This Is Where Your Fave Baby Name Is Most Popular
Emma and Noah are the new top baby names in the US, but are they the most popular names where you live? Emma was number one in just 22 states, Noah was 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 (DC). 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. The following are creative baby names not in the national top 10, but still reaching that level and beyond in at least two states.
Baby Girl Names That Made the Top 10 Lists Across the US
- Amelia: number 12 nationally, was as high as number three in Maine and fourth in Alaska
- Aria: number 29 nationally, reached number four 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 five in Montana
- Ava: Ava reigns at number one 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: Number 15 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 one in South Dakota.
- Hazel: This name made great strides, reaching the top 10 in neighboring Utah and Montana.
- Isabella: The former national number one still holds the top spot in Florida.
- Lillian: reached 10th place in two states
- Mia reached number one in New Mexico and Hawaii.
- Nora: was a top 10 name in three states, number five 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, Illinois, Minnesota, Idaho, Washington and Alaska.
- Paisley: reached as high as number six in Mississippi
- Skylar: a Southern fave, top 10 in three states
- Sophia: another former national number one, still reigns in California, Nevada, Arizona and Connecticut
Also above their SS statuses in some places were the names 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) was eight in Wyoming and Savannah (38) was number nine in Delaware.
Baby Boy Names That Made the Top 10 Lists Across the US
- Benjamin: The newest entrant to the national top 10 reached number one in Massachusetts.
- Carter: had a very good year across the country, as high as number three in North Dakota and Michigan
- Easton: made top 10 in two states, North Dakota and West Virginia (where Colton, Jackson, Landon and Grayson were also in the top 15)
- Elijah: Just outside the top 10 nationally, Elijah came through the door in a number of states, as high as number two in Arkansas and DC and all the way up at number one in Oklahoma.
- Gabriel: was in the top 10 in several states
- Henry: is finally moving up in many areas of the country, reaching first place in Nebraska and Minnesota and second in Oregon
- Hudson: got a lot more love in Tennessee and South Dakota
- Hunter: was the fourth most popular name in West Virginia
- Jack: made the top 10 in Massachusetts (Kennedy country), New Hampshire and Utah
- Jackson: much higher than Jack nationally, was in the top 10 of more than a dozen states, top of the list in New Hampshire
- Jaxon: the third of the Jack names, placed in the top 10 in three states and as high as number two in Oklahoma
- John: long-time leading boys’ name in the English-speaking world, is back at number two in Mississippi
- Julian: was Number 10 in two Western states
- Levi: was in fifth place in three states
- Liam: The national number two name was number one 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: was number two in Maryland
- Lucas: is making great strides, as high as number five in Michigan
- Luke: is in the top 10 of three states
- Mason: This name, popularized by the Kardashians, reached number one in Pennsylvania.
- Oliver: He’s now number one in Washington, Wisconsin and South Dakota, two in Utah, Minnesota and Vermont.
- Owen: number two in Maine, South Dakota and Tennessee and top 10 in several other states
- Noah: Noah’s continued hold on the number one spot over Liam may be thanks to its dominance in the high-population states of California, Illinois and Texas.
- Ryker: is a surprising number two in Maine, nine in Wyoming
- Samuel: top 10 in Alabama and DC
- Sebastian: was number eight 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 one in Montana and Utah.
- Wyatt: another name in ascendance, big in the West and beyond, number three in Montana
And now the boy outliers, who popped up in one particular place:
Did your favorite baby name make the list? Tweet us @BritandCo and let us know!
This post was previously published on Nameberry by Linda Rosenkrantz.
(Photos via Getty)