This list combines 4,536 spelling variations into 1,005 grouped names based on shared pronunciations. The most popular name in 1998 is Michael, given to 38,499 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 90.7%, indicating the greatest diversity in how parents choose to spell it.

When combining spelling variations, Taryn showed the biggest improvement, moving up 298 positions from 709 to 411, while Troy had the largest drop, falling 14 positions from 183 to 197.

Looking at trends, Bailey shows the strongest upward momentum (births in 1996–1998 are 1002.2% higher compared to 1989–1998), while Clinton shows the steepest decline (69.15% lower). Compared to 1997, Dawson had the largest rank improvement, moving up 377 positions to rank #182, while Coty fell 81 positions to rank #668.