Say Goodbye to Harry, Danielle and Ezra — BabyCenter Predicts These Names Will Be ‘Extinct’ in 2026

You probably won’t run into many babies named Harry or Danielle this year.

A new BabyCenter report, “Baby Names at Risk of Going Extinct in 2026,” highlights names that appear to be slipping out of favor. Using the site’s naming-trend data — based on what parents are considering — the report points to several once-common picks that may be headed toward “extinction” in 2026, including Harry, Danielle, and Ezra.

To create the list, BabyCenter reviewed the 1,000 most popular names and identified which ones dropped the most from 2024 to 2025. The site notes there’s always some margin for error, but says the steepest fallers can offer a useful window into where naming trends may go over the next 12 months.

What’s falling out of style

1) “Creative” spellings are losing momentum
BabyCenter says unconventional spellings of familiar names aren’t landing the way they used to. Examples the report flags include Charleigh, Alivia, Maddison, and Emmitt — alternative spellings that are dropping quickly compared with their more standard counterparts.

2) Place names are cooling off
Names borrowed from cities and countries also appear to be fading. BabyCenter points to examples such as London, Dallas, and Malaysia for girls, and Boston for boys.

3) Boy names ending in “y” are trending downward
Another noticeable dip: boy names that end with a “y.” BabyCenter says names like Huxley, Grady, Rey, Corey, and Harry are sliding out of the top 1,000.

4) D- and K-starting names are declining
The report also notes weakening popularity for names beginning with D and K, including Danielle, Dylan, Kenna, and Kinley for girls, along with Dominic, Dev, Kylian, and Karim for boys.

A look at what could rise instead

Baby name consultant Colleen Slagen has also shared her expectations for 2026, predicting that short, four-letter names will keep gaining popularity because they “feel effortlessly cool and nickname-proof.” For girls, she cited Indi, Gwen, Lana, and Alba; for boys, Luca (or Luka), Rome, Elio, Dean, and Bode.

She also expects a continued wave of early-2000s inspiration — including more girls receiving names traditionally used for boys — and says families should be ready to meet more girls named Andie, Drew, Bennie, Dylan, Logan, and Stevie.