Unisex Baby Names, 2009
The name Jordan, which has reigned supreme as America's top unisex baby name for much of the past decade, is no longer in the top spot. Today's most popular unisex name, based on the average of its popularity among boys and girls, is Riley. The new number two name is Peyton, up from number eight in 2007. Meanwhile, Jordan slips to third place among America's unisex baby names.
The 2009 data on unisex names also reverses a decade-long trend of an overall decline in the number of unisex baby names in this country, which is defined in our study as any name that appears in the top 1000 names for both boys and girls. In 2009, 68 names fit the definition of "unisex," up from 59 names in 2007.
Other notable changes in 2009 include the name London, which jumped in popularity for both sexes; Charlie, increasingly popular with both boys and girls; and new unisex names Harper, Marley, and Zion showing enough strength with both genders to come close to mid-list so quickly. Meanwhile, long-time unisex name Tyler no longer fits the definition, as the female Tylers ceded the field to the males, leaving Tyler as a definite boy's name.
In all, two names ceased to be "unisex" in 2009 (Tyler and Kamryn), while no fewer than eleven names are newly-androgynous. The new unisex names include Harper, Marley, Zion, Rylan, Eden, Finley, Ali, River, Reece, Kamari, and Rory.
In the table to the right, the popularity ranking for each name, for both boy's and girl's names, is converted to an average score to determine overall popularity. The most popular unisex names start at the top, beginning with Riley.