Two years ago, New York City welcomed 123,231 babies — 63,231 baby boys and exactly 60,000 (!) baby girls.
What were the most popular names among these babies? Sophia and Jayden, according to New York City’s Health Department.
Here are NYC’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2012:
Girl names
- Sophia, 607 baby girls
- Isabella, 565
- Emma, 480
- Olivia, 475
- Emily, 474
- Mia, 436
- Chloe, 401
- Madison, 392
- Leah, 379
- Ava, 339
- Sarah, 333
- Abigail, 311
- Sofia, 300
- Victoria, 265
- Ashley, 250
- Elizabeth, 248
- Rachel, 243
- Samantha, 236
- Zoe, 234
- Esther, 232
- Ella, 227
- Maya, 220
- Gabriella, 212
- Hailey, 211
- Grace, 182
- Hannah, 181 (tie)
- Sara, 181 (tie)
- Kayla, 177
- Chaya, 175
- Brianna, 172
- Camila, 171
- Alexandra, 170
- Amelia, 168
- Arianna, 167
- Miriam, 164
- Charlotte, 163
- Lily, 161
- Kaylee, 158
- Chana, 157
- Sophie, 156
- Melanie, 154
- Nicole, 147
- Anna, 145
- Michelle, 144
- Alexa, 142
- Evelyn, 141
- Eva, 140
- Angelina, 139 (tie)
- Genesis, 139 (tie)
- Aaliyah, 137
Boy names
- Jayden, 760 baby boys
- Ethan, 732
- Jacob, 651
- Daniel, 626
- Matthew, 596
- Michael, 592
- Aiden, 591
- David, 578
- Ryan, 565
- Alexander, 546
- Joseph, 541
- Justin, 465
- Mason, 459
- Noah, 451
- Dylan, 447
- Anthony, 433
- Joshua, 429
- Liam, 399
- Lucas, 396
- Benjamin, 356
- William, 355
- Samuel, 354
- Christopher, 352
- Andrew, 349
- Aaron, 348
- Kevin, 346
- Christian, 342
- Jonathan, 339
- James, 338
- Nicholas, 336
- Sebastian, 311
- Gabriel, 305
- Brandon, 292
- Jason, 286
- John, 283
- Jeremiah, 280
- Elijah, 267
- Adrian, 257 (3-way tie)
- Angel, 257 (3-way tie)
- Tyler, 257 (3-way tie)
- Adam, 255
- Isaac, 254
- Nathan, 244
- Moshe, 243
- Henry, 242
- Jack, 238
- Evan, 231 (tie)
- Julian, 231 (tie)
- Eric, 216
- Jeremy, 213
The top baby names within specific ethnic/racial groups were…
| Top girl names | Top boy names | |
| Hispanic | 1. Isabella, 327 2. Sophia, 236 3. Mia, 207 4. Emily, 186 5. Sofia, 165 | 1. Jayden, 364 2. Jacob, 293 3. Matthew, 279 4. Ethan, 254 5. Angel, 236 |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1. Chloe, 172 2. Sophia, 144 3. Olivia, 132 4. Emily, 110 5. Emma, 97 | 1. Ryan, 197 2. Ethan, 187 (tie) 3. Jayden, 187 (tie) 4. Lucas, 129 5. Justin, 125 |
| Non-Hispanic White | 1. Emma, 228 2. Leah, 219 3. Sarah, 209 4. Olivia, 198 (tie) 5. Sophia, 198 (tie) | 1. Joseph, 300 2. David, 289 3. Michael, 245 4. Jacob, 242 5. Moshe, 238 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 1. Madison, 159 2. London, 87 3. Taylor, 71 4. Chloe, 70 5. Abigail, 66 | 1. Jayden, 171 2. Aiden, 156 3. Ethan, 151 4. Jeremiah, 141 5. Joshua, 124 |
Among the names given to just 10 babies each in NYC two years ago were the girl names Aura, Gina, Nashla, Sabine, and Zi, and the boy names Cheskel, Howard, Jencarlos, Nikolai, and Warren.
One year earlier, in 2011, NYC’s top names (overall) were Isabella and Jayden.
Sources:
- Hack, Marjorie. “Sophia and Jayden top city’s list of baby names for 2012.” Staten Island Advance 31 Dec. 2013.
- Summary of Vital Statistics 2012 – The City of New York (pdf)
- Popularity of New York City Baby Names, 2012 – NYC Health (pdf)
- Popularity of New York City Female Baby Names by Ethnicity, 2012 – NYC Health (pdf)
- Popularity of New York City Male Baby Names by Ethnicity, 2012 – NYC Health (pdf)
Image: Adapted from Flag of New York (public domain)
[Latest update: Jan. 2026]