Baby Names That Might Go Extinct This Year
So, you’re expecting a baby in 2026 — congratulations! There are so many things to think about and plan, not least of all, what baby name you are going to choose. If you want something that follows current trends and doesn’t seem weird or outdated, then you are not going to want to use the following names. According to BabyCenter, there are several trending names that are predicted to go extinct this year!
BabyCenter analyzed the top 1,000 baby names list to see the names and name trends that had the biggest fall from 2024 to 2025 and may just fall off altogether in 2026. So if you want to avoid these unpopular names, then keep reading — some of these just may surprise you!
Unique spellings
My name is Sydni, so my mom was ahead of her time on the unique spelling trend. However, now people are stepping away from the odd spellings of names with extra, unnecessary letters (think: Charleigh and Maddison) as well as other unique choices, like Alivia instead of Olivia and Emmitt instead of Emmett. Mohamad is also falling out, according to the website.
Place names
Being named after a place, such as Malaysia, Dallas, London, and Boston, is apparently not cool anymore, as all of these names are slipping on the list. Paris Hilton clearly doesn’t agree, though, as she named her baby London in 2024.
Boy names ending in -y
Cutesy names ending in y might quickly become a thing of the past, as Huxley, Grady, Rey, Corey, and Harry took a tumble this year. Still, we doubt that they will completely fall off — after all, Henry remains a top contender on baby name lists.
Names that start with D and K
Darling, you’ll have to give up your love of these letters, K? That’s because names with D (Danielle, Dylan, Dominic, Dev) and K (Kenna, Kinley, Kylian, Karim) are falling.
BabyCenter also provided a list of the top baby names that have dropped on the list, which you might want to stay away from (or choose depending on how popular you want your baby’s name to be!).
Top 10 girl names with the sharpest drop last year:
Top 10 boy names with the sharpest drop last year:
And if you want some inspiration for quietly cool, poetic, and modern baby names for 2026, check out our guide HERE.
From Kamai to Arys, here’s a list of gender-neutral baby names that are super rare.