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

Five-Name Friday: Boy Name Like Neville, Wilbur

five name friday, baby name request, boy name

It’s Five-Name Friday! Here’s today’s baby name request:

I’m interested in boy names you *never* hear people talking about, like Neville and Wilbur. Basically, names that are not at all trendy, the direct opposites of Noah and Liam.

Can you come up with five great baby name ideas for this person?

Here are the rules:

  • Be independent. Choose your five names before checking out anybody else’s five names.
  • Be sincere. These should be names you’d have no problem recommending to someone in real life.
  • Five names only. If your comment includes more than five names, I’ll have to do some deleting. This includes nickname suggestions!

Which five baby names are you going to recommend?

[You can also comment on previous Five-Name Friday posts, or send me your own 2-sentence baby name request using the contact form.]


Popular Baby Names in South Australia, 2016

According to data released in March by South Australia’s Office of Births, Deaths and Marriages, the most popular baby names in South Australia in 2016 were again Charlotte and Oliver.

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

Girl Names
1. Charlotte, 139 baby girls
2. Olivia, 123
3. Ava, 116
4. Mia, 103
5. Amelia, 96
6. Evie, 94
7. Emily, 85
8. Isla, 84
9. Ruby, 81
10. Ella, 80 (tied with #11 Sophie)

Boy Names
1. Oliver, 190 baby boys
2. Jack, 129
3. William, 117
4. James, 100 (2-way tie)
5. Mason, 100 (2-way tie)
6. Henry, 96 (2-way tie)
7. Noah, 96 (2-way tie)
8. Lucas, 93
9. Ethan, 89
10. Liam, 82 (tied with #11 Max)

In the girls’ top 10, Evie, Isla, Ruby and Ella replace Scarlett, Sophie, Chloe and Grace.

In the boys’ top 10, Mason and Henry replace Charlie and Thomas.

Here’s a sampling of names from the other end of the list. Each of these was given to a single baby in South Australia last year:

  • Unique Girl Names: Avoca, Bindarray, Clova, Diyo, Ellaline, Fradella, Gladys, Hilivelia, Ilina, Jency, Kabedi, Lomina, Minuli, Nazo, Ottilia, Porphyria, Queen, Rija, Sedra, Taskeen, Uzra, Vaeora, Winterlily, Xindi, Yilia, Zarlie
  • Unique Boy Names: Axelian, Boris, Callington, Dipson, Elio, Finlo, Gino, Hyson, Ivor, Jeffen, Kenula, Lison, Morley, Noam, Oxled, Penn, Quade, Reef, Salem, Tully, Uzziah, Valan, Walt, Xinze, York, Zarlo

Finally, here are the 2015 rankings, if you’d like to compare.

Source: Popular Baby Names in 2016 – Govt. of South Australia

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.