According to Idaho Vital Statistics, the most popular baby names in the state in 2018 were Olivia and Liam.
Here are Idaho’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:
Girl Names
- Olivia, 107 baby girls
- Emma, 92
- Harper, 88
- Charlotte, 83
- Evelyn, 82
- Amelia, 77
- Hazel, 62
- Ava, 60
- Abigail, 58
- Lily, 56 (tied with #11, Sophia)
Boy Names
- Liam, 127 baby boys
- Oliver, 114
- William, 93
- Hudson, 83 (tie)
- Henry, 83 (tie)
- James, 82
- Owen, 79
- Jackson, 78
- Wyatt, 77
- Lincoln, 75
In the girls’ top 10, Hazel and Lily replaced Elizabeth and (technically) Sophia.
In the boys’ top 10, Hudson, Owen, and Wyatt replaced Samuel, Mason, and Logan. Notably, Hudson didn’t even make Idaho’s top 25 in 2017.
Speaking of 2017…the top two names that year were Emma and Oliver.
And now, some of Idaho’s unusual baby names:
| Unique Girl Names | Unique Boy Names |
| Amerikis, Anomaly, Aquamarine, Atlyss, Azkadealliya, Buttercup, Cansas, Ellexy, Gift, Glacier-Dawn, Ingeborg, Jonnacie, Kc, Livingston, Naivee, Netanya, Neverr, Onnicka, Phynixx, Reminatrix, Silentbird, Stormageddon, Sufia, Violetjade, Yggdrasil | Anarchy, Banx, Bekan, Boss, Combat, Derexx, Geremi, Given, Gnash, Grizzly, Jj, Jrue, Krush, Lighten, Lukasza, Prentiss, Rhun, Skeigh, Thackery, Timber, Trynitee, Tytanium, Ugutz, Wisely |
Possible explanations/associations for a couple of the above:
- Stormageddon was a baby on Dr. Who, a meme about the baby on Dr. Who, and a TV movie.
- Yggdrasil is the enormous ash tree at the center of the cosmos, according to Norse mythology.
Source: Annual Reports – Idaho Vital Statistics
Image: Adapted from Flag of Idaho (public domain)
I lived in Idaho for three years, I’m Mormon, those unique names are not too odd in Mormon culture. LOL
I was pregnant at the same time as three other gals. The first one to go named her son Garrett, the next gal named her daughter Gillian, the next gal named her son David, and I named my son Jayden.
We all kind of thought the gal who named her son David was odd for giving him such a boring name LOL
Utah has some real whip dingers in the Mormon culture, and so does Alberta, Canada.
Here in our pocket of Mormon-ness lol in NY we have some unique names for our kids. As parents we have rather, Blah, names, so I guess going whole hog on our kids is living vicariously for individualism haha I don’t know really.
I love unique one of a kind names. Even if you can’t find anything with your name on it at the tourist traps LOL
Azkadellia was the villain/wicked witch in the Scify miniseries Tinman a few years ago. She was actually Dorothy Gale’s descendant and an innocent princess possessed by the real wicked witch and saved by her sister, so a namesake isn’t as odd as it sounds.
Christa, I think there’s absolutely something to the idea of “living vicariously” through one’s kids, starting with a bold name. I think that’s a big (unconscious?) motivator for many of the people who opt for edgy names.
Thanks you for the context, Andrea! I didn’t know that one was a pop culture reference. Here’s the Tin Man Wikipedia page in case anyone wants to know more about the show.
Sufia reminds me of Sufjan, like Sufjan Stevens. And I would love to meet a little Given in the wild!