Popular and unique baby names by state, 2018

USA topographic map

We know what the top names in the country were last year, but what about the top names in each state? Here’s the list, released just yesterday by the SSA. I’ve also included each state’s most popular unique names (i.e., names that only appeared in the data for that particular state).

StateTop Names (f & m)Top Unique Names (f & m)
AlabamaAva & WilliamCrimson & Kendarius, Walton (tie)
AlaskaAurora & Oliver(none) & Paxson
ArizonaEmma & LiamSedona & Yadier
ArkansasAva & Noah(none) & Timber
CaliforniaEmma & NoahAni & Aram
ColoradoOlivia & LiamVail & Redding
ConnecticutOlivia & Noah(none) & (none)
DelawareAva & Liam(none) & (none)
D.C.Ava & William(none) & (none)
FloridaIsabella & LiamAbigaelle & Miron
GeorgiaAva & WilliamKaylei & Taylin
HawaiiEmma & LiamMahina & Kaimana
IdahoOlivia & LiamQuincey & Roczen
IllinoisOlivia & NoahJamaya & Laron
IndianaEmma & OliverDawt, Elma (tie) & Jamin
IowaHarper & OliverHuxley & Kinnick
KansasOlivia & LiamMacklyn & Creighton, Whit (tie)
KentuckyEmma & WilliamAnnlee, Terri (tie) & Jansen
LouisianaAva & NoahJaicee, Jersi (tie) & Colston
MaineOliver & Charlotte(none) & (none)
MarylandAva & LiamAnjolaoluwa & Adon, Murtaza (tie)
MassachusettsEmma & BenjaminVittoria & Henrique
MichiganOlivia & NoahLayal & Eldon
MinnesotaEvelyn & HenryMaida & Muhsin
MississippiAva & JohnSwayze & Jadarius
MissouriOlivia & LiamCharlea & Daxten, Zebulun (tie)
MontanaHarper & Liam(none) & (none)
NebraskaOlivia & Liam(none) & (none)
NevadaEmma & Liam(none) & (none)
New HampshireOlivia & Oliver (none) & (none)
New JerseyEmma & LiamTzipora & Binyomin
New MexicoIsabella & Noah(none) & (none)
New YorkEmma & LiamGitty & Mendel
North CarolinaAva & NoahHolden & Nahmir
North DakotaOlivia & Oliver(none) & (none)
OhioAva & LiamWilma & Grayden
OklahomaEmma & LiamDim, Jadyn (tie) & Thang
OregonEmma & OliverRuna & (none)
PennsylvaniaEmma & LiamBarbie, Surah (tie) & Joniel
Rhode IslandAmelia, Olivia (tie) & Liam(none) & (none)
South CarolinaAva & WilliamEmmagrace, Mills (tie) & Drayton, Mills (tie)
South DakotaHarper & Grayson, Henry, Liam (3-way tie)(none) & Ryken
TennesseeEmma & WilliamAnnaclaire, Caylen, Eulalia, Jakyra, Kamri, Parthenia, Tamari, Tylee (8-way tie) & Neyland
TexasEmma & LiamJessi & Eliud
UtahOlivia & OliverMable & Ammon
VermontHarper & Oliver(none) & (none)
VirginiaAva & WilliamTyasia & Alexi, Javonte, Mckinley (3-way tie)
WashingtonOlivia & LiamCallista & Ruvim
West VirginiaEmma & Mason(none) & Bransen
WisconsinEvelyn & Oliver(none) & Broxton, Kelby (tie)
WyomingAmelia, Emma (tie) & Oliver(none) & (none)

A few final thoughts…

  • I love that Aurora is now #1 in Alaska. :)
  • What’s up with Wilma in Ohio? Nine baby girls is nearly a quarter (23%) of the total national usage. Interesting.
  • One of the other unique Utah boy names was Kaladin, which comes from a character in the Stormlight Archive book series by Utah-based fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson.

How about you — what are your thoughts/observations?

Source: Popular Names by State – SSA

Image (USATopographicalMap) by NOAA

12 thoughts on “Popular and unique baby names by state, 2018

  1. I love that Liam is so popular. I know it is short for William, but I far and away prefer Liam.
    I am curious though, have any boys ever been named Bambie? I mean it was originally a boy’s name. How did it evolve into a, um, female dancer’s name?
    Plus the new variations on Jayden. Grayden, Jayton.
    Not too surprised at Utah with Ammon, he was a very popular ancient prophet in teh Book of Mormon. But us Mormons go for more unusual names (probably because most have at least 6 kids LOL) Kim, and Lynn for men.

  2. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a male Bambi, even though the name did evolve from “bambino,” which is the masculine form of the word.

  3. I can’t help but notice how Minnesota and South Dakota have such distinctly different top names from all of the other states.

  4. I’m surprised Holden and Huxley only charted in one state – they get talked about so much in name lover circles, they probably feel more popular than they really are.

  5. Holden and Huxley only charted as female names in one state. (I’m sorry the chart is confusing!)

    Huxley showed up as a male name in 30 states, and Holden charted as a male name in 45 states.

  6. I am looking at these for the years my children where born, and I wonder what process was used to determine these answers. I have a Quigley born in 2019, a Montella born in 2018. Both years say that there were no Unique names for my state for their genders, but we are pretty sure they are unique names from the reactions we get from anyone who hears their names.

  7. Hi Melissa,

    The U.S. puts out national baby name data and also state-by-state baby name data.

    The unique names in this post are “unique” in the sense that, in 2018, they appeared in the data for a single state, but not for any of the other states.

    All of them were common enough to appear in the national dataset, though.

    Quigley or Montella are more rare than that. Quigley has only appeared in the national dataset a single time (in 2016), and Montella has never appeared in the national dataset (meaning that it has never been given to more than five U.S. babies in a single year).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.