This list combines 4,277 spelling variations into 1,002 grouped names based on shared pronunciations. The most popular name in 1996 is Michael, given to 40,183 babies in total. Learn more about how this works.

Nicholas has the most spelling variations with 41 different spellings, while Taryn has the highest confusion index at 90.2%, indicating the greatest diversity in how parents choose to spell it.

When combining spelling variations, Taryn showed the biggest improvement, moving up 293 positions from 701 to 408, while Dakota had the largest drop, falling 11 positions from 58 to 69.

Looking at trends, Bailey shows the strongest upward momentum (births in 1994–1996 are 1164.73% higher compared to 1987–1996), while Clinton shows the steepest decline (66.93% lower). Compared to 1995, Dangelo had the largest rank improvement, moving up 180 positions to rank #360, while Forrest fell 127 positions to rank #380.