroe
- Nixon
- Parker
- Watson
Go ultra-trendy
The No. 1 source of baby-name regret is picking a name that's too common. But for folks who like a name that's popular or getting trendy, a middle name might be the perfect place for an ultra-contemporary moniker. The SSA has identified names that are increasing in popularity:
- Truce
- Colsen
- Bryer
- Halo
- Azaiah
- Noa
- Azai
- Eliam
- Kolter
- Eliel
- Zymir
- Rocky
- Evren
- Kace
- Kyaire
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Pay homage to pop culture
It's no secret that pop culture drives popularity of baby names. But for those who might be shy about naming a child after a favorite IP or celebrity, a middle name might be a safer spot to show off their fandom. Here are some pop-culture inspired names that are somewhere on the SSA's Top 1,000 — including some names inspired by musicians, TV shows, actors and nostalgic movie blockbusters, like Top Gun, Point Break, Star Wars, Rocky and The Matrix:
- Maverick (No. 36)
- Bodhi (No. 302)
- Kylo (No. 373)
- Kobe (No. 409)
- Cillian (No. 463)
- Anakin (No. 592)
- Ozzy (No. 602)
- Cassian (No. 616)
- Keanu (No. 632)
- Creed (No. 612)
- Dutton (No. 736)
- Lennon (No. 784)
- Kaisen (No. 899)
- Neo (No. 969)
- Osiris (No. 976)
Choose a favorite word
"Dictionary names," or names that are just regular words, are a huge trend for 2025. Many times these are adjectives, but not always — remember that actress Rachel Griffiths named her son Banjo, and actress actress Shannyn Sossamon named her son Audio. Those may be outliers, but these are trending, all falling somewhere on the SSA list:
- Chosen
- Legend
- Loyal
- Ocean
- River
- Rowdy
- Royal
- True
- Saint
- Seven
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Find an old-fashioned name
Grandfathers, great-grandfathers, uncles and great uncles are a wealth of baby-name inspiration. Vintage and retro names are popular as first names, but if they feel too out-of-step with the times, the middle is the perfect spot. Try one of these timeless classics on for size:
- August
- Bernard
- Calvin
- Clyde
- Felix
- Hank
- Hugh
- Louis
- Murray
- Otis
- Otto
- Randall
- Sigmund
- Virgil
- Walter
Look for unisex names
Gender-neutral names are on the rise, and the number of names being used for all genders is growing. And, with names like these, we can see why.
- Avery
- Blake
- Brooklyn
- Casey
- Drew
- Emery
- Hayden
- Hollis
- Jamie
- Jett
- Jordan
- Palmer
- Quinn
- Reese
- Rory
- Ryan
- Salem
- Skylar
- Tatum
- Taylor
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Punctuate with a short, powerful or cute name
Nicknames, sweet names and animal names are also on the rise. If you want to use a middle name as a place for a little levity, try one of these playful names.
- Ace
- Bear
- Buddy
- Fox
- Lion
- Lucky
- Ozzy
- Sage
- Scout
- Skipper
- Sonny
- Teddy
- Tiger
- Wolf
- Ziggy
Look to the atmosphere
Another huge trend for this year is names that are modern and atmospheric — a subset of the all-popular nature names. If you want your baby boy's middle name to keep you on Cloud 9, try one of these airy names:
- Aero
- Aire
- Anil
- Azure
- Itzel
- Lightning
- Orion
- Sky
- Skylar
- Snow
- Sol
- Storm
- Sunny
- Surya
- Zephyr
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Know the most popular baby boy names
Whether they're to be used or avoided, these boy names are currently the most popular names in the United States, according to the SSA:
- Liam
- Noah
- Oliver
- Theodore
- James
- Henry
- Mateo
- Elijah
- Lucas
- William
- Benjamin
- Levi
- Ezra
- Sebastian
- Jack
- Daniel
- Samuel
- Michael
- Ethan
- Asher
- John
- Hudson
- Luca
- Leo
- Elias
- Owen
- Alexander
- Dylan
- Santiago
- Julian
Looking for more baby-name inspiration?

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
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