How popular is the baby name James 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 James.

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Popularity of the baby name James


Posts that mention the name James

Popular baby names in Boston (Massachusetts), 2023

Flag of Massachusetts
Flag of Massachusetts

Last year, the City of Boston welcomed a total of 20,645 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Liam.

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

Girl names

  1. Olivia
  2. Emma
  3. Sophia
  4. Charlotte
  5. Sofia
  6. Isabella
  7. Grace
  8. Chloe
  9. Amelia
  10. Maya
  11. Luna
  12. Gianna
  13. Mia
  14. Nora
  15. Ava
  16. Natalie
  17. Ella
  18. Emilia
  19. Maeve
  20. Eleanor

Boy names

  1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. Henry
  4. Leo
  5. Theodore
  6. Jack
  7. Julian
  8. James
  9. Thomas
  10. Benjamin
  11. William
  12. Luca
  13. John
  14. Ethan
  15. Logan
  16. Aiden
  17. Charles
  18. Samuel
  19. Joseph
  20. Oliver

Thomas caught my eye — it’s a top-10 boy name in Boston, but (in 2022) it only managed to rank 22nd state-wide and 45th country-wide.

Massachusetts’ top baby names of 2023 won’t be revealed until May, when the new SSA data comes out, but the state’s #1 names in 2022 were Olivia and Noah. (Noah won by a wide margin, in fact. It was given to 142 more baby boys than second-place Liam.)

Sources: Most Popular Baby Names in Boston, SSA

Image: Adapted from Flag of Massachusetts (public domain)

Where did the baby name Airrion come from in 1973?

The Stylistics' self-titled debut album (1971)
Stylistics album

According to the U.S. baby name data, the curious name Airrion both debuted and hit peak usage in 1973:

  • 1975: 7 baby boys named Airrion
  • 1974: 11 baby boys named Airrion
  • 1973: 19 baby boys named Airrion (debut & peak usage)
  • 1972: unlisted
  • 1971: unlisted

Where did the name come from?

Singer Airrion (pronounced AIR-ee-un) Love, a member of the soul group The Stylistics.

The group was founded in Philadelphia in the late ’60s and saw its greatest success during the first half of the ’70s.

From 1971 to 1974, twelve consecutive Stylistics singles reached the top 10 on Billboard‘s R&B chart. Five of those songs — “You Are Everything,” “Betcha by Golly, Wow,” “I’m Stone in Love with You,” “Break Up to Make Up,” and “You Make Me Feel Brand New” — also reached the top 10 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.

So, if the group achieved fame in 1971, why did Airrion’s name pop up in the data in 1973 — a year (or two) later than expected?

At first I thought he must have been profiled in print somewhere. (How else would so many parents have known to spell his name correctly?) But I couldn’t find anything in the newspapers or the popular magazines of the day.

So my next-best guess is album covers.

On the reverse of The Stylistics’ first record, only lead vocalist Russell Thompkins, Jr., is mentioned by name. On the back of the group’s second and third records, however, the names of all five members — Russell Thompkins, Airrion Love, James Smith, Herb Murrell, and James Dunn — are listed.

Detail from the reverse of the album cover for "Round 2" (1972) by The Stylistics
From the reverse of “Round 2” (1972)

If Airrion’s name had been included on the back of the first record, I think it’s likely that his name would have debuted earlier in the baby name data.

What are your thoughts on the name Airrion?

Sources: The Stylistics – Wikipedia, Discogs.com, SSA

Popular baby names in the Netherlands, 2023

Flag of the Netherlands
Flag of the Netherlands

Last year, from January to November, the Netherlands welcomed 164,269 babies — 80,074 girls and 84,195 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Julia and Noah.

Here are the Netherlands’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Julia, 681 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 605
  3. Mila, 603
  4. Emma, 596
  5. Sophie, 578
  6. Nora, 543
  7. Yara, 493
  8. Saar, 491
  9. Noor, 488
  10. Tess, 478
  11. Sara, 469
  12. Milou, 449
  13. Evi, 446
  14. Zoë, 441
  15. Luna, 428
  16. Liv, 425
  17. Elin, 423
  18. Anna, 421
  19. Nina, 405
  20. Maeve, 403
  21. Lina, 392
  22. Lauren, 391
  23. Lotte, 380
  24. Eva, 372
  25. Mia, 368
  26. Maud, 360
  27. Sofia, 357
  28. Sarah, 353
  29. Emily, 344
  30. Lynn, 333
  31. Sofie, 328
  32. Ella, 325
  33. Loïs, 324
  34. Livia, 318
  35. Hailey, 310
  36. Fleur, 309
  37. Lieke, 306
  38. Julie, 301
  39. Isa, 300
  40. Nova, 299
  41. Fenna, 296
  42. Noa, 291
  43. Roos, 275
  44. Noé, 266
  45. Sophia, 259
  46. Lily, 253
  47. Romée, 251
  48. Hannah, 246
  49. Fien, 242
  50. Bo, 238

Boy names

  1. Noah, 888 baby boys
  2. Luca, 674
  3. Lucas, 648
  4. Liam, 643
  5. Levi, 601
  6. Sem, 587
  7. Daan, 573
  8. Mees, 571
  9. Noud, 567
  10. James, 561
  11. Milan, 534
  12. Adam, 532
  13. Finn, 527
  14. Sam, 521
  15. Zayn, 495
  16. Luuk, 489
  17. Mason, 432
  18. Bram, 420
  19. Mats, 397
  20. Guus, 372
  21. Siem, 366
  22. Boaz, 360
  23. Benjamin, 356 (tie)
  24. Gijs, 356 (tie)
  25. Jesse, 353
  26. Thomas, 333
  27. Olivier, 331
  28. Otis, 324
  29. Teun, 320
  30. Owen, 310
  31. Oliver, 305 (tie)
  32. Thijs, 305 (tie)
  33. Morris, 304
  34. Moos, 303
  35. Jens, 299
  36. Floris, 298
  37. Joep, 294
  38. Jan, 289
  39. Ties, 286
  40. Mick, 282
  41. Max, 279
  42. Abel, 276
  43. Jake, 275
  44. David, 273 (tie)
  45. Tobias, 273 (tie)
  46. Julian, 270
  47. Jip, 266
  48. Lars, 264
  49. Hugo, 260
  50. Mohammed, 255

The girls’ top 100 included Juna (tied for 59th), Lizzy (tied for 71st), Loua (76th), and Novi (tied for 88th).

The boys’ top 100 included Jurre (tied for 52nd), Fedde (59th), Aiden (74th), and Cas (96th).

Map of the 12 provinces of the Netherlands
The Netherlands’ 12 provinces

Home to nearly 18 million people, the Netherlands is divided into 12 provinces. The most popular baby names within each of the 12 provinces last year were…

Top girl nameTop boy name
South Holland
(21.4% of the population)
OliviaNoah
North Holland
(16.6% of pop.)
OliviaNoah
North Brabant
(14.7% of pop.)
SaarNoud
Gelderland
(12.0% of pop.)
JuliaNoah
Utrecht
(7.8% of pop.)
NoraLucas
Overijssel
(6.6% of pop.)
JuliaLuca
Limburg
(6.3% of pop.)
EmmaNoah
Friesland
(3.7% of pop.)
LiekeHidde
Groningen
(3.3% of pop.)
ElinNoah
Drenthe
(2.8% of pop.)
LotteDaan
Flevoland
(2.5% of pop.)
HaileyJan
Zeeland
(2.2% of pop.)
OliviaLucas

Finally, here are the Netherlands’ 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Kindernamen home | Kindernamen | SVB, Julia en Noah de populairste kindernamen van 2023, Regionale kerncijfers Nederland – CBS StatLine

Image: Adapted from Flag of the Netherlands (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Provinces of the Netherlands by Arz under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Top baby names of 2023 in several U.S. states (provisional)

peeking nun

Want to take a peek into the future?

The year isn’t over yet, but that hasn’t stopped several regional governments from releasing provisional baby name rankings for 2023.

At least four U.S. states and one U.S. city have put out their top baby names of 2023 already, for instance. Let’s check them out, starting in the east and moving westward…

Rhode Island

According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.

Top girl names, Rhode IslandTop boy names, Rhode Island
1. Charlotte
2. Sophia
3. Olivia
4. Amelia
5. Emma
6. Nora
7. Luna
8. Isabella
9. Mia
10. Isla
1. Noah
2. Liam
3. James
4. Theodore
5. Lucas
6. Michael
7. Julian
8. Benjamin
9. Henry
10. Luca

Mississippi

According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.

Top girl names, MississippiTop boy names, Mississippi
1. Ava
2. Amelia
3. Olivia
4. Charlotte
5. Harper
6. Elizabeth
7. Emma
8. Mary
9. Nova
10. Evelyn
1. John
2. James
3. William
4. Elijah
5. Noah
6. Liam
7. Waylon
8. Mason
9. Grayson
10. Asher

Houston (Texas)

According to the Houston Health Department, these were the city’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.

Top girl names, City of HoustonTop boy names, City of Houston
1. Emma
2. Mia
3. Camila
4. Olivia
5. Isabella
6. Sofia
7. Sophia
8. Amelia
9. Charlotte
10. Emily
1. Liam
2. Noah
3. Mateo
4. Santiago
5. Sebastian
6. Dylan
7. Elijah
8. Lucas
9. Oliver
10. Daniel

New Mexico

According to the New Mexico Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.

Top girl names, New MexicoTop boy names, New Mexico
1. Olivia
2. Amelia
3. Isabella
4. Emma
5. Sofia
6. Mia
7. Sophia
8. Aria
9. Luna
10. Camila
1. Liam
2. Mateo
3. Noah
4. Santiago
5. Ezekiel
6. Elijah
7. Josiah
8. Sebastian
9. Ezra
10. Julian

Arizona

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.

Top girl names, ArizonaTop boy names, Arizona
1. Olivia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Mia
5. Camila
6. Sophia
7. Amelia
8. Charlotte
9. Evelyn
10. Luna
1. Liam
2. Mateo
3. Noah
4. Oliver
5. Santiago
6. Elijah
7. Sebastian
8. Ezra
9. Levi
10. Benjamin

Several regions outside the U.S. have also released their 2023 baby name rankings already. Here’s what I’ve spotted so far…

RegionTop names
British Columbia (Canada)Olivia & Noah
New Brunswick (Canada)Olivia & Liam
Nova Scotia (Canada)Olivia & Henry
P.E.I. (Canada)Sadie/Sophie & Jack
ACT/Canberra (Australia)Amelia/Charlotte & Henry
South Australia (Australia)Isla & Oliver
Western Australia (Australia)Isla & Oliver

Have you seen any others?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from A trompe l’œil with a young nun peeking out through a shutter (public domain)