The state of Mississippi likely welcomed more than 34,000* babies last year.
What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and William, according to provisional data released in late December, 2024, by the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Office of Vital Records and Public Health Statistics.
Here are Mississippi’s projected top 25+ girl names and top 25+ boy names of 2024:
Girl names
- Olivia, 101 baby girls
- Ava, 94
- Mary, 92
- Amelia, 91
- Charlotte and Harper (tie), 82 each
- Elizabeth, 80
- Emma, 67
- Nova, 65
- Ivy, 63
- Hazel, 61
- Ella, Evelyn, and Paisley (3-way tie), 58 each
- Caroline, 54
- Kinsley, 53
- Ellie and Lainey (tie), 52 each
- Mia, 51
- Eleanor and Isabella (tie), 50 each
- Riley, 48
- Serenity, 47
- Autumn, Layla, Millie, and Naomi (4-way tie), 46 each
- Journee, 45
- Kehlani, Khloe, and Sophia (3-way tie), 44 each
- Avery, Chloe, and Oaklynn (3-way tie), 42 each
- Londyn, Scarlett, and Skylar (3-way tie), 41 each
- Aria, Brooklyn, Emery, Lucy, and Raelynn (5-way tie), 40 each
- Aurora, Josie, Nora, and Willow (4-way tie), 39 each
Boy names
- William, 167 baby boys
- John, 159
- James, 148
- Noah, 118
- Liam, 106
- Elijah, 104
- Waylon, 91
- Asher, 86
- Samuel, 84
- Levi and Walker (tie), 80 each
- Henry, 79
- Mason, 78
- Carter, Josiah, and Maverick (3-way tie), 75 each
- Grayson, 72
- Hudson, 71
- Beau, Charles, and Oliver (3-way tie), 67 each
- Luke, 65
- Kayden, 64
- Amir, David, Jackson, and Thomas (4-way tie), 63 each
- Cooper, 62
- Kingston, Legend, and Michael (3-way tie), 61 each
- Wyatt, 59
- Aiden and Christopher (tie), 57 each
- Silas, 55
- Lucas and Nolan (tie), 53 each
In the girls’ top 10, Ivy and Hazel replaced Evelyn.
In the boys’ top 10, Samuel, Levi, and Walker replaced Mason and Grayson.
Finally, if you’d like to see Mississippi’s projected rankings for 2023, you can find them in this post.
*The state welcomed about 34,354 babies in 2023.
Sources:
- Mississippi’s Most Popular Baby Names 2024 – Mississippi State Department of Health
- Live Births and Fetal Death Counts By Month and Year, Mississippi Residents 2019-2023 (Provisional) (pdf)
Image: Adapted from Flag of Mississippi
Interesting. On the one hand, we have John and Mary as the second and third most popular names for babies at a time when “traditional” English names are becoming less common among younger Americans. But at the same time, we have some nonstandard spellings (Khloe instead of Chloe, Journee instead of Journey). The combined influence of Christianity + younger parents?
Mary, at #3, was a bit surprising!
I was surprised that Mary ranked as high as 3rd as well.
According to the SSA’s data, Mary has remained strangely popular in Mississippi over the last half-century: