Top Baby Names: What’s Popular Where?
By Linda Rosenkrantz
Emma and Noah are the new Number 1 baby names in the US, but are they the most popular names where you live? Emma was Number 1 in just 22 states, Noah at the top in only 13. Other states put rivals Olivia, Ava, and Sophia at the head of the class for girls, as well as Mia (in Hawaii and New Mexico), Harper (in South Dakota), Isabella (Florida) and Genesis (D.C.). For boys, there were seven other names vying for the top spot, with Liam, William, Mason, Benjamin, Henry, Jackson, or Elijah beating Noah in 37 states.
Moving down the list, it’s easy to see certain names really gathering steam and heading higher. The following are girls’ names not in the national Top 10 which reached that level and beyond in at least two states, as well as names that ranked Number 1 in some states:
Amelia –Number 12 nationally, was as high as Number 3 in Maine and fourth in Alaska
Aria—Number 29 nationally, reached Number 4 in Hawaii
Aubrey—Number 21 nationally, was Top 10 in Louisiana, Mississippi and North Dakota
Aurora—79 on the Social Security list, was the third most popular name in Alaska, Number 5 in Montana
Ava – Ava reigns at Number 1 in every Southern state, from North Carolina to Louisiana, except Florida, as well as in Delaware and North Dakota.
Avery –16 nationally, made the Top 10 in no less than 13 states
Brooklyn–31 on the SS list, was in fifth place in states nowhere near NYC—Mississippi and Minnesota
Evelyn—Number15 nationally, Evelyn is edging closer and closer to the Top 10, attaining as high as third place in Idaho, Minnesota and Wisconsin
Harper – The only new name in the girls’ Top 10 made Number 1 in South Dakota.
Hazel (63) made great strides, in the Top 10 in neighboring Utah and Montana
Isabella – The former national Number 1 still holds the top spot in Florida
Lillian (26) reached tenth place in two states
Mia reached Number 1 in New Mexico and Hawaii.
Nora (41) was a Top 10 name in three states, Number 5 in Minnesota
Olivia – Olivia is a favorite in Northern states from East to West, reaching the top spot in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Illiinois, Minnesota, Idaho, Washington, and Alaska.
Paisley (45) reached as high as Number 6 in Mississippi
Skylar (42), a Southern fave, Top 10 in three states
Sophia, another former national Number 1, still reigns in California, Nevada, Aritzona, and Connecticut.
Also above their SS statuses in some places: Ella, Grace and Victoria.
And there were some single-appearance outliers:
Genesis (Number 65) was in first place in Washington DC, Lucy (55) made Number 10 in Utah, Natalie (27) 8 in Wyoming and Savannah (38) 9 in Delaware.
Now to the boys–a substantially longer list here, with more names appearing in the Top 10 — or even at Number 1 — in a single state:
Benjamin – The newest entrant to the Top 10 nationally reached Number 1 in Massachusetts
Carter (24) had a very good year across the country, as high as Number 3 in North Dakota and Michigan
Easton (78) made Top 10 in two states, North Dakota and West Virginia (where Colton, Jackson, Landon and Grayson were also in the Top 15).
Elijah (11) Just outside the Top 10 nationally, Elijah came through the door in a number of states, as high as Number 2 in Arkansas and DC and all the way up at Number 1 in Oklahoma
Gabriel (22) was in the Top 10 in several states
Henry (29) is finally moving up in many areas of the country, reaching first place in Nebraska and Minnesota and second in Oregon
Hudson (65 nationally) got a lot more love in Tennessee and South Dakota
Hunter (41 on the SS list) was the fourth most popular name in West Virginia
Jack (40) made the Top 10 in Massachusetts (Kennedy country), New Hampshire and Utah
Jackson (17), much higher than Jack nationally, was in the Top 10 of more than a dozen states, top of the list in New Hampshire
Jaxon (44), the third of the Jack names, placed in the Top 10 in three states and as high as Number 2 in Oklahoma
John (26), long-time leading boys’ name in the English-speaking world, is back at Number 2 in Mississippi
Julian (45) was Number 10 in two Western states
Levi (42) was in fifth place in three states
Liam – The national Number 2 name was Number 1 in 16 states, which puts it in close reach of claiming Noah’s crown. Unlike some names which dominate regionally, Liam is a favorite from Maine to Florida, New Jersey to Oregon, Alaska to Arkansas.
Logan (14) was Number 2 in Maryland
Lucas (16) is making great strides, as high as Number 5 in Michigan
Luke (28) is in the Top 10 of three states
Mason – This name popularized by the Kardashians reached Number 1 in Pennsylvania
Oliver (19) is sure to be further up next year; he’s now Number 1 in Washington, Wisconsin and South Dakota, 2 in Utah, Minnesota and Vermont
Owen (36) is another comer, Number 2 in Maine, South Dakota and Tennessee and Top 10 in several other states
Noah – Noah’s continued hold on the Number 1 spot over Liam may be thanks to its dominance in the high-population states of California, Illinois, and Texas.
Ryker (149) is a surprising Number 2 in Maine, 9 in Wyoming
Samuel (23)–Top 10 in Alabama and DC
Sebastian (35) was Number 8 in three states
William – Classic William is a Southern favorite, reigning in a solid block of Southern states that includes Virginia and Kentucky but not Florida and Louisiana. William is also Number 1 in Montana and Utah.
Wyatt (34), another name in ascendance, big in the West and beyond; Number 3 in Montana
And now the boy outliers, who popped in one particular place:
Charles (50)—10 in DC
Isaac (31) was 10 in Nebraska
Lincoln (66) made it to Number 5 in Utah
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