While we wait for the latest batch of U.S. baby name data from the SSA, let’s check out Wyoming’s 2023 rankings (which were released about a week ago).
Last year, the Equality State — the 10th-largest state in terms of area, but the 50th-largest in terms of population — welcomed 5,989 babies.
What were the top names among these babies? Evelyn and Henry, according to the Wyoming Department of Health.
Here are Wyoming’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023:
Girl names
Evelyn
Amelia
Olivia
Harper
Charlotte
Hazel
Eleanor
Lainey
Oakley
Aurora
Boy names
Henry
Jack (tie)
Wyatt (tie)
Elijah
Carter
Asher
Theodore
Benjamin
Waylon
Noah
Lainey was likely popularized by country singer Lainey Wilson. We’ll have to keep an eye on that one in the national rankings.
In 2022, Wyoming’s top names were Charlotte and Noah.
P.S. We’ve also seen official 2023 rankings for Virginia, Sonoma County (California), Knox County (Illinois), Johnston County (North Carolina), Boston (Massachusetts), and Nantucket (also Massachusetts) — plus rankings based on provisional data for Rhode Island, Mississippi, New Mexico, Arizona, and Houston (Texas).
Last year, the European country of Poland welcomed approximately 272,000 babies.
What were the most popular names among all these babies? Zofia and Nikodem.
Here are Poland’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:
Girl names
Zofia, 4,968 baby girls
Zuzanna, 4,800
Laura, 4,602
Hanna, 4,565
Maja, 4,461
Julia, 4,254
Oliwia, 3,846
Pola, 3,692
Alicja, 3,593
Maria, 3,137
Lena, 2,966
Antonina, 2,912
Emilia, 2,785
Amelia, 2,759
Klara, 2,660
Michalina, 2,644
Iga, 2,563
Liliana, 2,561
Wiktoria, 2,531
Helena, 2,511
Marcelina, 2,351
Gabriela, 1,883
Aleksandra, 1,878
Nela, 1,768
Kornelia, 1,761
Lucja, 1,732
Blanka, 1,636
Anna, 1,581
Nadia, 1,565
Natalia, 1,441
Lilianna, 1,422
Jagoda, 1,410
Mia, 1,232
Milena, 1,148
Róza, 1,132
Kaja, 1,127
Rozalia, 1,103
Anastazja, 1,063
Nina, 1,001
Aniela, 984
Weronika, 959
Sara, 937
Nikola, 917
Barbara, 892
Aurelia, 880
Matylda, 845
Liwia, 779
Karolina, 752
Martyna, 712
Agata, 656
Boy names
Nikodem, 6,532 baby boys
Antoni, 5,663
Jan, 5,638
Aleksander, 5,625
Franciszek, 4,965
Leon, 4,916
Jakub, 4,474
Ignacy, 4,166
Mikolaj, 4,081
Stanislaw, 3,874
Filip, 3,506
Szymon, 3,269
Wojciech, 3,078
Adam, 2,889
Tymon, 2,782
Marcel, 2,759
Kacper, 2,684
Maksymilian, 2,655
Oliwier, 2,578
Wiktor, 2,347
Michal, 2,183
Igor, 1,899
Julian, 1,855 (tie)
Milosz, 1,855 (tie)
Tymoteusz, 1,724 (tie)
Gabriel, 1,724 (tie)
Oskar, 1,683
Piotr, 1,630
Dawid, 1,276
Bruno, 1,186
Hubert, 1,159
Krzysztof, 1,069
Natan, 1,065
Bartosz, 1,053
Dominik, 1,022
Mateusz, 900
Cezary, 886
Henryk, 880
Alan, 869
Karol, 866
Tadeusz, 861
Fabian, 837
Tomasz, 830
Maciej, 783
Teodor, 761
Ksawery, 752
Milan, 733
Artur, 722
Leo, 669
Pawel, 640
(Because L-with-a-stroke and Z-with-an-overdot don’t render properly on my site, you’ll have to imagine they exist in several of the above: the girl names Lucja and Róza, and the boy names Mikolaj, Stanislaw, Michal, Milosz, and Pawel.)
Poland’s data goes all the way down to names with just two instances of usage, so here’s a sampling of the rare baby names at the opposite end of the spectrum:
On the girls’ side: Jutrzenka means “dawn” in Polish, and Nasturcja is the Polish word for nasturtium (a type of flower).
On the boys’ side: Hleb (Belarusian) comes from Gleb (Russian), which comes from Guðleifr (Old Norse: “god” + “heir”), and Zawisza can be traced back to a Slavic word meaning “envy.”
Finally, here are Poland’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.
Possible explanations/associations for several of the above:
Pollaidh comes from the name of the Scottish mountain Stac Pollaidh (pronounced “stack polly”). The Scottish name is based on the Norse name for the mountain, Stakkr Pollå, which means “the pinnacle of the pool river.”
Senga could be Agnes backwards…or it could be based on the Scottish word seang, meaning “slender.” (Here’s a post about Scotland’s Senga syndrome.)
Talorcan is a Pictish name that belonged to several Pictish kings. It’s often spelled Talorgan.
Welwitschia (pronounced vel-VIH-chee-uh) is the name of a genus of plants that includes a single species, Welwitschia mirabilis, endemic to the Namib desert in Africa. The genus was named after Austrian physician/botanist Friedrich Welwitsch (1806-1872).
Here’s what Welwitschia mirabilis — often referred to as a “living fossil” — looks like:
(I haven’t been this fascinated by a science-y baby name since Petrichor popped up in Alberta in 2016!)
Finally, here are Scotland’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.
Xolotl refers to the “divine force of lightning and death” (among other things) in Nahuatl.
Zantedechia is one letter away from Zantedeschia, the name of a genus of flowering plants. (The calla lily is a member of this genus.) The genus was named after Italian physician/botanist Giovanni Zantedeschi (1773-1846).
Finally, here are Sonoma’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.
This website or its third-party tools process personal data.In case of sale of your personal information, you may opt out by using the link Do not sell my personal information.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.