Start with the boys’ names in Emma’s Top 100 catalogue if you would rather compare a smaller field than browse widely. The title describes this collection, not an official Canadian top-100 ranking for 2025. Treat the list as a place to find candidates; consult the dated chart below when you want a separate popularity check.
Try reading once without asking whether a name is common. Save the names you like hearing, then write each with the surname. On a second pass, consider whether popularity actually matters to you. Some parents welcome familiarity, while others want less overlap with names they already hear. Neither preference needs to decide the whole choice.
If none of the candidates feels right, widen the search through the Top 1000 catalogue. If you are responding to sound rather than list position, compare two-syllable boys’ names. A shorter browsing list is useful only if it leaves room for your own preferences.
POPULARITY
A to Z
Read the name before you read the number
Imagine two cards on a kitchen table. One shows a name you like; the other shows its official count and reference year. Read the name card first and write down your reaction. Then uncover the data. Has the number changed your opinion, or only supplied context?
This exercise can reveal when a ranking is doing more work than you intended. A high count is not an endorsement of the name, and a low count is not a measure of originality or worth. Keep your first reaction so you can compare it with the reaction after reading the figures.
| Question | Useful evidence | What it cannot settle |
|---|---|---|
| Do I like saying it? | Your own spoken trial | Other people’s preferences |
| How often was it recorded? | An official count with place and year | How many classmates will share it |
| Do we like the full combination? | First name and surname together | What the child will prefer later |
Canada and the US are different comparisons
In the 2025 boys’ figures, Noah leads Canada with 2,190 recorded first names, according to Statistics Canada. Liam leads the United States with 20,818, according to the US Social Security Administration. These are separate administrative datasets, not competing scores for the same population.
| Name | US rank | US count |
|---|---|---|
| Liam | 1 | 20,818 |
| Noah | 2 | 20,358 |
| Oliver | 3 | 14,939 |
Source: US Social Security Administration, 2025 names, consulted October 4, 2026. These are US birth-related Social Security card applications, not Canadian records. The separate panels deliberately have no shared volume axis: populations and administrative coverage differ. This comparison is not an official ranking of the catalogue or a prediction about future classmates.
Use the country label before the bar length. A larger US total does not establish that a name is more popular in Canada. Nor does either country’s result tell you the future roll call at a particular school. Keep the statistical question narrow: which spelling, where, and in which year?
Should I avoid a name near the top?
Only if that conflicts with your preferences. Frequency can inform a choice without vetoing it. You can explore the rare-name catalogue for contrast, but its category label is not local frequency evidence.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. The chart’s reference year is 2025. It describes recorded names in the source data, not the names babies will receive next year.
