This list combines 3,528 spelling variations into 1,007 grouped names based on shared pronunciations. The most popular name in 1988 is Michael, given to 66,900 babies in total. Learn more about how this works.

Nicholas has the most spelling variations with 43 different spellings, while Taryn has the highest confusion index at 88.1%, indicating the greatest diversity in how parents choose to spell it.

When combining spelling variations, Jerrell showed the biggest improvement, moving up 300 positions from 533 to 233, while Jesus had the largest drop, falling 7 positions from 103 to 110.

Looking at trends, Holden shows the strongest upward momentum (births in 1986–1988 are 916.5% higher compared to 1979–1988), while Shannon shows the steepest decline (62.24% lower). Compared to 1987, Nico had the largest rank improvement, moving up 203 positions to rank #458, while Cordaro fell 71 positions to rank #603.