Want to take a peek into the future?
The year isn’t over yet, but that hasn’t stopped several regional governments from releasing provisional baby name rankings for 2023.
At least four U.S. states and one U.S. city have put out their top baby names of 2023 already, for instance. Let’s check them out, starting in the east and moving westward…
Rhode Island
According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.
| Top girl names, Rhode Island | Top boy names, Rhode Island |
| 1. Charlotte 2. Sophia 3. Olivia 4. Amelia 5. Emma 6. Nora 7. Luna 8. Isabella 9. Mia 10. Isla | 1. Noah 2. Liam 3. James 4. Theodore 5. Lucas 6. Michael 7. Julian 8. Benjamin 9. Henry 10. Luca |
Mississippi
According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.
| Top girl names, Mississippi | Top boy names, Mississippi |
| 1. Ava 2. Amelia 3. Olivia 4. Charlotte 5. Harper 6. Elizabeth 7. Emma 8. Mary 9. Nova 10. Evelyn | 1. John 2. James 3. William 4. Elijah 5. Noah 6. Liam 7. Waylon 8. Mason 9. Grayson 10. Asher |
Houston (Texas)
According to the Houston Health Department, these were the city’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.
| Top girl names, City of Houston | Top boy names, City of Houston |
| 1. Emma 2. Mia 3. Camila 4. Olivia 5. Isabella 6. Sofia 7. Sophia 8. Amelia 9. Charlotte 10. Emily | 1. Liam 2. Noah 3. Mateo 4. Santiago 5. Sebastian 6. Dylan 7. Elijah 8. Lucas 9. Oliver 10. Daniel |
New Mexico
According to the New Mexico Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.
| Top girl names, New Mexico | Top boy names, New Mexico |
| 1. Olivia 2. Amelia 3. Isabella 4. Emma 5. Sofia 6. Mia 7. Sophia 8. Aria 9. Luna 10. Camila | 1. Liam 2. Mateo 3. Noah 4. Santiago 5. Ezekiel 6. Elijah 7. Josiah 8. Sebastian 9. Ezra 10. Julian |
Arizona
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.
| Top girl names, Arizona | Top boy names, Arizona |
| 1. Olivia 2. Isabella 3. Emma 4. Mia 5. Camila 6. Sophia 7. Amelia 8. Charlotte 9. Evelyn 10. Luna | 1. Liam 2. Mateo 3. Noah 4. Oliver 5. Santiago 6. Elijah 7. Sebastian 8. Ezra 9. Levi 10. Benjamin |
Several regions outside the U.S. have also released their 2023 baby name rankings already. Here’s what I’ve spotted so far…
| Region | Top names |
| British Columbia (Canada) | Olivia & Noah |
| New Brunswick (Canada) | Olivia & Liam |
| Nova Scotia (Canada) | Olivia & Henry |
| P.E.I. (Canada) | Sadie/Sophie & Jack |
| ACT/Canberra (Australia) | Amelia/Charlotte & Henry |
| South Australia (Australia) | Isla & Oliver |
| Western Australia (Australia) | Isla & Oliver |
Have you seen any others?
Sources:
- Rhode Island: Preliminary Lists of Top Baby Names in Rhode Island in 2023
- Mississippi: Mississippi’s Most Popular Baby Names 2023
- Houston: Houston Health Department reveals city’s top baby names for 2023
- New Mexico: Department of Health announces top New Mexico baby names in 2023
- Arizona: Liam and Olivia continued to top of the list of most-popular Arizona baby names in 2023
- British Columbia: Noah leads top baby names in B.C. for 2023
- New Brunswick: Top baby names in 2023
- Nova Scotia: Top Baby Names in Nova Scotia in 2023
- P.E.I.: Here are P.E.I.’s top baby names for 2023 (CBC)
- ACT: Canberra’s most popular baby names for 2023
- South Australia: Most popular baby names for 2023
- Western Australia: ‘Three in a row’ as Oliver and Isla dominate 2022 baby names
Image: Adapted from A trompe l’œil with a young nun peeking out through a shutter (public domain)
