An Isla is most likely to be from Hawaii. A Waylon is most likely to be from West Virginia. And everyone loves Olivia. Those are some of the takeaway messages from the new lists of top baby names in each US state.
The state rankings let us zoom in for a closer look at the country’s most popular baby names, getting a picture of who is choosing which names. Hudson, for instance, is a top-5 hit in states like Maine and South Dakota, while Santiago is a top choice in Texas and New Mexico. Only Alaskans flock to the name Aurora (though 2024’s solar flames make that a name to watch for the future!) Theodore, meanwhile, divides the country neatly North vs. South.
Check out the top 5 names in your state, then explore regional trends with our freshly updated interactive US name map.
Top Boys’ Names by State
| State | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
| Alabama | William | John | James | Noah | Elijah |
| Alaska | Liam | Oliver | Theodore | Noah | Elijah |
| Arizona | Liam | Mateo | Noah | Oliver | Santiago |
| Arkansas | Liam | Oliver | Noah | Hudson | William |
| California | Noah | Liam | Mateo | Sebastian | Santiago |
| Colorado | Liam | Oliver | Noah | Theodore | Henry |
| Connecticut | Noah | Liam | Oliver | Lucas | James |
| Delaware | Noah | Liam | Carter | Benjamin | Levi |
| Dist. of Columbia | Liam | Noah | Leo | Theodore | James |
| Florida | Liam | Noah | Lucas | Elijah | Oliver |
| Georgia | Liam | Noah | William | James | Elijah |
| Hawaii | Elijah | Liam | Noah | Ezekiel | Lucas |
| Idaho | Oliver | Liam | Henry | Theodore | James |
| Illinois | Noah | Liam | Oliver | Mateo | Theodore |
| Indiana | Liam | Oliver | Noah | Theodore | Elijah |
| Iowa | Oliver | Henry | Theodore | Liam | Noah |
| Kansas | Liam | Oliver | Noah | Theodore | Henry |
| Kentucky | Liam | Oliver | Noah | William | Elijah |
| Louisiana | Liam | Noah | Elijah | James | Oliver |
| Maine | Theodore | Oliver | Henry | Hudson | Owen |
| Maryland | Liam | Noah | Lucas | James | Oliver |
| Massachusetts | Noah | Liam | Theodore | Benjamin | Jack |
| Michigan | Noah | Oliver | Henry | Theodore | Liam |
| Minnesota | Theodore | Henry | Oliver | Liam | William |
| Mississippi | John | James | William | Elijah | Noah |
| Missouri | Oliver | Henry | Liam | Noah | Theodore |
| Montana | Oliver | Theodore | James | Henry | Owen |
| Nebraska | Oliver | Liam | Henry | Theodore | Noah |
| Nevada | Liam | Noah | Mateo | Sebastian | Oliver |
| New Hampshire | Oliver | Theodore | Jack | Henry | William |
| New Jersey | Liam | Noah | Lucas | Joseph | Michael |
| New Mexico | Liam | Mateo | Noah | Santiago | Ezekiel |
| New York | Liam | Noah | Lucas | David | Joseph |
| North Carolina | Liam | Noah | William | James | Oliver |
| North Dakota | Oliver | Hudson | Henry | Theodore | Asher |
| Ohio | Oliver | Theodore | Liam | Noah | Henry |
| Oklahoma | Liam | Oliver | Noah | Elijah | James |
| Oregon | Oliver | Liam | Henry | Theodore | Noah |
| Pennsylvania | Noah | Liam | Oliver | Henry | Benjamin |
| Rhode Island | Noah | Liam | James | Lucas | Michael |
| South Carolina | Noah | William | Liam | James | John |
| South Dakota | Oliver | Henry | Hudson | Theodore | Owen |
| Tennessee | Liam | Oliver | James | William | Elijah |
| Texas | Liam | Noah | Mateo | Santiago | Sebastian |
| Utah | Liam | Oliver | Henry | William | James |
| Vermont | Oliver | Henry | Theodore | Hudson | Levi |
| Virginia | Liam | Noah | James | Oliver | William |
| Washington | Oliver | Liam | Noah | Theodore | Henry |
| West Virginia | Oliver | Waylon | Grayson | Maverick | Noah |
| Wisconsin | Theodore | Oliver | Henry | Liam | Noah |
| Wyoming | Henry | Jack | Carter | Elijah | Liam |
Top Girls’ Names by State
| State | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
| Alabama | Olivia | Charlotte | Amelia | Ava | Elizabeth |
| Alaska | Charlotte | Aurora | Amelia | Hazel | Emma |
| Arizona | Olivia | Emma | Mia | Isabella | Sophia |
| Arkansas | Olivia | Amelia | Charlotte | Emma | Evelyn |
| California | Olivia | Mia | Camila | Emma | Isabella |
| Colorado | Charlotte | Olivia | Sophia | Emma | Amelia |
| Connecticut | Olivia | Charlotte | Mia | Emma | Amelia |
| Delaware | Charlotte | Isabella | Emma | Olivia | Sophia |
| Dist. of Columbia | Charlotte | Olivia | Naomi | Sophia | Maya |
| Florida | Olivia | Emma | Isabella | Mia | Sophia |
| Georgia | Olivia | Charlotte | Amelia | Emma | Ava |
| Hawaii | Isla | Mia | Olivia | Luna | Ava |
| Idaho | Olivia | Charlotte | Evelyn | Amelia | Emma |
| Illinois | Olivia | Emma | Mia | Sophia | Charlotte |
| Indiana | Charlotte | Amelia | Olivia | Eleanor | Evelyn |
| Iowa | Charlotte | Olivia | Amelia | Harper | Evelyn |
| Kansas | Amelia | Charlotte | Olivia | Evelyn | Emma |
| Kentucky | Amelia | Charlotte | Emma | Olivia | Evelyn |
| Louisiana | Amelia | Olivia | Charlotte | Ava | Harper |
| Maine | Charlotte | Evelyn | Olivia | Eleanor | Harper |
| Maryland | Olivia | Emma | Charlotte | Sophia | Mia |
| Massachusetts | Charlotte | Olivia | Emma | Sophia | Isabella |
| Michigan | Charlotte | Amelia | Olivia | Sophia | Emma |
| Minnesota | Charlotte | Olivia | Evelyn | Emma | Amelia |
| Mississippi | Ava | Amelia | Olivia | Charlotte | Harper |
| Missouri | Charlotte | Olivia | Amelia | Eleanor | Harper |
| Montana | Charlotte | Emma | Hazel | Olivia | Amelia |
| Nebraska | Charlotte | Olivia | Sophia | Amelia | Evelyn |
| Nevada | Olivia | Isabella | Mia | Sophia | Charlotte |
| New Hampshire | Charlotte | Olivia | Evelyn | Amelia | Emma |
| New Jersey | Olivia | Emma | Mia | Sophia | Isabella |
| New Mexico | Olivia | Amelia | Mia | Isabella | Emma |
| New York | Emma | Olivia | Sophia | Mia | Amelia |
| North Carolina | Olivia | Amelia | Charlotte | Emma | Sophia |
| North Dakota | Evelyn | Charlotte | Amelia | Harper | Olivia |
| Ohio | Charlotte | Amelia | Olivia | Sophia | Evelyn |
| Oklahoma | Olivia | Amelia | Emma | Sophia | Charlotte |
| Oregon | Olivia | Amelia | Evelyn | Charlotte | Emma |
| Pennsylvania | Charlotte | Olivia | Emma | Sophia | Amelia |
| Rhode Island | Charlotte | Sophia | Olivia | Amelia | Emma |
| South Carolina | Olivia | Charlotte | Amelia | Emma | Ava |
| South Dakota | Ava | Charlotte | Nora | Amelia | Evelyn |
| Tennessee | Charlotte | Olivia | Amelia | Emma | Ava |
| Texas | Emma | Olivia | Camila | Mia | Isabella |
| Utah | Charlotte | Olivia | Emma | Evelyn | Lucy |
| Vermont | Amelia | Eleanor | Charlotte | Evelyn | Sophia |
| Virginia | Charlotte | Olivia | Emma | Sophia | Amelia |
| Washington | Olivia | Amelia | Emma | Sophia | Evelyn |
| West Virginia | Amelia | Charlotte | Harper | Olivia | Willow |
| Wisconsin | Charlotte | Olivia | Evelyn | Amelia | Emma |
| Wyoming | Evelyn | Amelia | Olivia | Harper | Charlotte |
More: explore the interactive US name map!
4 Comments
I am not surprised to see Lucy in Urah’s top 5…Lucy Mack Smith, the mother of Mormonism’s founder Joseph Smith, is a venerated woman for us, and Mormons also tend to be aficionados of C.S. Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia. (Of course, Lucy is also a lovely raindrop name that seems to be on the rise everywhere…)
I was noticing that Ava is mostly in the top 5 in the South, and it made me start to wonder: have we ever talked about the effect (if any) of regional accents on naming? Are there names that sound better or worse in a Southern accent? Probably not much, but it’s an interesting thought.
Though I thought I’d be seeing names unique in every US State like last year (where I saw names like Amaia and Bryan), I still felt like wanting to make an analysis of local styles in my home state that are unique from the previous iteration (names like Ashley, Thiago, Dylan and Valentina are cut here) I made. Most of the names below are nearly very popular according to the ultimate us map:
Florida Boys: Matthew, Aaron, Milan, Ian, Ethan, Nicolas, Diego
Florida Girls: Antonella, Lucia, Bella, Allison, Alaia, Ariana, Valeria
I don’t understand, so Levi is a lie then? Below the map, none of the states have Levi in the top 2, so why is it on the map?