Top 10 states embracing creative baby name spellings
Americans love to show off their creativity when it comes to giving their children names. Rather than relying on certain classics they may love the sound of, trends show new parents are opting instead to provide their own unique spellings.
Nontraditionally spelled names can give a child a special feeling of uniqueness while having a name that is still easily recognizable. The leading example of this comes from the Social Security Administration’s May 2026 update on the most popular names of 2025. Klarity, a fun respelling of Clarity, topped charts for the fastest-growing girls name.
Kaleb, Camryn, and Madiysn are additional examples that jump off the page. To see just how common this trend was across the country, ThatsThem pulled SSA state-level name files from 2025 and grouped 15 common name families into standard and variant spelling clusters. From there, the share of each state’s births in those clusters that used the nonstandard version was calculated. Here’s the list of states where babies tend to have nonstandard names.
Before diving into the states with the most unique spellings, a quick note on the methodology used to compile the list. ThatsThem pulled the SSA’s state-specific baby name data for 2025 births, which is a full accounting of Social Security card applications by state. A state’s overall variant share was calculated as the total variant-spelling births divided by total cluster births across all 15. Only states with at least 30 qualifying births were ranked to ensure a handful of odd names in smaller states couldn’t swing the national results.
An important caveat worth flagging in this methodology is that the SSA strips out names used fewer than five times in a state during the year, so the rarest spellings of names will never make it into the account. This means the real respelling rate is likely slightly higher across the board than what shows up here.
Top 10 states by respelling share
1. Mississippi — 42.7% Variant Share
Mississippi topped the charts with the highest respelling rate in the country, and two name families drove most of that. Of the 576 births across the tracked clusters, 246 had unique spellings against just 330 standard. Drilling in deeper, the Caden group logged 122 variant births against just 12 for the standard spelling. This was led by Kayden (55), Kaiden (33), and Kaden (14). Cameron split in a similar way with Kamryn (18) and Kameron (16), both of which outpaced the six births with conventional spelling. The next-highest state trailed by more than 6 percentage points, meaning Mississippi had more than a healthy lead.
2. Alabama — 36.0% Variant Share
Alabama came in second and is the leader of a regional pattern that’s dominant across the eastern United States. 887 births were pulled into its cluster. Of those, 568 standard names were measured compared to 319 variants. Klarity was the clearest case for this state, with 18 girls getting the respelled version while the standard spelling didn’t even have enough numbers to meet the cutoff. The Caden family also emerged again with 63 Kaydens and 32 Kaidens against 17 Cadens.
3. Louisiana — 35.8% Variant Share
Barely half a percentage point behind Alabama is Louisiana. Out of 796 tracked births, there were 511 standard namings compared to 285 unique variations. Cameron split fairly evenly here with Kameron (19), Camryn (11), and Kamryn (10) against 54 standard spellings.
4. West Virginia — 35.2% Variant Share
Out of all the states on the list, West Virginia had the smallest sample size with only 324 total births pulled in. There were 210 standard and 114 variants, yielding a 35.2% share, but it’s worth remembering the smaller sample size. It’s also the only state where the respellings had no clear favorites. Kayden (17), Kaden (14), and Kaiden (11) all pretty much landed on top of each other, and Camryn (7) and Kamryn (6) split the standard Cameron family almost down the middle.
5. Georgia — 32.7% Variant Share
Serving as the complete opposite to West Virginia, Georgia had more births than almost every other state on the list. A total of 2,161 births were tracked in the 15 clusters. There were 1,454 standard names compared to 707 variant spellings. Cameron shows up as Kameron (43), Kamryn (40), Camryn (32), and Camron (8), but no single respelling took over. Kaleb also interestingly accounted for another 53 births and Klarity hit 31.
6. Arkansas — 32.1% Variant Share
Arkansas is another state from the southern cluster, but it sits dead in the middle of the rest with a 32.1% variant share. This was based on 489 total tracked births, with 332 spellings deemed standard against 157 variant choices. The smaller families are where the trend appeared here. Kaleb reached 17 against 36 Calebs and Klarity just cleared the cutoff at 5. Maddison also popped up with 12 appearances.
7. Nevada — 32% Variant Share
Nevada is a true outlier on the list as the only top 10 state not situated in the south of the country. Its 32% variance share, based on 132 variant spellings against 412 tracked births, breaks the pattern of what would otherwise have been a clean regional story. Even where geography breaks, though, the naming pattern holds. Only five babies in Nevada were named Caden in 2025, against 42 with respelled versions: Kayden (21), Kaden (9), and Kaiden (7). Kaleb further tipped the scales with 15 appearances.
8. Oklahoma — 31.6% Variant Share
Coming in eighth is Oklahoma, just 0.4% behind Nevada. Of 613 total tracked births, there were 419 standard naming conventions and 194 variant options. Interestingly, Camryn (12) is the most common version of that name here while Mississippi and Tennessee both favor Kamryn. Kayden (34) still leads the Caden group though, with Kaden (18) and Kaiden (12) not far behind.
9. Florida — 31.3% Variant Share
The ninth position goes to Florida, and it’s also the state with the most dominant sample size on the list. A total of 3,939 births were recorded within the 15 clusters, of which 2,708 were standard and 1,231 had variant names. The scale makes it hard to brush off. Kayden alone accounted for 253 of those variant births, followed by Kaiden and Kaleb at 129 and 118, respectively. Florida is also the only state on the list where both Klarity (42) and Clarity (18) make it past the cutoff, helping respellings win by more than a two-to-one ratio.
10. Tennessee — 31.1% Variant Share
Finally, Tennessee closes out the list in 10th place with a 31.1% variance share. This was based on 1,395 tracked births, split across 961 standard names to 434 variant options. This state leads towards the ‘K’ spellings. Kamryn (23) edges out Kameron (19) and Camryn (17), while Kayden (75) and Kaiden (42) stand high over a Caden group that only logged 32 original spelling births.
The bigger picture of names
While the states on this list had enough of a variance share to form a top 10, they shouldn’t be mistaken for outlier states. Unique naming conventions have taken the U.S. by storm, and other states are following the trend as well. The SSA’s data shows Klarity-style variants climbing nationally, not just in regional pockets. It turned up in 22 states in 2025, with 320 births in all, as compared to 63 Clarity births across seven states. What may separate Mississippi from, say, California, isn’t whether or not parents are choosing unique names for their children. It’s just how many of them are.
This story was produced by ThatsThem and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
