Which baby names were the most popular in each U.S. state in 2023?
And which names appeared in the data for just one state last year?
Here are all the answers! (Any unique name that also popped up in last year’s post is in boldface.)
Alabama (AL)
- Alabama’s top girl name: Olivia
- Alabama’s top boy name: William
- Alabama’s 7 unique girl names: Maeleigh, Dominga, Huntley, Cerenity, Jabria, Kenslei, Weslyn
- Alabama’s 8 unique boy names: Bankston, Kylar, Gates, Jakaiden, Ladarrius, Taylan, Wheeler, Zaylan
Alaska (AK)
- Alaska’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Alaska’s top boy name: Liam/Oliver (tie)
- No unique girl names.
- Alaska’s 1 unique boy name: Atigun
- Atigun, the name of a river in northern Alaska, debuted last year in the national data with five baby boys — all five of whom (we now know) were born in-state.
Arizona (AZ)
- Arizona’s top girl name: Olivia
- Arizona’s top boy name: Liam/Mateo (tie)
- Arizona’s 5 unique girl names: Ariza, Payson, Aolanis, Zo, Zanovia
- Arizona’s 3 unique boy names: Aleister, Bradyn, Rosario
Arkansas (AR)
- Arkansas’s top girl name: Olivia
- Arkansas’s top boy name: Liam
- Arkansas’s 1 unique girl name: Savvy
- Arkansas’s 1 unique boy name: Emmit
California
- California’s top girl name: Olivia
- California’s top boy name: Noah
- California’s top 10 unique girl names: Emiko, Gurnaaz, Amada, Avina, Mannat, Zephyr, Amairany, Arzoi, Aveah, Divina (total of 490)
- California’s top 10 unique boy names: Aren, Armen, Angad, Tigran, Gurfateh, Mehtab, Davit, Hayk, Nirvair, Dara (total of 336)
Colorado
- Colorado’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Colorado’s top boy name: Liam
- Colorado’s 2 unique girl names: Fae, Imogene
- Colorado’s 2 unique boy names: Cale, Gustav
- Hockey player Cale Makar is a star defenseman for the Colorado Avalanche.
Connecticut
- Connecticut’s top girl name: Olivia
- Connecticut’s top boy name: Noah
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
Delaware
- Delaware’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Delaware’s top boy name: Noah
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
District of Columbia
- D.C.’s top girl name: Charlotte
- D.C.’s top boy name: Liam
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
Florida
- Florida’s top girl name: Olivia
- Florida’s top boy name: Liam
- Florida’s top 10 unique girl names: Abigael, Talani, Daisha, Daliyah, Elianys, Kloe, Yari, Akeelah, Jasmyn, Kelsi (total of 84)
- Florida’s top 10 unique boy names: Marvens, Antwan, Ahmari, Maikol, Wensley, Woodley, Gaspar, Javaris, Wood, Bane (total of 102)
Georgia
- Georgia’s top girl name: Olivia
- Georgia’s top boy name: Liam
- Georgia’s top 10 unique girl names: Christian, Israel, Lawson, Markayla, Dallis, Julian, Landree, Loralei, Makiya, Aaryn (total of 39)
- Georgia’s top 10 unique boy names: Flint, Deontae, Tyrus, Cyxx, Kaimir, Kamani, Laksh, Zakhari, Chapel, Epic (total of 31)
Hawaii
- Hawaii’s top girl name: Isla
- Hawaii’s top boy name: Elijah
- Hawaii’s 5 unique girl names: Mahina, Hilinai, Kealani, Kahealani, Malie
- Hawaii’s top 10 unique boy names: Keahi, Kaipo, Kawika, Kanaloa, Kealii, Kiai, Makana, Haaheo, Ioane, Kaena (total of 15)
Idaho
- Idaho’s top girl name: Olivia
- Idaho’s top boy name: Oliver
- Idaho’s 1 unique girl name: Mesa
- No unique boy names.
Illinois
- Illinois’s top girl name: Olivia
- Illinois’s top boy name: Noah
- Illinois’s top 10 unique girl names: Maja, Anastasija, Ainslie, Namari, Saliha, Ajla, Alexie, Bellamie, Dalylah, Imaan (total of 19)
- Illinois’s top 10 unique boy names: Andrej, Marshawn, Petar, Teodor, Bogdan, Danylo, Kacper, Nikodem, Alim, Eldon (total of 24)
Indiana
- Indiana’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Indiana’s top boy name: Liam
- Indiana’s 5 unique girl names: Taylynn, Elnora, Haevyn, Mable, Maylie
- Indiana’s 8 unique boy names: Infantmale, Dewayne, Lynx, Makiah, Abbott, Holdyn, Nymeir, Quinlan
Iowa
- Iowa’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Iowa’s top boy name: Oliver
- No unique girl names.
- Iowa’s 2 unique boy names: Jens, October
Kansas
- Kansas’s top girl name: Amelia
- Kansas’s top boy name: Liam
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
Kentucky
- Kentucky’s top girl name: Amelia
- Kentucky’s top boy name: Liam
- Kentucky’s 2 unique girl names: Embry, Hazeleigh
- Kentucky’s 1 unique boy name: Weller
Louisiana
- Louisiana’s top girl name: Amelia
- Louisiana’s top boy name: Liam
- Louisiana’s 8 unique girl names: Kaislee, Jersei, Kacelyn, Amiree, Jalyric, Jori, Khaza, Khylie
- Louisiana’s top 10 unique boy names: Nylan, Caston, Jhai, Kaven, Kharter, Cevyn, Demauri, Jeanluc, Khyler, Kruze (total of 11)
Maine (ME)
- Maine’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Maine’s top boy name: Theodore
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
Maryland (MD)
- Maryland’s top girl name: Olivia
- Maryland’s top boy name: Liam
- Maryland’s 3 unique girl names: Meklit, Melona, Syncere
- Maryland’s 6 unique boy names: Record, Access, Karon, Oluwadamilare, Tavon, Tobechukwu
- “Record” seems to be a placeholder name (like “Infantmale,” “Babygirl,” and so forth).
Massachusetts (MA)
- Massachusetts’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Massachusetts’s top boy name: Noah
- Massachusetts’s 8 unique girl names: Aylla, Mariaalice, Eloah, Emilly, Mariajulia, Lunna, Annaliz, Indira
- Massachusetts’s 6 unique boy names: Murilo, Bento, Keiden, Zayvian, Conall, Konstantinos
Michigan (MI)
- Michigan’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Michigan’s top boy name: Noah
- Michigan’s top 10 unique girl names: Zahraa, Aryam, Anhar, Arha, Ellanora, Kendyll, Manar, Maysa, Shahd, Zionna (total of 20)
- Michigan’s 8 unique boy names: Taim, Amer, Bassam, Clint, Juwan, Martell, Mousa, Neko
Minnesota (MN)
- Minnesota’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Minnesota’s top boy name: Theodore
- Minnesota’s top 10 unique girl names: Maryama, Anzal, Munira, Nawal, Afnan, Mumtaz, Ayan, Ibtisam, Ikhlas, Sabrin (total of 26)
- Minnesota’s top 10 unique boy names: Mubarak, Suhayb, Majid, Muzamil, Nels, Yonis, Muscab, Sven, Abdifatah, Griffen (total of 13)
Mississippi (MS)
- Mississippi’s top girl name: Ava
- Mississippi’s top boy name: John
- Mississippi’s 3 unique girl names: Jalaysia, Loxley, Mamie
- Mississippi’s 1 unique boy name: Khysen
Missouri (MO)
- Missouri’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Missouri’s top boy name: Oliver
- Missouri’s 4 unique girl names: Lakota, Irelynn, Kamoni, Kimberlynn
- Missouri’s 2 unique boy names: Creedence, Bayler
Montana (MT)
- Montana’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Montana’s top boy name: Oliver
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
Nebraska
- Nebraska’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Nebraska’s top boy name: Oliver
- Nebraska’s 1 unique girl name: Atley
- Nebraska’s 1 unique boy name: Creighton
- Creighton University (which has a strong athletics program) is located in Omaha, Nebraska.
Nevada
- Nevada’s top girl name: Olivia
- Nevada’s top boy name: Liam
- No unique girl names.
- Nevada’s 1 unique boy name: Robel
New Hampshire
- New Hampshire’s top girl name: Charlotte
- New Hampshire’s top boy name: Oliver
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
New Jersey
- New Jersey’s top girl name: Olivia
- New Jersey’s top boy name: Liam
- New Jersey’s top 10 unique girl names: Penina, Lianny, Ettel, Aanvi, Adelle, Avisha, Ruchama, Serayah, Dhara, Selin (total of 11)
- New Jersey’s top 10 unique boy names: Binyomin, Michoel, Karas, Aras, Drin, Elazar, Nakai, Tuvia, Ason, Henrique (total of 12)
New Mexico
- New Mexico’s top girl name: Olivia
- New Mexico’s top boy name: Liam
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
New York
- New York’s top girl name: Emma
- New York’s top boy name: Liam
- New York’s top 10 unique girl names: Faigy, Malky, Rivky, Raizy, Yitty, Goldy, Hindy, Shaindy, Esty, Blimy (total of 190)
- New York’s top 10 unique boy names: Usher, Mendy, Lipa, Lazer, Hershel, Simcha, Yossi, Moishe, Shloma, Meilech (total of 184)
North Carolina
- North Carolina’s top girl name: Olivia
- North Carolina’s top boy name: Liam
- North Carolina’s top 10 unique girl names: Wrenn, Yulani, Layanna, Skylan, Wisteria, Zalani, Alayla, Amillia, Aryya, Bethel (total of 20)
- North Carolina’s top 10 unique boy names: Henderson, Graylen, Kaidence, Larson, Worth, Alegend, Avett, Chayton, Jahmel, Jalani (total of 17)
North Dakota
- North Dakota’s top girl name: Evelyn
- North Dakota’s top boy name: Oliver
- North Dakota’s 1 unique girl name: Girl
- North Dakota’s 1 unique boy name: Boy
Ohio
- Ohio’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Ohio’s top boy name: Oliver
- Ohio’s top 10 unique girl names: Hanan, Ramiyah, Mahala, Bexleigh, Emmelyn, Giavonna, Roseann, Rowena, Zaryiah, Aahana (total of 24)
- Ohio’s top 10 unique boy names: Rayshawn, Larkin, Aavyan, Findley, Kari, Carmello, Cheikh, Darion, Dirk, Khyair (total of 31)
Oklahoma
- Oklahoma’s top girl name: Olivia
- Oklahoma’s top boy name: Liam
- Oklahoma’s 5 unique girl names: Cing, Lyndi, Niang, Parklynn, Wilder
- Oklahoma’s 1 unique boy name: Sampson
Oregon
- Oregon’s top girl name: Olivia
- Oregon’s top boy name: Oliver
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Pennsylvania’s top boy name: Noah
- Pennsylvania’s top 10 unique girl names: Barbie, Suzanne, Verna, Suhaylah, Azarah, Elisia, Roux, Abagail, Kendal, Niamh (total of 29)
- Pennsylvania’s top 10 unique boy names: Benuel, Mahlon, Aasir, Azir, Nasai, Cashel, Lavern, Amaree, Freeman, Joash (total of 21)
Rhode Island
- Rhode Island’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Rhode Island’s top boy name: Noah
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
South Carolina
- South Carolina’s top girl name: Olivia
- South Carolina’s top boy name: Noah
- South Carolina’s 4 unique girl names: Kheumani, Ellorie, Khole, Elloree
- South Carolina’s 3 unique boy names: Drayton, Asiyah, Grainger
South Dakota
- South Dakota’s top girl name: Ava
- South Dakota’s top boy name: Oliver
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
Tennessee
- Tennessee’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Tennessee’s top boy name: Liam
- Tennessee’s 4 unique girl names: Hampton, Lemon, Lorna, Rivers
- Tennessee’s 8 unique boys names: Neyland, Hendon, Ryman, Deshun, Jamario, Javontae, Manning, Stiven
- Neyland Stadium is the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team.
- Ryman Auditorium, a concert hall that dates back to the 1890s, is located in Nashville, Tennessee.
- Peyton Manning played football for the Tennessee Volunteers in the 1990s.
Texas
- Texas’s top girl name: Emma
- Texas’s top boy name: Liam
- Texas’s top 10 unique girl names: Eugenia, Dariela, Analucia, Gretel, Eleonor, Karyme, Landyn, Zailey, Katelynn, Kobi (total of 536)
- Texas’s top 10 unique boy names: Stoney, Eugenio, Pete, Whitten, Brayson, Eliud, Homero, Weldon, Dimas, Ediel (total of 399)
Utah
- Utah’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Utah’s top boy name: Liam
- Utah’s 7 unique girl names: Boston, Bentlee, Swayzie, Adalaide, Quincey, Rossi, Swayzee
- Utah’s top 10 unique boy names: Hyrum, Mckay, Ammon, Stockton, Covey, Dallin, Heber, Hesston, Jeter, Nix (total of 13)
- Hyrum Smith was an early leader of the LDS Church. (He was one of Joseph Smith’s siblings.)
- David O. McKay was one of the leaders of the LDS Church during the mid-20th century.
- John Stockton played basketball for the Utah Jazz from 1984 to 2003.
- Dallin H. Oaks is one of the current leaders of the LDS Church.
- Heber C. Kimball was an early leader of the LDS Church.
Vermont
- Vermont’s top girl name: Amelia/Eleanor (tie)
- Vermont’s top boy name: Oliver
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
Virginia
- Virginia’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Virginia’s top boy name: Liam
- Virginia’s 4 unique girl names: Aviya, Hayleigh, Meylin, Yemariam
- Virginia’s 2 unique boy names: Lochlann, Azan
Washington
- Washington’s top girl name: Olivia
- Washington’s top boy name: Oliver
- Washington’s 8 unique girl names: Lucile, Babygirl, Ellinor, Kiah, Mercer, Ravenna, Winnifred, Yoadan
- Washington’s top 3 unique boy names: Ruvim, Advay, Kipp
West Virginia
- West Virginia’s top girl name: Amelia
- West Virginia’s top boy name: Oliver
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
Wisconsin
- Wisconsin’s top girl name: Charlotte
- Wisconsin’s top boy name: Theodore
- Wisconsin’s 2 unique girl names: Amarianna, Gretta
- Wisconsin’s 2 unique boy names: Loren, Renley
Wyoming
- Wyoming’s top girl name: Evelyn
- Wyoming’s top boy name: Henry/Jack (tie)
- No unique girl names.
- No unique boy names.
Do you have thoughts about any of the single-state names above?
Source: Popular Names by State – SSA
Image: Topographical Map of the USA by NOAA
Fantastic post — I love this kind of data so much! It’s really cool to see the micro-communities across the U.S. creeping into the name data, such as Japanese names in California, Polish names in Illinois, and Hassidic Jewish names in New York.
I hope poor “Infantmale” got a new name by now. I wonder what they do at a hospital if the parents speak a language that isn’t familiar to any of the staff who fill out the birth certificate paperwork. Like what if you were a Tamil family and you didn’t have knowledge of the transliteration of the baby’s Tamil name to the “American” alphabet? These are the things I think about at night if I can’t sleep. I’m a weirdo.
I am constantly surprised that Barbie is so popular (almost exclusively so) with the Amish community in Pennsylvania. It seems like such a “worldly” name for a group that mostly lives apart from the world.
@ab I didn’t know that! How funny. All the Amish people I’ve encountered have had ‘plain’ names like Emma and Jacob.
– (AL) Jabria is a very cute little girl on Tiktok.
– (CA) Armen, Tigran, Davit, Hayk are Armenian.
– (CA) Gurnaaz, Mannat, Arzoi, Angad, Gurfateh, and Mehtab are Punjabi and/or Sikh. Nirvair is a famous Punjabi Sikh singer.
– (CA) Dara for a boy is Persian.
– (FL) Marvens, Wensley, Woodley are Haitian.
– (IL) Maja, Anastasija, Ajla, Andrej, Petar, Teodor, Bogdan, Danylo, Kacper, and Nikodem are broadly Eastern European/Balkan.
– (IL) Alim is Arabic, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Circassian, or Uyghur.
– (IL) Eldon Hazlet State Park is located on Carlyle Lake in Southern Illinois. (Just a guess on why the name is used in IL though.)
– (KY) Weller is a brand of Kentucky bourbon.
– (LA) Khaza is the son of Kevin Gates, a rapper from Louisiana.
– (LA) Jean-Luc is a French (Cajun/Creole?) name.
– (MD) Meklit and Melona are Amharic.
– (MD) Oluwadamilare is Yoruba and Tobechukwu is Igbo.
– (MA) Maria Alice, Emilly, Eloah, Maria Júlia, Lunna, Indira, Annaliz, Murilo, and Bento are Portuguese and/or heavily used in Brazil.
– (MA) Conall is Irish.
– (MA) Kosntantinos is Greek.
– (MI) Zahraa, Aryam, Anhar, Arha, Manar, Maysa, Shahd, Taim, Amer, Bassam, Juwan, Mousa are Arabic.
– (MN) Maryam, Anzal, Munira, Nawal, Afnan, Mumtaz, Ayan, Ibtisam, Ikhlas, Sabrian, Mubarak, Suhayb, Majid, Muzamil, Yonis, Muscab, Abidfatah are Arabic.
– (MN) Nels and Sven are broadly Scandinavian.
– (NV) Robel is Amharic.
– (NJ) Penina, Ettel, Ruchama, Binyomin, Michoel, Elazar, Tuvia are Yiddish and/or Hebrew.
– (NJ) Aanvi, Avisha, Dhara
– (NJ) Selin is Turkish.
– (NJ) Aras is Lithuanian.
– (NJ) Drin is Albanian.
– (NJ) Henrique is Portuguese.
– (NY) All of these names are Yiddish.
– (NC) Henderson is a city in North Carolina. Graylyn Estate is a historic hotel in NC. The Avett Brothers are a band from NC.
– (OH) If I had to guess, I bet Dirk is disproportionately Amish. Maybe Rowena, too.
– (OK) Cing and Niang are Burmese.
– (PA) A few of these look like familiar Pennsylvania Dutch names. Probably Mahlon, Joash, and Lavern are as well.
– (SC) Kheumani is an influencer/Youtuber from Chicago. Curious why this name only showed up in the data in SC though.
– (TN) I remain endlessly curious about the use of Lemon as a baby name. Think it’s just an aesthetic choice, but it really boggles my mind.
– (TN) Hendon Hooker played football for the University of Tennessee.
– (TX) Karyme Hernández is a Mexican actress.
– (TX) Stoney’s is a chain liquor store in central Texas.
– (UT) Adalaide is how Katherine Heigl, who lives in Utah, spells her daughter’s name.
– (VA) Yemariam is Amharic.
– (WA) Ruvim is Russian.
– (WA) Yoadan is Amharic.
– (WA) Mercer Island is an island near Seattle. Ravenna is a neighborhood in Seattle.
I’m not going to say that any of the things are what the names above were based on/intended to be but I had a few thoughts when reading through the list!
Dara as a boy’s name is also Irish. There’s a very popular comedian here in the UK and Ireland called Dara Ó Briain, and I also had a friend when I was younger whose name was Dara.
There’s a very offensive character in an old (but not as old as anyone would like…) Korean cartoon called Maikol. It’s based on Michael Jackson, and the name is a transliteration of the Korean transliteration of the English name Michael. It has been the cause of a lot of Korean celebrities doing blackface and making somewhat unintentionally racist jokes. I would really hope that name is not from that, and also that that child never finds that out.
Neko means “cat” in Japanese, but it’s interesting as a boy’s name because the -ko bit is usually feminine. The character that is usually used for that (feminine suffix) isn’t used in neko meaning cat, though. I have never heard of someone in Japan being named Neko, unless it’s a kira-kira name.
Yitty is a shapewear/athletics brand by Lizzo. It launched a few years ago. I don’t think that’s necessarily related to the name, but that is immediately what I thought about because I’ve never heard it as a first name before. If it’s also Yiddish, then it’s really interesting that it’s being used in completely different ways!
Sorry if I misspoke/did typos/etc. it’s technically morning here but I have insomnia so I’m trying to think about this instead! I am not American and I don’t really know about the demographics of each state beyond the obvious (Mormons in Utah, Jewish people in New York, Spanish names in Florida, Japanese names in California and Hawaii) so I don’t think if my immediate thoughts have literally anything to do with the reason these names were chosen, but I did want to share them because I thought it was interesting.
Barbara was a traditional German name and Barbie is the traditional diminutive, not really worldly.. The Amish are just using a classic name that is probably a family name for many of them and ignoring secular trends.
Does anyone know if Cyxx is being pronounced as Kicks or Six or Sykes? or some other way?
I tried to find the inspiration for the name but didn’t strike gold. I think it’s clear the parents weren’t all looking to honor the airport in Abbotsford, BC which uses the airport code CYXX, but I couldn’t find anything else that stood out. There are a couple of pro athletes named Sixto, but none with a big connection to Georgia as far as I could tell.
I’d expect Cyxx/Cyx to be pronounced like Six. It’s most popular in Georgia, where Sevyn is disproportionately used for girls and Seven for boys.