How popular is the baby name Liam in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, see baby names similar to Liam and check out all the blog posts that mention the name Liam.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Liam

Number of Babies Named Liam

Born in the U.S. Since 1880

Posts that Mention the Name Liam

Popular Baby Names in North Dakota

According to data released earlier this year by the North Dakota Department of Health, the most popular baby names in the state in 2016 were Harper & Olivia (tie) and Oliver.

Here are North Dakota’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:

Girl Names
1. Harper, 65 baby girls (2-way tie)
2. Olivia, 65 (2-way tie)
3. Emma, 63
4. Evelyn, 59
5. Amelia, 45 (2-way tie)
6. Charlotte, 45 (2-way tie)
7. Ella, 43
8. Nora, 42
9. Addison, 39
10. Ava, 38

Boy Names
1. Oliver, 74 baby boys
2. William, 64
3. Easton, 54
4. Owen, 52
5. Liam, 51
6. Mason, 49
7. James, 46
8. Henry, 45
9. Wyatt, 44
10. Hudson, 43

In the girls’ top 10, Evelyn, Amelia, Ella, and Addison replace Sophia, Avery, Paisley, and Aubrey.

In the boys’ top 10, James and Hudson replace Carter and Noah.

In 2015, the top names were Emma (now 3rd) and Liam (now 5th).

Interestingly, North Dakota is the only state where Easton is a top-five boy name. Switching over to the SSA data, we can track the rise of Easton in ND:

  • 2016: Easton ranked 3rd in ND
  • 2015: Easton ranked 9th in ND
  • 2014: Easton ranked 6th in ND
  • 2013: Easton ranked 5th in ND
  • 2012: Easton ranked 29th in ND
  • 2011: Easton ranked 9th in ND
  • 2010: Easton ranked 23rd in ND
  • 2009: Easton ranked 47th in ND
  • 2008: Easton ranked 42nd in ND
  • 2007: Easton ranked 64th in ND (first time in top 100)

In the four states that share a border with North Dakota — Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Minnesota — the name Easton ranked 52nd, 11th, 31st, and 35th (respectively) in 2016.

Sources: North Dakota Fast Facts 2016 (pdf), Popular Names by State


Popular Baby Names in Alberta, 2016

According to data released on June 16th by the government of Alberta, the most popular baby names in the province in 2016 were (again) Olivia and Liam.

Here are Alberta’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:

Girl Names
1. Olivia, 292 baby girls
2. Emma, 249
3. Sophia, 215
4. Ava, 207
5. Emily, 187
6. Charlotte, 180
7. Amelia, 172
8. Abigail, 171
9. Chloe, 166
10. Aria, 137

Boy Names
1. Liam, 277 baby boys
2. Benjamin, 252
3. Lucas, 247
4. Oliver, 230
5. Noah, 228
6. William, 213
7. Ethan, 205
8. Jack, 197
9. Lincoln, 192
10. Owen, 189

In the girls’ top 10, Aria replaces Ella and Avery (there was a tie for 7th in 2015).

In the boys’ top 10, Jack, Lincoln, and Owen replace Mason, Logan, and Alexander.

And here’s a sampling of names from the other end of the list. Each of these was given to a single baby in Alberta last year:

  • Unique Girl Names: Airadessa, Bitel-Shishai, Caitlove, Deslie, Evadelle, Finity, Griffiella, Huldah, Ibex, Jananya, Kemdirim, Lobna, Mavie, Niniola, Olanna, Petrichor, Qudsia, Riversong, Savindee, Toscana, Ulanah, Valissa, Wesla, Xyryl, Yagana, Zedrina
  • Unique Boy Names: Addrick, Barristan, Cazzwell, Dino, Erasmus, Fifth, Grayer, Hansel, Igzy, Jonesy, Kayvence, Lenroy, Mahalaleel, Noyan, Orson, Penn, Quayde, Redsky, Salumu, Tinotenda, Umber, Vanden, Wally, Xanjoe, Yan, Zeaston

That’s the first time I’ve ever seen Petrichor used as a baby name! Petrichor is that pleasant, earthy scent associated with rainfall. The word was coined by Australian scientists in the ’60s by combining the ancient Greek words petra (“stone”) and ichor (the fluid that flowed in the veins of the gods).

I wonder if there’s any chance that Petrichor will become a trendy nature name one day. What do you think?

Sources: Frequency and Ranking of Baby Names by Year and Gender – Open Government (Alberta), Alberta’s top baby names for 2016

Rawr! Here Come the Bears…

bear, baby name, boy name

The name Bear was just barely being used before adventurer Bear Grylls (birth name: Edward Grylls) came to our attention via the TV series Man vs. Wild (2006-2011).

Since then, usage has increased steadily — both among regular folks and among celebrities:

  • 2017: English musician Liam Payne had son Bear Grey
  • 2017: English musician Howard Donald had son Dougie Bear
  • 2013: English actress Kate Winslet had son Bear Blaze
  • 2011: American actress Alicia Silverstone had son Bear Blu
  • 2010: English chef Jamie Oliver had son Buddy Bear Maurice

In the U.S., the baby name Bear is currently sitting just outside the top 1,000:

  • 2016: 186 baby boys named Bear [rank: 1,055th]
  • 2015: 134 baby boys named Bear [rank: 1,311th]
  • 2014: 131 baby boys named Bear [rank: 1,327th]
  • 2013: 84 baby boys named Bear [rank: 1,730th]
  • 2012: 79 baby boys named Bear [rank: 1,845th]
  • 2011: 85 baby boys named Bear [rank: 1,728th]

The England and Wales data for 2016 isn’t out yet, but Bear entered the top 1,000* there in 2015:

  • 2015: 36 baby boys named Bear in E/W [rank: 859th]
  • 2014: 19 baby boys named Bear in E/W [rank: 1,330th]
  • 2013: 15 baby boys named Bear in E/W [rank 1,546th]
  • 2012: 19 baby boys named Bear in E/W [rank 1,319th]
  • 2011: 7 baby boys named Bear in E/W [rank 2,650th]

But this data only accounts for first names. The principal usage for Bear could be happening under the radar, with middles. Two of the celebs above used Bear as a middle, and so did this Canadian couple who hit on a bear on the way to the delivery room. And don’t forget American actress Zooey Deschanel, who didn’t opt for Bear, but did give her kids the animal-middles Otter and Wolf.

Do you like Bear as a baby name? How high do you think it will climb on the U.S. charts?

*I assigned rankings to the E/W names the same way the SSA assigns rankings — breaking ties by assigning rank in alphabetical order.

Popular Baby Names in Smaller U.S. Territories, 2016

According to the SSA, the most popular baby names in the permanently inhabited U.S. territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa — all four regions combined — in 2016 were were Olivia and Daniel.

Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names for the four regions, which which have a combined population of roughly 380,000 people.

Girl Names
1. Olivia, 14 baby girls
2. Angela, 12 (2-way tie)
3. Sophia, 12 (2-way tie)
4. Amy, 11 (2-way tie)
5. Faith, 11 (2-way tie)
6. Aria, 10 (2-way tie)
7. Chloe, 10 (2-way tie)
8. Amelia, 9 (3-way tie)
9. Athena, 9 (3-way tie)
10. Grace, 9 (3-way tie)

Boy Names
1. Daniel, 22 baby boys
2. Jason, 19
3. Aiden, 17
4. Liam, 16
5. David, 15 (2-way tie)
6. Jayden, 15 (2-way tie)
7. Ethan, 14 (3-way tie)
8. James, 14 (3-way tie)
9. William, 14 (3-way tie)
10. Aaron, 13 (2-way tie with Lucas, #11)

In 2015, the top names were Ava and David. The year before they were Olivia and Daniel.

Three of the names in the girls’ combined top 10 were not in the U.S. top 100: Angela (214th), Amy (176th), and Athena (142nd).

One intriguing name on the boys’ list is Eason, which ranked 23rd-ish. (A 4-way tie between Alexander, Andy, Eason, and Logan spanned 21st to 24th place.) I wish I could tell which of the four territories is using it. In the U.S., Eason is rising quickly. In fact, it jumped into the top 1,000 for the first time last year (rank: 902nd).

Note: The SSA doesn’t include baby name data from the five permanently inhabited U.S. territories in its annual rankings (e.g., the top 1,000). But it does release two separate lists: one for Puerto Rico (the most populous territory at 3.5 million people), one for the four other territories combined. Click below to see the complete sets of rankings.

Source: Popular Baby Names by Territory (SSA)

Popular Baby Names in Wyoming, 2016

Wyatt takes the #1 spot in Wyoming again!

According to data released in late May by the Wyoming Department of Health, the most popular baby names in 2016 were Emma and Wyatt.

Here are the state’s top 5 girl names and top 5 boy names of 2016:

Girl Names
1. Emma
2. Harper
3. Olivia
4. Ava
5. Elizabeth

Boy Names
1. Wyatt
2. Liam
3. William
4. Lincoln
5. Daniel/Jackson/James (3-way tie)

In the girls’ top 5, Ava and Elizabeth replace Amelia and Evelyn (which were the two newbies in 2015).

In the boys’ top 5, William, Lincoln, and Daniel/Jackson/James replace Mason (the former #1 name), Logan, and Benjamin. The press released noted that “Jackson remains a popular name but has several spelling variants so doesn’t always end up in the top five.”

Most importantly, though, Wyatt is back on top. I love it when Wyatt does particularly well in Wyoming, because it makes me think of the name-letter effect in reverse — that is, Wyoming residents being slightly more likely to opt for a baby name that resembles the name of their state. (Whether or not this is true, I don’t know. But I like to think it is…)

Sources: Favorite Names for Wyoming Newborns? Wyatt, Emma – Wyoming Department of Health, Top 5 Baby Names by State for Births in 2016