How popular is the baby name Zoey 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 Zoey.

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Popularity of the baby name Zoey


Posts that mention the name Zoey

Popular baby names in Nebraska, 2012

Flag of Nebraska
Flag of Nebraska

Nebraska’s getting in on the action a bit late this year, but I’ll post their list anyway.

According to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, Nebraska’s top baby names in 2012 were Emma and Liam.

Here are the top 20+ girl names and top 20 boy names of 2012:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 157 babies
  2. Olivia, 138
  3. Sophia, 129
  4. Harper, 106
  5. Ava, 89
  6. Ella, 76
  7. Avery, 73
  8. Isabella, 69
  9. Addison, 67 (3-way tie)
  10. Emily, 67 (3-way tie)
  11. Lillian, 67 (3-way tie)
  12. Charlotte, 64
  13. Elizabeth, 63
  14. Evelyn, 61 (3-way tie)
  15. Grace, 61 (3-way tie)
  16. Mia, 61 (3-way tie)
  17. Lily, 59
  18. Brooklyn, 58 (tie)
  19. Zoey, 58 (tie)
  20. Amelia, 57 (tie)
  21. Madison, 57 (tie)

Boy Names

  1. Liam, 153 babies
  2. William, 134
  3. Mason, 123
  4. Jackson, 114
  5. Owen, 106
  6. Noah, 99 (tie)
  7. Benjamin, 99 (tie)
  8. Samuel, 98
  9. Jacob, 96
  10. Logan, 94
  11. Carter, 92
  12. Elijah, 90
  13. Ethan, 85
  14. James, 84
  15. Gabriel, 82
  16. Wyatt, 78 (tie)
  17. Henry, 78 (tie)
  18. Aiden, 77
  19. Joseph, 75
  20. Easton, 74

Sources: Vital Statistics – Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Liam, Emma top list of baby names in 2012

Image: Adapted from Flag of Nebraska (public domain)

Most popular girl names, letter by letter (2012)

letterpress letters

Wondering what the most popular baby names that start with a particular letter are?

Wonder no more!

I took the 2012 names, divvied them up into first-letter groups, then sorted the names within each group by popularity.

The girl names are below. The boy names I’ll post tomorrow.

Top 20 A-Names for Girls

1. Ava
2. Abigail
3. Avery
4. Addison
5. Aubrey
6. Amelia
7. Anna
8. Aaliyah
9. Allison
10. Alexis
11. Audrey
12. Alyssa
13. Arianna
14. Ashley
15. Alexa
16. Aubree
17. Autumn
18. Ariana
19. Alexandra
20. Aria

See all A-names for girls.

Top 20 B-Names for Girls

1. Brooklyn
2. Brianna
3. Bella
4. Bailey
5. Brooke
6. Brielle
7. Brooklynn
8. Brynn
9. Briana
10. Bianca
11. Brynlee
12. Baylee
13. Bethany
14. Briella
15. Breanna
16. Brittany
17. Brylee
18. Bristol
19. Braelyn
20. Bridget

See all B-names for girls.

Top 20 C-Names for Girls

1. Chloe
2. Charlotte
3. Claire
4. Camila
5. Caroline
6. Clara
7. Cora
8. Catherine
9. Cecilia
10. Callie
11. Chelsea
12. Camille
13. Cassidy
14. Christina
15. Carly
16. Cadence
17. Charlie
18. Cheyenne
19. Cali
20. Carmen

See all C-names for girls.

Top 20 D-Names for Girls

1. Destiny
2. Delilah
3. Daisy
4. Daniela
5. Danielle
6. Diana
7. Delaney
8. Dakota
9. Daniella
10. Daphne
11. Dayana
12. Danna
13. Danica
14. Dylan
15. Dahlia
16. Dulce
17. Desiree
18. Dana
19. Danika
20. Denise

See all D-names for girls.

Top 20 E-Names for Girls

1. Emma
2. Emily
3. Elizabeth
4. Ella
5. Evelyn
6. Ellie
7. Eva
8. Eleanor
9. Elena
10. Eliana
11. Elise
12. Eden
13. Emery
14. Eliza
15. Esther
16. Emerson
17. Erin
18. Emilia
19. Evangeline
20. Elliana

See all E-names for girls.

Top 20 F-Names for Girls

1. Faith
2. Fiona
3. Fatima
4. Finley
5. Fernanda
6. Francesca
7. Farrah
8. Felicity
9. Frances
10. Faye
11. Frida
12. Fallon
13. Freya
14. Farah
15. Frankie
16. Fabiola
17. Felicia
18. Flora
19. Flor
20. Finnley

See all F-names for girls.

Top 20 G-Names for Girls

1. Grace
2. Gabriella
3. Genesis
4. Gianna
5. Gabrielle
6. Gracie
7. Giselle
8. Gabriela
9. Genevieve
10. Giuliana
11. Georgia
12. Gemma
13. Gia
14. Guadalupe
15. Gracelyn
16. Gwendolyn
17. Gloria
18. Giana
19. Gracelynn
20. Greta

See all G-names for girls.

Top 20 H-Names for Girls

1. Hannah
2. Harper
3. Hailey
4. Hadley
5. Hazel
6. Haley
7. Hayden
8. Harmony
9. Hope
10. Haylee
11. Heaven
12. Heidi
13. Hanna
14. Helen
15. Harley
16. Holly
17. Haven
18. Hayley
19. Hallie
20. Helena

See all H-names for girls.

Top 20 I-Names for Girls

1. Isabella
2. Isabelle
3. Isabel
4. Izabella
5. Ivy
6. Isla
7. Iris
8. Imani
9. Itzel
10. Isis
11. Isabela
12. Irene
13. Ivanna
14. Iliana
15. Ingrid
16. Izabelle
17. Ivory
18. Isabell
19. Itzayana
20. Iyanna

See all I-names for girls.

Top 20 J-Names for Girls

1. Julia
2. Jasmine
3. Jocelyn
4. Jade
5. Jordyn
6. Jessica
7. Juliana
8. Josephine
9. Jennifer
10. Jayla
11. Julianna
12. Jenna
13. Jada
14. Jordan
15. Jacqueline
16. Juliet
17. Josie
18. Jillian
19. Juliette
20. Joanna

See all J-names for girls.

Top 20 K-Names for Girls

1. Kaylee
2. Khloe
3. Kylie
4. Katherine
5. Kayla
6. Kennedy
7. Kimberly
8. Kendall
9. Kaitlyn
10. Katelyn
11. Kylee
12. Kinsley
13. Kinley
14. Keira
15. Kate
16. Katie
17. Kayleigh
18. Kathryn
19. Kelsey
20. Kenzie

See all K-names for girls.

Top 20 L-Names for Girls

1. Lily
2. Lillian
3. Layla
4. Leah
5. Lucy
6. Lauren
7. London
8. Lydia
9. Lilly
10. Liliana
11. Laila
12. Lyla
13. Lila
14. Londyn
15. Luna
16. Leilani
17. Lola
18. Leila
19. Lucia
20. Lexi

See all L-names for girls.

Top 20 M-Names for Girls

1. Mia
2. Madison
3. Maya
4. Madelyn
5. Makayla
6. Mackenzie
7. Melanie
8. Morgan
9. Molly
10. Madeline
11. Maria
12. Mariah
13. Mila
14. Mary
15. Mya
16. Makenzie
17. Mckenzie
18. Michelle
19. Melody
20. Melissa

See all M-names for girls.

Top 20 N-Names for Girls

1. Natalie
2. Nevaeh
3. Naomi
4. Nora
5. Nicole
6. Natalia
7. Norah
8. Nina
9. Nadia
10. Noelle
11. Nyla
12. Nayeli
13. Nylah
14. Nia
15. Natasha
16. Nataly
17. Nathalie
18. Nova
19. Natalee
20. Nancy

See all N-names for girls.

Top 20 O-Names for Girls

1. Olivia
2. Olive
3. Oakley
4. Ophelia
5. Opal
6. Olyvia
7. Olga
8. Octavia
9. Oaklee
10. October
11. Ocean
12. Oakleigh
13. Odessa
14. Odalys
15. Oliviah
16. Oriana
17. Orianna
18. Odette
19. Oona
20. Ofelia

See all O-names for girls.

Top 20 P-Names for Girls

1. Peyton
2. Piper
3. Payton
4. Paisley
5. Paige
6. Penelope
7. Presley
8. Paris
9. Phoebe
10. Parker
11. Perla
12. Priscilla
13. Phoenix
14. Paola
15. Paityn
16. Patricia
17. Paislee
18. Paula
19. Pearl
20. Paloma

See all P-names for girls.

Top 20 Q-Names for Girls

1. Quinn
2. Quincy
3. Queen
4. Quetzalli
5. Queenie
6. Quorra
7. Quinlan
8. Quincey
9. Quinley
10. Quinlyn
11. Queena
12. Quin
13. Quinnlyn
14. Quetzaly
15. Quinlynn
16. Quynn
17. Quiana
18. Quincee
19. Quinne
20. Quinnley

See all Q-names for girls.

Top 20 R-Names for Girls

1. Riley
2. Reagan
3. Ruby
4. Rylee
5. Reese
6. Rachel
7. Rebecca
8. Ryleigh
9. Rose
10. Raegan
11. Raelynn
12. Ruth
13. Rylie
14. Rosalie
15. Rebekah
16. Raelyn
17. Rowan
18. Raven
19. Regina
20. Rosemary

See all R-names for girls.

Top 20 S-Names for Girls

1. Sophia
2. Sofia
3. Samantha
4. Savannah
5. Sarah
6. Sophie
7. Serenity
8. Scarlett
9. Stella
10. Sydney
11. Skylar
12. Sadie
13. Sara
14. Stephanie
15. Summer
16. Shelby
17. Sienna
18. Sabrina
19. Sierra
20. Selena

See all S-names for girls.

Top 20 T-Names for Girls

1. Taylor
2. Trinity
3. Tessa
4. Teagan
5. Tatum
6. Tiffany
7. Talia
8. Tiana
9. Tatiana
10. Tenley
11. Teresa
12. Tori
13. Taliyah
14. Tabitha
15. Tara
16. Taryn
17. Temperance
18. Taraji
19. Thalia
20. Tamia

See all T-names for girls.

Top 20 U-Names for Girls

1. Unique
2. Uma
3. Unknown [not a name; used when the name is unknown]
4. Una
5. Ursula
6. Uriah
7. Unity
8. Umaiza
9. Uriyah
10. Urijah
11. Uriel
12. Urvi
13. Ulani
14. Ulyssa
15. Uchechi
16. Umaima
17. Ugonna
18. Uri
19. Uilani*
20. Ula*

*Uilani and Uli are actually in a 6-way tie with Uli, Ulyana, Uswa and Uzuri.

See all U-names for girls.

Top 20 V-Names for Girls

1. Victoria
2. Violet
3. Vanessa
4. Vivian
5. Valeria
6. Valentina
7. Valerie
8. Veronica
9. Vivienne
10. Viviana
11. Vera
12. Virginia
13. Violeta
14. Vienna
15. Valery
16. Vivien
17. Veda
18. Viola
19. Vada
20. Vivianna

See all V-names for girls.

Top 20 W-Names for Girls

1. Willow
2. Whitney
3. Willa
4. Wendy
5. Winter
6. Wren
7. Wynter
8. Whitley
9. Winnie
10. Waverly
11. Wilhelmina
12. Winifred
13. Wisdom
14. Wynn
15. Winona
16. Wednesday
17. Winry
18. Wanda
19. Wesley
20. Whitlee*

*Whitlee is actually tied with #21, Wynne.

See all W-names for girls.

Top 20 X-Names for Girls

1. Ximena
2. Xiomara
3. Xochitl
4. Xitlali
5. Xitlaly
6. Xena
7. Xenia
8. Xyla
9. Xochilt
10. Xaria
11. Xoe
12. Xoey
13. Xandria
14. Xavia
15. Xylia
16. Xia
17. Xoie
18. Xara
19. Xareni
20. Ximenna

See all X-names for girls.

Top 20 Y-Names for Girls

1. Yaretzi
2. Yareli
3. Yasmin
4. Yaritza
5. Yamileth
6. Yesenia
7. Yoselin
8. Yazmin
9. Yuliana
10. Yara
11. Yaretzy
12. Yarely
13. Yasmine
14. Yamilet
15. Yaneli
16. Yadira
17. Yvette
18. Yolanda
19. Yvonne
20. Yahaira

See all Y-names for girls.

Top 20 Z-Names for Girls

1. Zoey
2. Zoe
3. Zariah
4. Zara
5. Zoie
6. Zuri
7. Zion
8. Zariyah
9. Zaniyah
10. Zaria
11. Zahra
12. Zainab
13. Zooey
14. Zaniya
15. Zaylee
16. Ziva
17. Zahara
18. Zoya
19. Zayla
20. Zelda

See all Z-names for girls.

This is the second year in a row that Zoey has beaten Zoe. I find that fascinating. In contrast, Chloey is nowhere near Chloe in terms of usage.

Image: Adapted from Wood letterpress type at Washington University in St. Louis in 2011 by Michellecornelison under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Biggest changes in girl name popularity, 2012

Which girl names made the biggest gains from 2011 to 2012?

And which ones suffered the biggest losses?

This is where the stats start telling us some interesting stories!

Below I’ve got two different lists for both “increases” and “decreases.”

On the left is the my list. I looked at the raw number differences between the 2011 names and the 2012 names. My analysis covers all 19,380 girl names on the 2012 list.

On the right is the SSA’s list. They looked at the ranking differences between the 2011 names and the 2012 names. Their analysis covers approximately the top 500 girl names on the 2012 list.

Biggest Increases

The baby girl names that saw the biggest popularity increases from 2011 to 2012 were…

Nancy’s list (raw numbers)SSA’s list (rankings)
  1. Harper, +2,496 babies [rank: 54th to 24th]
  2. Emma, +2,053 babies [rank: 3rd to 2nd]
  3. Paisley, +1,269 babies [rank: 195th to 104th]
  4. Aria, +1,232 babies [rank: 157th to 91st]
  5. Skylar, +1,173 babies [rank: 145th to 87th]
  6. Aubree, +1,100 babies [rank: 99th to 60th]
  7. Zoey, +1,030 babies [rank: 28th to 20th]
  8. Charlotte, +1,017 babies [rank: 27th to 19th]
  9. Avery, +952 babies [rank: 18th to 13th]
  10. Aubrey, +846 babies [rank: 20th to 15th]
  11. Amelia, +842 babies [rank: 30th to 23rd]
  12. Mila, +835 babies [rank: 174th to 115th]
  13. Genesis, +779 babies [rank: 82nd to 56th]
  14. Hannah, +672 babies [rank: 25th to 22nd]
  15. Penelope, +647 babies [rank: 169th to 125th]
  16. Hadley, +645 babies [rank: 178th to 130th]
  17. Nora, +639 babies [rank: 137th to 107th]
  18. Cataleya, +608 babies [rank: 4,931st to 479th]
  19. Cora, +516 babies [rank: 203rd to 155th]
  20. Reagan, +470 babies [rank: 121st to 97th]
  1. Arya, +298 (711th to 413th)
  2. Perla, +190 (642nd to 452nd)
  3. Catalina, +171 (648th to 477th)
  4. Elisa, +168 (534th to 366th)
  5. Raelynn, +155 (496th to 341st)
  6. Rosalie, +141 (547th to 406th)
  7. Haven, +140 (572nd to 432nd)
  8. Raelyn, +136 (585th to 449th)
  9. Briella, +123 (498th to 375th)
  10. Marilyn, +119 (545th to 426th)
  11. Adelynn, +116 (581st to 465th)
  12. Hanna, +106 (454th to 348th)
  13. Ayla, +97 (347th to 250th)
  14. Averie, +96 (554th to 458th)
  15. Arabella, +92 (337th to 245th)
  16. Paisley, +91 (195th to 104th)
  17. Arielle, +91 (501st to 410th)
  18. Adalynn, +88 (328th to 240th)
  19. Elsie, +86 (483rd to 397th)
  20. Myla, +85 (484th to 399th)

Check out Cataleya! That’s quite a jump.

Here are last year’s raw number jumps and last year’s ranking jumps.

Biggest Decreases

The baby girl names that saw the biggest popularity decreases from 2011 to 2012 were…

Nancy’s list (raw numbers)SSA’s list (rankings)
  1. Chloe, -1,361 babies [rank: 10th to 11th]
  2. Alexis, -1,194 babies [rank: 26th to 40th]
  3. Addison, -1,158 babies [rank: 13th to 14th]
  4. Madison, -1,017 babies [rank: 8th to 9th]
  5. Alyssa, -935 babies [rank: 37th to 44th]
  6. Isabella, -893 babies [rank: 2nd to 3rd]
  7. Natalie, -760 babies [rank: 14th to 17th]
  8. Nevaeh, -739 babies [rank: 35th to 39th]
  9. Ashley, -709 babies [rank: 42nd to 50th]
  10. Makayla, -691 babies [rank: 56th to 69th]
  11. Emily, -664 babies [rank: 6th to 6th]
  12. Khloe, -644 babies [rank: 49th to 55th]
  13. Leah, -642 babies [rank: 29th to 33rd]
  14. Abigail, -622 babies [rank: 7th to 7th]
  15. Gabriella, -608 babies [rank: 33rd to 37th]
  16. Kayla, -568 babies [rank: 59th to 70th]
  17. Brianna, -562 babies [rank: 45th to 51st]
  18. Destiny, -549 babies [rank: 91st to 113th]
  19. Sydney, -531 babies [rank: 65th to 78th]
  20. Jocelyn, -515 babies [rank: 70th to 92nd]
  1. Dulce, -159 (415th to 574th)
  2. Mikaela, -141 (451st to 592nd)
  3. Estrella, -129 (433rd to 562nd)
  4. Danna, -125 (365th to 490th)
  5. Audrina, -122 (318th to 440th)
  6. Cameron, -113 (440th to 553rd)
  7. Kiera, -108 (482nd to 590th)
  8. Savanna, -101 (346th to 447th)
  9. Paola, -98 (477th to 575th)
  10. Tenley, -96 (424th to 520th)
  11. Kendra, -94 (293rd to 387th)
  12. Breanna, -94 (309th to 403rd)
  13. Kailyn, -93 (399th to 492nd)
  14. Jasmin, -93 (422nd to 515th)
  15. Joselyn, -92 (369th to 461st)
  16. Kiley, -90 (423rd to 513th)
  17. Jayden, -88 (292nd to 380th)
  18. Liana, -82 (464th to 546th)
  19. Sasha, -77 (374th to 451st)
  20. Karen, -66 (287th to 353rd)

Here are last year’s raw number drops and last year’s ranking drops.

Source: SSA’s Change In Popularity From 2011 To 2012

Popular baby names in the United States, 2012

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

The #1 names in the nation are still Jacob and Sophia!

Here are the full top 50 lists:

Boy NamesGirl Names
1. Jacob, 18899
2. Mason, 18856
3. Ethan, 17547
4. Noah, 17201
5. William, 16726
6. Liam, 16687
7. Jayden, 16013
8. Michael, 15996
9. Alexander, 15105
10. Aiden, 14779
11. Daniel, 14143
12. Matthew, 13834
13. Elijah, 13719
14. James, 13271
15. Anthony, 13105
16. Benjamin, 12695
17. Joshua, 12522
18. Andrew, 12501
19. David, 12422
20. Joseph, 12404
21. Logan, 12390
22. Jackson, 12388
23. Christopher, 11777
24. Gabriel, 11442
25. Samuel, 11290
26. Ryan, 10863
27. Lucas, 10616
28. John, 10505
29. Nathan, 10357
30. Isaac, 9928
31. Dylan, 9920
32. Caleb, 9867
33. Christian, 9530
34. Landon, 9296
35. Jonathan, 9253
36. Carter, 9202
37. Luke, 8922
38. Owen, 8630
39. Brayden, 8451
40. Gavin, 8203
41. Wyatt, 8159
42. Isaiah, 8044
43. Henry, 8006
44. Eli, 7998
45. Hunter, 7967
46. Jack, 7877
47. Evan, 7851
48. Jordan, 7734
49. Nicholas, 7653
50. Tyler, 7628		1. Sophia, 22158
2. Emma, 20791
3. Isabella, 18931
4. Olivia, 17147
5. Ava, 15418
6. Emily, 13550
7. Abigail, 12583
8. Mia, 11940
9. Madison, 11319
10. Elizabeth, 9596
11. Chloe, 9595
12. Ella, 9115
13. Avery, 8272
14. Addison, 8122
15. Aubrey, 8006
16. Lily, 7889
17. Natalie, 7852
18. Sofia, 7767
19. Charlotte, 7418
20. Zoey, 7411
21. Grace, 7304
22. Hannah, 7202
23. Amelia, 7191
24. Harper, 7154
25. Lillian, 7100
26. Samantha, 6874
27. Evelyn, 6837
28. Victoria, 6814
29. Brooklyn, 6728
30. Zoe, 6383
31. Layla, 6227
32. Hailey, 5878
33. Leah, 5724
34. Kaylee, 5571
35. Anna, 5552
36. Aaliyah, 5471
37. Gabriella, 5461
38. Allison, 5387
39. Nevaeh, 5317
40. Alexis, 5306
41. Audrey, 5266
42. Savannah, 5143
43. Sarah, 5107
44. Alyssa, 5054
45. Claire, 4915
46. Taylor, 4825
47. Riley, 4786
48. Camila, 4776
49. Arianna, 4685
50. Ashley, 4678

Liam enters the top 10! 15th last year, 6th this year.

Michael just keeps getting lower and lower.

Avery, on the other hand, keeps rising on the girls’ side — 18th last year, 13th this year.

See any other interesting rises/drops so far?

Update: Here’s more from the SSA’s news release:

Many pop-culture naming trends appear in a popular feature of Social Security’s baby names website–the “change in popularity” page. This year’s winners for biggest jump in popularity in the Top 500 are Major and Arya.

The fastest riser on the girls’ list may have been influenced by the popular cable TV series “Game of Thrones.” Arya is the daughter of a leader of one of the Seven Kingdoms. She also is an expert sword fighter, so doubt her influence on the popular names list at your own risk.

For the boys, parents may associate Major with the military title. Acting Commissioner Colvin added “I have no doubt Major’s rising popularity as a boy’s name is in tribute to the brave members of the U.S. military, and maybe we’ll see more boys named General in the future.” You also might trace Major’s increase in popularity to a cable TV show. “Home by Novogratz” is a popular home design show featuring Major Novogratz, the youngest son of designers Robert and Cortney.

The second fastest riser for boys was Gael, and for girls, Perla. Both names most likely are on the rise due to the increase in the Spanish-speaking population in the United States. Perla is the Latinized version of Pearl and is popular among Hispanic-Americans. Gael’s popularity could be tied to Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

Here is last year’s list.

Sources: SSA, Jacob and Sophia Repeat atop Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names List – SSA

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)