Want to know the most popular unisex names? We’ve crunched the numbers for you.

　　Our definition of a unisex name is one that’s used for both girls and boys with a split of at least 90-10. (For the most popular names, there are always a few opposites recorded, like the 15 boys called Emma and seven girls called William in 2022. But it’s not particularly accurate or helpful to call them unisex, when the balance is so overwhelmingly towards one gender.)

　　These gender neutral names cover a range of styles: surnames, place names, nicknames, nature and virtuous word names. What unites them is that they are (mostly) modern names that have only seen significant use in the last few decades. There are very few grandparents of any gender named Riley, Justice or Kendall yet. Unlike Emma and William, they don’t have centuries of association with one gender.

　　Mostly. Some old, established names, like Ryan and Rory, have been used enough for the non-traditional gender that they now count as unisex names. Others have different cultural uses, and even different pronunciations, depending on whether they’re a girl or boy name, such as Angel and Azariah.

　　Read on for our chart of the most popular unisex names in the US in 2022, based on national data. They are listed in order of the total number of children given each name. (With thanks to Sophie Kihm for analyzing the data!)

　　

Top 10 Unisex Names of 2022

　　The line-up features the same names as 2021, with some minor shake-ups. Namely, Angel rose three spots and is now Number 5 on the Unisex popularity charts. Ryan, now Number 8, fell two places between 2021 and 2022, and Cameron, now Number 6, fell one.

　　Nationally, Angel fell in popularity among baby girls, but rose significantly for baby boys. In total, Angel increased in usage by about 7%. Cameron and Ryan fell in usage for both sexes.

　　The Top 10 shows us the most common unisex surname names (Parker and Avery), nature names (River and Rowan), and Irish and Scottish names (Ryan and Cameron).

　　Avery and Riley are used more for girls, and the other eight lean more boy. The most gender-neutral names in the Top 10 are Parker and River, which have an approximately 35-65 girl-boy split.

　　Heart1LoganChevron - RightHeart2AveryChevron - RightHeart3RileyChevron - RightHeart4ParkerChevron - RightHeart5AngelChevron - RightHeart6CameronChevron - RightHeart7RiverChevron - RightHeart8RyanChevron - RightHeart9RowanChevron - RightHeart10JordanChevron - Right

　　

Unisex Name Trends

　　Looking further down the Top 100 unisex names (listed further below), here are a few trends in sound and meaning that you may notice.

　　

R names rule

R is the most common initial in the Top 100, heading up 13 popular unisex names: Reese, Reign, Remi, Remington, Remy, Riley, River, Rory, Rowan, Rowen, Royal, Ryan, and Rylan. 

　　

Y and N endings

Over half the Top 100 names end in either an “ee” sound (like Charlie and Emery), or an N (like Sutton and Reign). These clearly hold sway as gender-neutral endings, whereas the less common end sounds of Harlow and Sterling make them more distinctive.

　　

What parents value

The most popular unisex names give a snapshot into what’s important for the people who chose them.

　　The most obvious are the English word names, which show we seek connection both with nature (Aspen, Sage, Wren) and with all that is noble, powerful and enduring (Royal, Justice, Tru). Some parents like the cool association with places (Dakota, Memphis), others with luxury brands (Armani, Dior). There are names with close links to music (Lennon, Lyric), and others with a strong dash of the modern Christian trend (Shiloh, Salem).

　　

Top 100 Unisex Names of 2022

　　In 2022, Amiri, Koa, Murphy, and Tru rose into the unisex Top 100. Devin, Harlow, Navy, and Noa also entered the list, because the previous year they were not given to enough boys (for Devin, to enough girls) to make the 90-10 split for unisex names.

　　These names replaced Justice, Karsyn, Layne, Monroe, Quincy, and Santana. This year Banks, Francis, and Keegan were not gender-balanced enough to count as unisex names.

　　The fastest-rising names in the Top 100 were Koa, which climbed 38 places, followed by Amiri, Casey, Shiloh, and Wren. The biggest drops were from Justice, Layne, Lyric, and Karsyn.

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Read next

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　　Truly Gender-Neutral Names Achieve Gender Parity

　　Cool Unisex Middle Names

　　

About the Author

　　

Clare Green

　　Clare Green has been writing for Nameberry since 2015, covering everything from names peaking right now to feminist baby names, and keeping up-to-date with international baby name rankings. Her work has featured in publications such as The Independent and HuffPost. Clare has a background in linguistics and librarianship, and recently completed an MA dissertation researching names in multilingual families. She lives in England with her husband and son. You can reach her at [email protected]

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