How popular is the baby name Mia 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 Mia.

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Popularity of the baby name Mia


Posts that mention the name Mia

Popular baby names in the Channel Islands, 2024

Flag of Jersey
Flag of Jersey

The Channel Islands, located in the English Channel, are divided into two territories: Jersey and Guernsey.

Jersey consists of the archipelago’s largest and most populous island, Jersey, while Guernsey consists of the next-largest and next-most-populous island, Guernsey, along with several smaller islands.

What were the most popular baby names in each territory last year?

Jersey

Last year, Jersey welcomed a total of 716 babies — 330 girls and 386 boys. Here are Jersey’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Isla
  2. Olivia
  3. Isabella
  4. Grace
  5. Elodie
  6. Bella
  7. Ruby
  8. Clara
  9. Mia
  10. Pearl

Boy names

  1. Theodore
  2. Luca
  3. James
  4. Alfie
  5. Leo
  6. Finley
  7. Henry
  8. William
  9. Arlo
  10. Alexander

A year earlier, the top names were Olivia and Oliver.

Guernsey

Last year, Guernsey welcomed a total of 422 babies. Here are Guernsey’s top girl names and top boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Charlotte, 4 baby girls (tie)
  2. Isla, 4 (tie)
  3. Amelia, 3 (7-way tie)
  4. Evie, 3 (7-way tie)
  5. Harper, 3 (7-way tie)
  6. Isabella, 3 (7-way tie)
  7. Mila, 3 (7-way tie)
  8. Olivia, 3 (7-way tie)
  9. Pippa, 3 (7-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Charlie, 5 baby boys
  2. Reggie, 4

A year earlier, the top names were Mia and Harry. (And there were four boys named Lando! I wish Guernsey had released more of 2024’s top boy names — I’m curious to know if Lando still ranks inside the top 10.)

Finally, here’s a link to the Channel Islands’ 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Jersey (public domain)

What popularized the baby name Mya in the late 1990s?

Mýa's self-titled debut album (1998)
Mýa album

Mononymous R&B singer Mýa (pronounced MIE-uh) became famous in the late 1990s, when her songs started popping up on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart:

  • “It’s All About Me” (with Sisqó) peaked at #6 in May of 1998
  • “Ghetto Supastar” (with Pras Michel and Ol’ Dirty Bastard) peaked at #15 in August of 1998
  • “Movin’ On” (with Silkk The Shocker) peaked at #34 in September of 1998
  • “Take Me There” (with Blackstreet, Mase, and Blinky Blink) peaked at #14 in January of 1999
  • “My First Night With You” peaked at #28 in April of 1999

Mýa sang the hook on “Ghetto Supastar,” which has been described as “the most deliriously irresistible song of the summer of ’98.” The single became a worldwide hit, and was nominated for a Grammy Award (for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group) in early 1999.

As a result of Mýa’s success, the baby name Mya — amid the ongoing rise of the like-sounding name Maya — saw a swift increase in usage during the last two years of the century. In fact, Mya’s rise seems to have accelerated Maya’s rise in 1998 specifically.

Girls named MyaGirls named Maya
20001,839 [rank: 175th]3,019 [rank: 113th]
19991,885 [rank: 166th]2854 [rank: 113th]
19981,284 [rank: 238th]2685 [rank: 123rd]
1997196 [rank: 995th]1675 [rank: 182nd]
19961511,445 [rank: 201st]

But the influence doesn’t end there. A number of names ending with “-mya” also saw higher usage during those years. (The same can be said for names ending with “-maya,” such as Amaya, Jamaya, and Tamaya.)

199719981999
Amya1042168
Jamya1376163
Shamya2260131
Tamya1474127
Kamya102157
Lamya82051
Ramya182438
Samya72232

Dozens of other “-mya” and “-myah” names (like Damya, Zamya, Camya, and Amyah) appeared for the very first time in the U.S. baby name data during the late 1990s.

Mýa was born Mya Marie Harrison in Washington, D.C., in 1979. Curiously, she was more interested in dancing than in singing as a child. She even studied under tap dancer Savion Glover for a time.

What are your thoughts on the name Mya? Do you like this spelling, or do you prefer Maya?

P.S. Intriguingly, the rise of Mia (pronounced MEE-uh) — which went on to become a top-10 girl name — slowed down in the late 1990s. Did Mya steal some of Mia’s thunder, I wonder…?

Sources:

Popular baby names in Karlsruhe and Pforzheim, 2024

Flag of Germany
Flag of Germany

The German cities of Karlsruhe and Pforzheim are located about 20 miles away from one another in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.

What were the most popular baby names in each city last year?

Let’s look at the larger one first…

Karlsruhe

The city of Karlsruhe — whose name means “Karl’s repose” in German — welcomed approximately 4,600 babies last year. (Notably, more than half of these babies were born to parents who lived outside the city.)

Here are Karlsruhe’s top 10+ girl names and top 10+ boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Emma, 34 baby girls
  2. Mila, 33
  3. Lina, 26
  4. Ida, 23
  5. Ella, 22
  6. Malia, 21 (tie)
  7. Marie, 21 (tie)
  8. Leni, 18 (tie)
  9. Mia, 18 (tie)
  10. Anna, 17 (4-way tie)
  11. Lia, 17 (4-way tie)
  12. Lotte, 17 (4-way tie)
  13. Nora, 17 (4-way tie)
  14. Amelie, 16 (3-way tie)
  15. Lara, 16 (3-way tie)
  16. Mara, 16 (3-way tie)
  17. Sophie, 15

Boy names

  1. Levi, 29 baby boys (tie)
  2. Noah, 29 (tie)
  3. Elias, 28 (tie)
  4. Emil, 28 (tie)
  5. Paul, 27
  6. Liam, 25 (tie)
  7. Samuel, 25 (tie)
  8. Leon, 24 (tie)
  9. Milan, 24 (tie)
  10. Luca, 23
  11. Anton, 22 (tie)
  12. Ben, 22 (tie)
  13. Jakob, 21
  14. David, 20 (5-way tie)
  15. Finn, 20 (5-way tie)
  16. Jonathan, 20 (5-way tie)
  17. Leo, 20 (5-way tie)
  18. Theo, 20 (5-way tie)
  19. Emilio, 19

Pforzheim

The city of Pforzheim welcomed more than 2,700 babies last year. (As of December 19, the total count was 2,731.)

Here are Pforzheim’s projected top 3 girl names and top 3 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Lina, 20 baby girls
  2. Sophia, 16
    • The spelling “Sofia” was given to another 9 baby girls.
  3. Emilia, 14

Boy names

  1. Leon, 23 baby boys (tie)
  2. Liam, 23 (tie)
  3. Elias, 18

I’ve never posted rankings for either Karlsruhe or Pforzheim before, but here are the most recent (albeit unofficial) rankings for Germany itself.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Germany (public domain)

Popular baby names in Philadelphia, 2005-2016

Flag of Pennsylvania
Flag of Pennsylvania

Did you know that you can find old vital statistics reports for the City of Philadelphia on the city’s website? And that most of these reports include baby name rankings?

I don’t want you to have to comb through a bunch of PDFs to find Philly’s historical top-ten lists, though, so — just as with New York City and Austin — I gathered all of them into a single blog post.

I was able to track down eleven sets of rankings — six covering 2005 to 2010, five covering 2012 to 2016. Eight of them also happen to include total numbers of babies.

2016

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2016.

Top girl names (Philly, 2016)Top boy names (Philly, 2016)
1. Ava, 92 baby girls
2. Sophia, 80
3. Isabella, 69 (tie)
4. Riley, 69 (tie)
5. Mia, 67
6. Olivia, 66
7. Emma, 62
8. Emily, 61
9. Madison, 54
10. Aubrey, 52		1. Noah, 143 baby boys
2. Mason, 104
3. Liam, 100
4. Elijah, 83 (tie)
5. Michael, 83 (tie)
6. James, 76
7. Alexander, 75 (3-way tie)
8. Ethan, 75 (3-way tie)
9. Ryan, 75 (3-way tie)
10. Aiden, 70

2015

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2015.

Top girl names (Philly, 2015)Top boy names (Philly, 2015)
1. Ava, 110 baby girls
2. Olivia, 101
3. Isabella, 95
4. Mia, 82
5. Madison, 70
6. Sophia, 69
7. Emma, 64
8. Aubrey, 62
9. Skylar, 54 (tie)
10. Sofia, 54 (tie)		1. Noah, 138 baby boys
2. Mason, 129
3. Michael, 101
4. Liam, 100
5. Daniel, 95
6. Jayden, 94
7. Elijah, 88
8. Aiden, 82
9. Ethan, 78
10. James, 73

2014

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2014.

Top girl names (Philly, 2014)Top boy names (Philly, 2014)
1. Olivia, 91 baby girls
2. Ava, 89
3. Isabella, 77 (tie)
4. Madison, 77 (tie)
5. Mia, 73
6. Emma, 71 (tie)
7. Sophia, 71 (tie)
8. Aubrey, 58
9. Emily, 55
10. Skylar, 52		1. Mason, 133 baby boys
2. Noah, 124
3. Ethan, 104
4. Daniel, 96 (tie)
5. Liam, 96 (tie)
6. Jayden, 93
7. Michael, 88
8. James, 87
9. Aiden, 82 (tie)
10. Logan, 82 (tie)

2013

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2013.

Top girl names (Philly, 2013)Top boy names (Philly, 2013)
1. Isabella, 95 baby girls
2. Sophia, 92
3. Ava, 85
4. Madison, 76
5. Olivia, 71
6. Emma, 66
7. Aubrey, 63
8. Mia, 54
9. Layla, 53
10. Abigail, 45		1. Jayden, 117 baby boys
2. Noah, 111
3. Michael, 108
4. Mason, 107
5. Liam, 94
6. Jacob, 88
7. Aiden, 86
8. Ryan, 82
9. Ethan, 81 (tie)
10. James, 81 (tie)

2012

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2012.

Top girl names (Philly, 2012)Top boy names (Philly, 2012)
1. Sophia, 105 baby girls
2. Isabella, 97
3. Ava, 90
4. Olivia, 84
5. Madison, 79
6. Emma, 69
7. Mia, 55
8. Peyton, 50 (tie)
9. Layla, 50 (tie)
10. Zoe, 49		1. Jayden, 138 baby boys
2. Michael, 110
3. Aiden, 108
4. Mason, 104
5. James, 95 (tie)
6. Elijah, 95 (tie)
7. Noah, 92
8. Ethan, 90
9. Jacob, 87
10. Liam, 86

2010

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2010.

Top girl names (Philly, 2010)Top boy names (Philly, 2010)
1. Isabella
2. Madison
3. Sophia
4. Ava
5. London
6. Kayla
7. Mia
8. Makayla
9. Nevaeh
10. Emma		1. Jayden
2. Michael
3. Anthony
4. Joshua
5. Elijah
6. Joseph
7. Ryan
8. Aiden
9. Christopher
10. Jacob

2009

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2009.

Top girl names (Philly, 2009)Top boy names (Philly, 2009)
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Kayla
4. Olivia
5. Nevaeh
6. Makayla
7. Layla
8. London
9. Madison
10. Ava		1. Jayden
2. Michael
3. Anthony
4. Joshua
5. Daniel
6. Joseph
7. Christopher
8. Christian
9. Nathan
10. Elijah

2008

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2008.

Top girl names (Philly, 2008)Top boy names (Philly, 2008)
1. Kayla
2. Isabella
3. Ava
4. Sophia
5. Madison
6. Olivia
7. Destiny
8. Emily
9. Mia
10. London		1. Jayden
2. Michael
3. Anthony
4. Christopher
5. Daniel
6. Joshua
7. Ryan
8. Joseph
9. Nicholas
10. Ethan

2007

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2007.

Top girl names (Philly, 2007)Top boy names (Philly, 2007)
1. Kayla, 101 baby girls
2. Ava, 74 (tie)
3. Sophia, 74 (tie)
4. Olivia, 71
5. Madison, 62
6. Emily, 53 (tie)
7. Isabella, 53 (tie)
8. Mia, 52
9. Aniyah, 51 (tie)
10. Gianna, 51 (tie)		1. Anthony, 151 baby boys
2. Michael, 150
3. Jayden, 144
4. Christopher, 116
5. Joseph, 112
6. Ryan, 103
7. Joshua, 101
8. William, 92
9. Daniel, 89
10. David, 87

2006

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2006.

Top girl names (Philly, 2006)Top boy names (Philly, 2006)
1. Kayla, 105 baby girls
2. Isabella, 69
3. Destiny, 66
4. Emily, 64
5. Gianna, 62
6. Jayla, 61
7. Ava, 60
8. Sophia, 54
9. Alyssa, 53 (tie)
10. Brianna, 53 (tie)		1. Michael, 156 baby boys
2. Anthony, 153
3. Christopher, 120
4. Joseph, 111
5. Joshua, 104
6. Elijah, 91
7. Isaiah, 89
8. Daniel, 88 (3-way tie)
9. David, 88 (3-way tie)
10. William, 88 (3-way tie)

2005

The most popular baby names in Philadelphia in 2005.

Top girl names (Philly, 2005)Top boy names (Philly, 2005)
1. Kayla, 93 baby girls
2. Destiny, 79
3. Emily, 69
4. Madison, 61
5. Samantha, 53
6. Angelina, 52
7. Ava, 50 (tie)
8. Brianna, 50 (tie)
9. Makayla, 49
10. Olivia, 48		1. Michael, 156 baby boys
2. Anthony, 140
3. Christopher, 125
4. Joseph, 123
5. Joshua, 102
6. Daniel, 101
7. Nicholas, 99
8. Matthew, 97
9. John, 84
10. Isaiah, 82

Finally, because Philadelphia and New York City are relatively close to one another, I thought I’d compare/contrast the rankings above with the NYC rankings for the same years (2005 to 2016, excluding 2011).

Parents in both cities often liked the same names, but not always at the same time, or to the same degree. During the years that Kayla ranked #1 in Philly, for instance, it was already on the decline in NYC.

Here are all the names that reached the top 10 at least twice in one city, but zero times in the other city:

Girl namesBoy names
Top-10 in Philly only
(2+ instances)		Aubrey, Destiny, Gianna, Layla, London, Makayla, Nevaeh, SkylarElijah, Isaiah, James, Mason, William
Top-10 in NYC only
(2+ instances)		Ashley, Chloe, Leah, Sarah, RachelDylan, Justin

Any thoughts on these differences?

Sources: Philadelphia‘s Vital Statistics Reports for 2016 (pdf), 2015 (pdf), 2014 (pdf), 2013 (pdf), 2012 (pdf), 2010 (pdf), 2009 (pdf), 2008 (pdf), 2007 (pdf), 2006 (pdf), 2005 (pdf)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Pennsylvania (public domain)