How popular is the baby name Liam in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Liam.

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Popularity of the baby name Liam


Posts that mention the name Liam

Popular baby names in New York City, 2023

Flag of New York
Flag of New York

Last year, New York City welcomed 98,389 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emma (for the seventh year in a row) and Liam (for the eighth year in a row), according to the New York City Health Department.

Here are NYC’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Emma, 382 baby girls
  2. Mia
  3. Sophia
  4. Olivia
  5. Isabella
  6. Amelia
  7. Leah (ranked 53rd for girls nationally in 2023)
  8. Chloe (26th)
  9. Luna
  10. Sofia (12th)

Boy names

  1. Liam, 743 baby boys
  2. Noah
  3. David (ranked 27th for boys nationally in 2023)
  4. Lucas
  5. Jacob (36th)
  6. Ethan (25th)
  7. Joseph (29th)
  8. Dylan (34th)
  9. Michael [tie] (16th)
  10. Muhammad [tie] (272nd)

In the girls’ top 10, Chloe and Sofia replaced Ava and Esther.

In the boys’ top 10, Dylan, Michael, and Muhammad replaced Aiden, Daniel, and Alexander.

Both Dylan and Muhammad — which was the #1 boy name in England and Wales last year — are new to NYC’s top 10. Michael, on the other hand, was a “favorite among New Yorkers from 1980 to 2006.”

The Health Department’s news release also mentioned dozens of other Big Apple baby names, including…

Girl namesBoy names
Esther (ranked 12th), Miriam (15th), Aurora (41st), Violet (45th), Rose (52nd), Eleanor (56th), Gemma (78th), Athena (79th), Savannah (85th), Iris (87th), Daisy (93rd), Sage (100th)Alexander (ranked 17th), Zion (62nd), Leonardo (65th), Milan (70th), Adonis (76th), Amari (78th)

Finally, here’s a link to New York City’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to check them out.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of New York (public domain)

Popular baby names in Italy, 2023

Flag of Italy
Flag of Italy

In 2023, the Southern European country of Italy welcomed 379,890 babies — 184,514 girls and 195,376 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Sofia and Leonardo, yet again.

Here are Italy’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Sofia, 4,971 baby girls
  2. Aurora, 4,648
  3. Ginevra, 4,274
  4. Vittoria, 4,194
  5. Giulia, 3,732
  6. Beatrice, 3,425 – pronounced beh-a-TREE-cheh
  7. Ludovica, 3,157
  8. Alice, 3,014 – pronounced a-LEE-cheh
  9. Emma, 2,529
  10. Matilde, 2,465
  11. Anna, 2,128
  12. Camilla, 2,091
  13. Bianca, 1,992
  14. Azzurra, 1,922
  15. Chiara, 1,914 – pronounced KYAH-rah
  16. Nicole, 1,792
  17. Giorgia, 1,780
  18. Isabel, 1,667
  19. Greta, 1,635
  20. Noemi, 1,439
  21. Martina, 1,392
  22. Arianna, 1,389
  23. Gaia, 1,370
  24. Sara, 1,368
  25. Rebecca, 1,328
  26. Viola, 1,325
  27. Elena, 1,270
  28. Ambra, 1,257
  29. Chloe, 1,196 (tie)
  30. Diana, 1,196 (tie)
  31. Adele, 1,194
  32. Mia, 1,192
  33. Margherita, 1,095
  34. Sole, 1,088 – pronounced SOH-leh
  35. Francesca, 1,082
  36. Cecilia, 1,060
  37. Gioia, 1,018
  38. Emily, 1,017
  39. Marta, 964
  40. Elisa, 953
  41. Nina, 929
  42. Lavinia, 912
  43. Anita, 875
  44. Amelia, 870
  45. Eleonora, 853
  46. Carlotta, 833
  47. Maria, 803
  48. Celeste, 788
  49. Eva, 751
  50. Giada, 735

Boy names

  1. Leonardo, 7,096 baby boys
  2. Edoardo, 5,603
  3. Tommaso, 4,687
  4. Francesco, 4,534
  5. Alessandro, 4,383
  6. Mattia, 4,349
  7. Lorenzo, 4,006
  8. Gabriele, 3,954
  9. Riccardo, 3,600
  10. Andrea, 3,333
  11. Diego, 2,722
  12. Giuseppe, 2,661
  13. Matteo, 2,648
  14. Enea, 2,564
  15. Nicolò, 2,444
  16. Antonio, 2,424
  17. Federico, 2,313
  18. Giovanni, 2,093
  19. Filippo, 2,046
  20. Samuele, 2,041
  21. Pietro, 1,993
  22. Giulio, 1,749
  23. Gioele, 1,641 – pronounced jo-EH-leh
  24. Davide, 1,597
  25. Michele, 1,590
  26. Christian, 1,541
  27. Elia, 1,522
  28. Gabriel, 1,497
  29. Noah, 1,386
  30. Marco, 1,353
  31. Salvatore, 1,324
  32. Liam, 1,236
  33. Luca, 1,230
  34. Vincenzo, 1,211
  35. Thomas, 1,146
  36. Emanuele, 1,100
  37. Alessio, 1,056
  38. Nathan, 1,007
  39. Giorgio, 1,006
  40. Samuel, 1,005
  41. Jacopo, 1,002
  42. Giacomo, 1,000
  43. Ettore, 970
  44. Raffael, 900
  45. Daniele, 899
  46. Simone, 892
  47. Luigi, 886
  48. Damiano, 830
  49. Domenico, 818
  50. Santiago, 798

The girls’ top 100 included Anastasia (57th), Sveva (75th), Mariasole (83rd), and Letizia (97th).

The boys’ top 100 included Ludovico (56th), Niccolò (66th), Brando (73rd), and Ciro (94th).

The girl name Azzurra (which is associated with Italy’s national soccer team gli Azzurri, “the Blues”) ranked 20th in both 2022 and 2021 before jumping to 12th place last year.

Speaking of soccer…I recently learned that Italian soccer star Francesco Totti (who played for AS Roma from 1993 to 2017) influenced baby names in Italy via the names of his three children:

  • The usage of Cristian rose after his son Cristian was born in November of 2005:
    • 2006: 3,028 boys named Cristian (rank: 25th)
    • 2005: 1,619 boys named Cristian (rank: 39th)
    • 2004: 1,616 boys named Cristian (rank: 38th)
  • The usage of Chanel rose after his daughter Chanel was born in May of 2007:
    • 2008: 158 girls named Chanel (rank: 189th)
    • 2007: 63 girls named Chanel (rank: 314th)
    • 2006: fewer than five girls named Chanel
  • The usage of Isabel rose after his daughter Isabel was born in March of 2016:
    • 2017: 1,218 girls named Isabel (rank: 36th)
    • 2016: 910 girls named Isabel (rank: 50th)
    • 2015: 570 girls named Isabel (rank: 69th)

Sources: Contanomi – Quante bambine e quanti bambini si chiamano…? – Istat, Leonardo e Sofia “tengono”, risale Francesco – Istat (Jan. 2024), IstatData

Image: Adapted from Flag of Italy (public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2023

Flag of Iowa
Flag of Iowa

The U.S. state of Iowa welcomes “around 40,000” babies each year.

What were the most popular names among last year’s babies specifically? Charlotte and Oliver, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

Here are Iowa’s top 20+ girl names and top 20+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Charlotte, 161 baby girls
  2. Evelyn, 128
  3. Harper, 127
  4. Olivia, 126
  5. Amelia, 125
  6. Emma, 110
  7. Sophia, 109
  8. Eleanor, 106
  9. Ava, 102
  10. Hazel, 88
  11. Nora, 84
  12. Violet, 82
  13. Willow, 77
  14. Mia, 76
  15. Isabella, 75 (tie)
  16. Ivy, 75 (tie)
  17. Lainey, 74
  18. Isla, 71
  19. Grace, 69
  20. Aurora, 67 (tie)
  21. Ellie, 67 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Oliver, 194 baby boys
  2. Henry, 173
  3. Theodore, 154
  4. Liam, 147
  5. Jack, 135 (tie)
  6. Noah, 135 (tie)
  7. Hudson, 114
  8. William, 112
  9. James, 104
  10. Owen, 103
  11. Cooper, 99 (tie)
  12. Maverick, 99 (tie)
  13. Leo, 95
  14. Brooks, 94
  15. Waylon, 91
  16. Benjamin, 88
  17. Wyatt, 87
  18. Elijah, 85
  19. Asher, 84 (3-way tie)
  20. Bennett, 84 (3-way tie)
  21. Lucas, 84 (3-way tie)

The SSA’s rankings for Iowa are mostly (but not exactly) the same.

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Iowa last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Ainekulu, Berthenina, Caspia, Dotlyn, Eterna, Fauna, Genavee, Historia, Ivella, Jaspen, Kimawari, Landrine, Malulani, Nicklin, Osprey, Pendeza, Quenya, Rosehip, Still, Tcharleen, Vanlal, Wembley, Xanna, Yangkuoth, ZiigwanAsphodel, Brodysseus, Calmly, Datsun, Ethic, Fisk, Grealish, Haiku, Inguun, Jozion, Kakashi, Linux, Malipo, Nayrold, Omegajoe, Pomaikai, Quantum, Render, Sabawoon, Thaylor, Vybe, Witt, Xiver, Yekini, Zettlin

Some possible explanations/associations for a few of the above:

  • Grealish is the surname of English soccer player Jack Grealish.
  • Kakashi is a character from the Japanese manga/anime series Naruto. (The literal translation of his name is “scarecrow.”)
  • Kimawari is the Japanese name of the Pokémon character Sunflora.
  • Malipo means “payments” or “revenge” in Swahili.
  • Malulani is a particular star in Hawaiian astronomy. (The literal translation of the star’s name is “celestial shade.”)
  • Pendeza means “to be pleasing” or “to be attractive” in Swahili.
  • Pomaikai is based on the Hawaiian word pomaika’i, which means “good fortune.”
  • Sabawoon means “dawn” in Pashto.
  • Wembley is a soccer stadium (and music venue) in London.
  • Ziigwan means “it is (early) spring” in Ojibwe.

Finally, here’s a link to Iowa’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Iowa (public domain)

Popular baby names in Houston (Texas), 2023

Flag of Texas
Flag of Texas

Last year, Houston — Texas’ largest city in terms of both population and area — welcomed over 60,840 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emma and Liam (again), according to provisional data released in late December, 2023, by the Houston Health Department’s Bureau of Vital Statistics.

Here are Houston’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Emma
  2. Mia
  3. Camila
  4. Olivia
  5. Isabella
  6. Sofia
  7. Sophia
  8. Amelia
  9. Charlotte
  10. Emily

Boy names

  1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. Mateo
  4. Santiago
  5. Sebastian
  6. Dylan
  7. Elijah
  8. Lucas
  9. Oliver
  10. Daniel

In the girls’ top 10, Emily replaced Ava.

In the boys’ top 10, Lucas replaced Ethan.

Here are Houston’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare.

Source: Houston Health Department reveals city’s top baby names for 2023 (Dec. 28, 2023)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Texas (public domain)