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These are the names people change the most, Social Security says

(NEXSTAR) — Ever considered changing your name? Depending what your first name is, it's likely you have. Data from the Social Security Administration shows certain names are changed more often than others.

The administration recently told the Washington Post which names are the most often changed. WaPo says the administration used information from 2017 until the present — and the top 2 most changed names were the atypical "Issac" and "Chole." These are believed to be misspellings of "Isaac" and "Chloe," respectively, though it's noted there's no way to know for certain.

Rankings also include the names people often change their names to.

Rank Most-changed names Rank Most-adopted names
1. Issac 1. Isaac
2. Chole 2. Chloe
3. Aiden 3. Sebastian
4. Conner 4. William
5. Elliot 5. Olivia
6. Michael 6. Michael
7. James 7. Elijah
8. Isabella 8. Matthew
9. Sophia 9. Connor
10. David 10. Jonathan
(Data provided by Social Security Administration)

According to Behind the Name, which tracks name etymology, genesis and popularity based on scholarly linguistic sources and a user-submitted database, "Isaac" — which originates to Hebrew and the Old Testament — has always been commonplace. Since 2001, "Isaac" has remained within the top 50 most popular names, per BtN data.

It's also important to note that though "Issac" may be a misspelling of "Isaac" for some namers, the spelling is a variant of "Isaac" in some cultures.

"Chloe," meanwhile, appears to have fallen out of favor around 1943 — when it was ranked as the 952nd most popular name — before seeing a resurgence in popularity around 1982, Behind the Name reports. Chloe eventually cracked the top 10 in 2008, and has stayed in the top 30 since. In 2021, Chloe was actually the 24th most popular name.

In its tracking of name popularity, the SSA also shows which baby names increased or decreased in popularity between 2020 and 2021. Names are currently divided by "male" and "female" and may not account for unisex/non-binary usages of certain names. Year columns indicate the name's rank on the SSA's list that year.

These are the names that increased in popularity between 2020 and 2021.

Male births Female births
Name Change 2021 2020 Name Change 2021 2020
Amiri 534 757 1291 Raya 441 494 935
Eliam 442 736 1178 Wrenley 397 498 895
Colter 344 627 971 Angelique 306 876 1182
Ozzy 336 712 1048 Vida 285 992 1277
Loyal 300 753 1053 Emberlynn 284 961 1245
Khai 287 988 1275 Flora 278 647 925
Evander 279 767 1046 Murphy 262 716 978
Camilo 263 610 873 Arleth 259 957 1216
Mac 260 673 933 Ocean 253 877 1130
Jiraiya 251 828 1079 Freyja 243 709 952

These are the names that decreased in popularity between 2020 and 2021.

Male births Female births
Name Change 2021 2020 Name Change 2021 2020
Jaxtyn 349 935 586 Denisse 471 1323 852
Karsyn 254 954 700 Denise 360 1233 873
Xzavier 236 1212 973 Karen 263 1091 823
Willie 210 1202 992 Keily 227 1080 853
Tristen 202 1056 854 Nathalie 221 1133 912
Aldo 200 983 783 Itzayana 214 971 757
Hakeem 196 1155 959 Alexa 213 442 229
Bentlee 193 1082 889 Meilani 208 1094 886
Marley 188 1130 942 Lyanna 203 969 766
Korbyn 182 1177 995 Elliot 201 773 572

The Social Security Administration's popular names database contains names given in the U.S. and District of Columbia starting after 1879. The administration explains there are certain restrictions around its data, including incorrect birth certificate information, various spellings of certain names and potential ties needing to be broken.

Per SSA, 2021's most popular baby names are Liam, Noah and Oliver (ranked first through third) for males and Olivia, Emma and Charlotte for females.

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