This List Shows the Most Popular Baby Name in Each State
What's the most popular baby name where you live?
There’s a lot that goes into choosing the perfect baby name. Obviously, you have to love the name, but you also have to choose the type of baby name you want. Do you want to choose an unusual name? Or a tried-and-true classic? Of course, everyone right now seems to be digging the oldies: Charlotte, Noah, Amelia, Liam. But what’s popular where you live? What are the names everyone can’t stop choosing?
Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases its list of the most popular names in the United States. The list comes from collected data from when parents apply for a Social Security card for their baby. The list of top names for 2021 didn’t have too many surprises. The names don’t tend to shift much from year-to-year, but sometimes we get a new name that enters the top ten list, and when you look at it retrospectively, you can see just how much baby name trends shift all the time.
Along with the most popular names, the SSA also releases data on the most popular baby names by state based on the same collected information. This year, the top names in each state made sense, and it makes it more clear why Olivia and Liam dominate the top baby boy and baby girl names list each year.
These are the top baby names by state for girls:
- Alabama — Olivia
- Alaska — Amelia
- Arizona — Olivia
- Arkansas — Olivia
- California — Olivia
- Colorado — Olivia
- Connecticut — Olivia
- Delaware — Charlotte
- D.C. — Charlotte
- Florida — Olivia
- Georgia — Olivia
- Hawaii — Olivia
- Idaho — Olivia
- Illinois — Olivia
- Indiana — Charlotte
- Iowa — Charlotte
- Kansas — Olivia
- Kentucky — Emma
- Louisiana — Olivia
- Maine — Charlotte
- Maryland — Olivia
- Massachusetts — Olivia
- Michigan — Charlotte
- Minnesota — Charlotte
- Mississippi — Ava
- Missouri — Olivia
- Montana — Olivia
- Nebraska — Olivia
- Nevada — Olivia
- New Hampshire — Olivia
- New Jersey — Olivia
- New Mexico — Mia
- New York — Olivia
- North Carolina — Olivia
- North Dakota — Olivia
- Ohio — Olivia
- Oklahoma— Olivia
- Oregon — Evelyn
- Pennsylvania — Olivia
- Rhode Island — Olivia
- South Carolina — Olivia
- South Dakota — Evelyn
- Tennessee — Olivia
- Texas — Olivia
- Utah — Olivia
- Vermont — Charlotte
- Virginia — Charlotte
- Washington — Olivia
- West Virginia — Amelia
- Wisconsin — Charlotte
- Wyoming — Olivia
As you can clearly see, Olivia was the top baby girl name in 35 states, including Alabama, Maryland, and Utah. Oher takeaways are that, despite their overall popularity, Ava, Emma, and Mia were the top names in only one state each. Other names that made it in the top five names by state but didn’t become the most popular include Willow, Camila, and Harper.
These are the top baby names by state for boys:
- Alabama — William
- Alaska — Noah
- Arizona — Liam
- Arkansas — Liam
- California — Noah
- Colorado — Liam
- Connecticut — Noah
- Delaware — Liam
- D.C. — Henry
- Florida — Olivia
- Georgia — Noah
- Hawaii — Noah
- Idaho — Oliver
- Illinois — Noah
- Indiana — Liam
- Iowa — Oliver
- Kansas — Liam
- Kentucky — Liam
- Louisiana — Liam
- Maine — Oliver
- Maryland — Liam
- Massachusetts — Noah
- Michigan — Noah
- Minnesota — Oliver
- Mississippi — William
- Missouri — William
- Montana — Oliver
- Nebraska — Henry
- Nevada — Liam
- New Hampshire — Oliver
- New Jersey — Liam
- New Mexico — Noah
- New York — Liam
- North Carolina — Liam
- North Dakota — Oliver
- Ohio — Oliver
- Oklahoma— Liam
- Oregon — Oliver
- Pennsylvania — Noah
- Rhode Island — Liam
- South Carolina — William
- South Dakota — Henry
- Tennessee — William
- Texas — Liam
- Utah — Oliver
- Vermont — Henry
- Virginia — Liam
- Washington — Liam
- West Virginia — Liam
- Wisconsin — Oliver
- Wyoming — Oliver
Liam, Oliver and Noah are obviously the baby boy names to beat, but some less popular stunners that made it to the top 5 names in different states include Hudson, Theodore, and Sebastian.
