Every individual is unique, so why shouldn’t everyone have a unique name? That seems to be the reasoning of today’s parents who want their child’s sobriquet to be one of a kind, or at least one that a dozen other kids on the playground don’t have. The one drawback to a rare but beautiful name is that it could skyrocket in popularity and lose its uniqueness pretty fast, becoming one of the fastest growing first names in America.
Today parents also prefer gender-neutral names that can work equally for both sexes, which may explain why Murphy lands on this list for both girls and boys. Or why Noah, traditionally a boy’s name, has entered the conversation as a girls’ moniker. And if you’re looking for a never-before name try a place, such as Capri or Everest. (These are 30 uncommon baby names of the last 100 years.)
Popular names from other countries provide other possibilities, as well. Ireland’s Cillian and France’s Marceline may be common overseas, but less so here.
In some instances, the names are simply traditional ones with a new spelling, like Nyomi for Naomi. Or a last name — Jones, McCoy — used as a first name, usually for a boy. Yet what’s a bit surprising is for all the newness of most of these names, several haven’t been popular in decades.
Click here to see the most popular never-seen-before names in 2020
A handful of the names on this list, incidentally, aren’t really “never-seen-before,” but rather “haven’t-been-seen-in ages.” Abner, Cal, Violette, and Loretta evoke bygone eras, proving that what was once old can be new again.
To determine the most popular never-seen-before names in 2020, 24/7 Tempo reviewed records from the Social Security Administration to find names that were among the 1,000 most popular in 2020 but don’t appear in the top 1,000 for the years 2016-2019.
Girls
33. Mazikeen
> Girls named Mazikeen in 2020: 253 — 998th most popular
> Girls named Mazikeen in 2020: 253 — 998th most popular
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32. Laylani
> Girls named Laylani in 2020: 253 — 996th most popular
31. Melani
> Girls named Melani in 2020: 254 — 995th most popular
30. Araceli
> Girls named Araceli in 2020: 254 — 992nd most popular
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29. Zhuri
> Girls named Zhuri in 2020: 255 — 991st most popular
28. Aarya
> Girls named Aarya in 2020: 255 — 989th most popular
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27. Violette
> Girls named Violette in 2020: 258 — 982nd most popular
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26. Marceline
> Girls named Marceline in 2020: 259 — 973rd most popular
25. Nyomi
> Girls named Nyomi in 2020: 260 — 970th most popular
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24. Murphy
> Girls named Murphy in 2020: 260 — 969th most popular
23. Artemis
> Girls named Artemis in 2020: 263 — 960th most popular
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22. Stormi
> Girls named Stormi in 2020: 266 — 951st most popular
21. Loretta
> Girls named Loretta in 2020: 266 — 948th most popular
20. Drew
> Girls named Drew in 2020: 269 — 944th most popular
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19. Raya
> Girls named Raya in 2020: 272 — 937th most popular
18. Avayah
> Girls named Avayah in 2020: 274 — 930th most popular
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17. Shay
> Girls named Shay in 2020: 275 — 928th most popular
16. Jovie
> Girls named Jovie in 2020: 277 — 922nd most popular
15. Layne
> Girls named Layne in 2020: 278 — 920th most popular
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14. Zoya
> Girls named Zoya in 2020: 280 — 919th most popular
13. Lyla
> Girls named Lyla in 2020: 285 — 910th most popular
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12. Aspyn
> Girls named Aspyn in 2020: 287 — 901st most popular
11. Khalani
> Girls named Khalani in 2020: 289 — 900th most popular
10. Wrenley
> Girls named Wrenley in 2020: 290 — 898th most popular
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9. Noah
> Girls named Noah in 2020: 305 — 876th most popular
8. Denise
> Girls named Denise in 2020: 306 — 872nd most popular
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7. Ila
> Girls named Ila in 2020: 309 — 865th most popular
6. Jaylin
> Girls named Jaylin in 2020: 310 — 862nd most popular
5. Denisse
> Girls named Denisse in 2020: 315 — 854th most popular
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4. Jianna
> Girls named Jianna in 2020: 317 — 850th most popular
3. Leilany
> Girls named Leilany in 2020: 337 — 796th most popular
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2. Rosalia
> Girls named Rosalia in 2020: 365 — 744th most popular
1. Capri
> Girls named Capri in 2020: 411 — 685th most popular
Boys
21. Korbyn
> Boys named Korbyn in 2020: 213 — 991st most popular
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20. Everest
> Boys named Everest in 2020: 214 — 982nd most popular
19. Abner
> Boys named Abner in 2020: 219 — 971st most popular
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18. Zyair
> Boys named Zyair in 2020: 222 — 968th most popular
17. Murphy
> Boys named Murphy in 2020: 222 — 967th most popular
16. Cillian
> Boys named Cillian in 2020: 223 — 964th most popular
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15. Truett
> Boys named Truett in 2020: 226 — 957th most popular
14. Dion
> Boys named Dion in 2020: 228 — 951st most popular
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13. Damir
> Boys named Damir in 2020: 229 — 948th most popular
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12. Jones
> Boys named Jones in 2020: 230 — 946th most popular
11. Riggs
> Boys named Riggs in 2020: 231 — 945th most popular
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10. Cal
> Boys named Cal in 2020: 234 — 936th most popular
9. Mccoy
> Boys named Mccoy in 2020: 238 — 926th most popular
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8. Adler
> Boys named Adler in 2020: 240 — 920th most popular
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7. Osiris
> Boys named Osiris in 2020: 243 — 910th most popular
6. Kenji
> Boys named Kenji in 2020: 245 — 904th most popular
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5. Dior
> Boys named Dior in 2020: 258 — 868th most popular
4. Jakobe
> Boys named Jakobe in 2020: 269 — 838th most popular
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3. Ocean
> Boys named Ocean in 2020: 287 — 800th most popular
2. Rio
> Boys named Rio in 2020: 294 — 783rd most popular
1. Ander
> Boys named Ander in 2020: 424 — 628th most popular
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