This list combines 7,917 spelling variations into 1,000 grouped names based on shared pronunciations. The most popular name in 1996 is Michael, given to 40,594 babies in total. Learn more about how this works.

Makayla has the most spelling variations with 67 different spellings, while Kaylin has the highest confusion index at 93.1%, indicating the greatest diversity in how parents choose to spell it.

When combining spelling variations, Kaylin showed the biggest improvement, moving up 539 positions from 762 to 223, while Ethan had the largest drop, falling 35 positions from 117 to 152.

Looking at trends, Lyric shows the strongest upward momentum (births in 1994–1996 are 1566.67% higher compared to 1987–1996), while Hillary shows the steepest decline (79.64% lower). Compared to 1995, Tamia had the largest rank improvement, moving up 365 positions to rank #708, while Forrest fell 222 positions to rank #707.