Is the "Boy Name Struggle" Real? Our Survey Says Yes
From partner nixing to the pressure of legacy, here’s why Babylist users say boy names feel like a high-stakes logic puzzle.
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As Babylist’s associate editor, I spend a lot of time pondering baby names and regularly analyzing actual baby names Babylist parents submit to Babylist Babes for what names are most popular and what name vibes are trending. I never miss a “names we loved but didn’t use” TikTok and have recently noticed more chatter about how different the experiences of choosing a boy versus girl name can be. And as a mom of two—with one of each—I have also been there myself.
To dig deeper into this idea, we asked parents in a recent newsletter poll whether choosing a boy name was harder than choosing a girl name. More than half of respondents agreed with this—but that’s not to say that picking a girl’s name is necessarily easier; roughly 29 percent felt it was harder to choose a girl name. However, looking at the results and reading through parents’ responses, there is definitely something in the underlying decision process that makes boy names seem trickier.
So, let’s discuss this “boy name struggle” and why it’s even a thing—and how to find one you truly love.
Why Boy Names Feel Harder
For both our expecting and existing parent audiences, boy names were twice as hard to choose than girl names. When we asked parents why they felt this way, these four themes emerged:
The Agreement Gap
Unlike girl names, parents told us boy names seem to trigger more vetoes between partners. “The biggest issue I faced was finding names I liked that my husband agreed with. He is so picky!” one parent said. So even if they were able to gather a decent list of boy names, the agreement gap was a challenge.
Another parent shared they resorted to creating a spreadsheet to keep things organized. “My husband and I are VERY opinionated about names. We literally ended up making a spreadsheet of names that each of us liked, and the other could nix.” Whether you're using a spreadsheet or a swiping app like Kinder, finding that middle ground (like the couple who landed on Leon for its "Global Cool" vibe) is the real work.
The Pressure of Legacy
Parents also acknowledge that there’s a lingering weight to boy names. Whether it’s naming a “fourth Salvatore” or finding a way to honor a grandfather, like other parents volunteered, the desire for a "foundation" name often overrides the desire for a "trendy" one.
The "Meaning" Bar is High
Many parents felt that a boy's name couldn't just "sound cool"—it had to mean something. As one respondent put it: “Choosing a name felt less about standing out and more about meaning.”
One parent shared, “I felt like the future considerations (is it masculine enough, too trendy, too babyish for an adult or too adultish for a baby) were higher for naming my son vs naming my girls. For girl names, I just didn't think of half of those things.”
Strict Internal Guardrails
To manage the "boy name drought," (more on this next) parents often set strict rules for themselves like, “must be short,” or “must be able to pronounce in more than one language”) which makes the search even harder.
Two more internal guidelines parents brought up were finding a name that worked in more than two languages and sibling pairings for those who were naming baby number two or three. “We decided to go with sentimental/ family names and now naming our 3rd boy (and sticking to this naming direction) it feels like we are on 3 day old leftovers,” one parent said. “Birth order has played a big role…we've been thinking about how our third son’s name will fit with our other two boys and that has made it trickier.”
The Perception of Fewer Boy Names
A few parents also mentioned they didn’t feel like they had as much room to be creative with a boy name as they did choosing a girl name—which led to a smaller pool of names to choose from.
One parent’s analogy that really stood out to me was this: “It feels similar to going to the Nordstrom kids' baby clothes section. The girls' section is three times as large as the boys'. Boys are just blue pants, khaki pants, black pants. Girls are like every type of fashion under the sun in many different varieties and colors.”
“The ‘trendy’ names we liked were just that. Trendy and there were tons of them in our friend group,” one parent said. Another echoed this sentiment, “It seems like the way to get to a ‘unique’ baby name is to go in the total opposite direction with the Braxton, Braelyn, etc.” And it must be said that both of those names have become trendy in certain areas in their own right.
One dad of boy-girl twins shared, “We felt that there were tons of cute girl names to choose from and freedom to be creative (it could be cute, playful, masculine or feminine, etc.), but the boy names were a lot harder to get something that felt unique but also ‘acceptable’.”
The Boy Name Drought
Popular boy names tend to cycle more slowly, creating that perception of fewer options. As one parent shared, “Having one of each, boy [names] felt way harder because there were fewer options we liked. But also everything we liked was so popular.”
If you look at the boy names that consistently top the Social Security Administration’s baby name charts for the last few years, you’ll notice it stays pretty consistent. Last year’s top 10 isn’t released yet, but in 2024 the top SSA boy names were: Liam, Noah, Oliver and James.
Comparing it to our Babylist Babes list, we notice a lot of overlap in naming vibes. Noah & Oliver are the undisputed faves, swapping the #1 and #2 spots back and forth since 2023, while Henry, Liam, Jack and James haven't moved more than a few spots in the same timeframe.
When looking at the top girl names on Babylist Babes vs SSA, there’s an almost identical level of consistency—the “Big Four” on both being Olivia, Emma, Charlotte and Amelia. So while both lists are sort of “monopolized” by the same few names, because girl names tend to have a wider variety of categories, those top picks feel like classic, safe choices. For boys, that same consistency feels like a drought—leaving many parents feeling like there just aren't as many options.
How Parents Are Finding Fresh Boy Name Inspiration
Boy names don’t have to feel limited if you don’t want them to. Babylist parents do love a classic, traditional boy name, but we're seeing creativity rising.
If you look past the "Unshakeable Six" (the Liam/Noah/Oliver/James/Henry/Jack group that has dominated the top of our lists for years), a new wave of "Global Cool" and "Softer" names is emerging.
The Rise of the Vowel-Heavy "Soft" Name: Names like Luca, Leo, and Mateo are the new heavy hitters. They offer a lyrical, melodic alternative to the more rugged sounds of the past. Theodore is the ultimate success story here—it jumped to #3 on our list in 2025, effectively becoming the new "Modern Classic."
Here are more names that align with this name vibe:
Avi
Leon
Marley
Arlo
Otto
Enzo
Ezra
The "Last-Name-as-First-Name" Shift: While this trend has been more dominant for girl names for a while, we're seeing more boys with grounded, cool surnames like Hudson and Miller staying steady in the top ranks.
There is no shortage of surnames as first names on Babylist Babes, here are a few more we spotted:
Brooks
Bennet
Wells
Rhodes
Hayes
Fletcher
The Gender-Neutral Bridge: For parents overwhelmed by the "Boy vs. Girl" binary, names like Charlie and Kai are providing a creative escape hatch. Charlie has appeared in our Top 20 for three years running.
Here are a few more truly gender-neutral names on Babylist Babes:
Rowan
Parker
Riley
Avery
River
Sage
Quinn
Elliot
Intention Beats Popularity
If picking a boy name feels like a high-stakes logic puzzle, it’s likely because of a unique naming paradox. For girls, "intention" can look like anything (floral, celestial or vintage) and the rules feel flexible. But for boys, parents often feel that for a name to have true weight or meaning, it must be grounded in legacy and tradition.
This is the "missing link" of the boy name struggle. We aren't just looking for a cool sound; we are looking for a foundation. The difficulty arises when we want that foundation to feel intentional and meaningful, but we also want it to feel fresh—not just another name we’ve heard a dozen times.
But as Babylist parents have shown, once you find that "why"—whether it’s a family connection like Salvatore, a cultural anchor like Avaneesh—the charts start to matter a lot less.
