The Most Popular Baby Name in Every State

most popular baby name in every state
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Earlier this week, the U.S. Social Security Administration shared its annual report on the most popular baby names in the United States from the prior year. The 2016 report came with all kinds of strange revelations, like how Star Wars: The Force Awakens prompted loads of parents to name their kids Kylo after the film's villain. 

Thursday, the Administration released data released even more data, revealing the most popular baby name in every state. 

Unsurprisingly, the names at the top of the national list -- Noah, Liam, and William for boys; Emma, Olivia, and Ava for girls -- are seen over and over on the state lists. Of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 34 states had Olivia and 32 had Emma in the top two names. On the boys' side, 25 had Liam and 22 had Noah in the top two. 

Not many states had a name in their top two most popular that did not also appear at the top of another state's list. For boys, there was Matthew in California (15th overall nationally), Michael in Delaware (8th overall), Jacob in New York (7th overall), and Wyatt in Wyoming (33rd overall). For girls, it was just Evelyn in Minnesota (12th overall).

Here's a full list of the top two boys and girls names in each U.S. state. Explore the complete lists here.

ALABAMA

Girls: Ava / Emma
Boys: William / James
 

ALASKA

Girls: Emma / Olivia
Boys: Liam / Oliver

ARIZONA

Girls: Emma / Sophia
Boys: Liam / Noah

ARKANSAS

Girls: Ava / Emma
Boys: Elijah / William 

CALIFORNIA

Girls: Mia / Emma
Boys: Noah / Matthew

COLORADO

Girls: Olivia / Emma
Boys: Liam / Noah

CONNECTICUT

Girls: Olivia / Charlotte
Boys: Noah / James

DELAWARE

Girls: Ava / Olivia
Boys: Liam / Michael

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Girls: Ava / Sofia
Boys: William / Alexander

FLORIDA

Girls: Isabella / Olivia
Boys: Liam / Noah

GEORGIA

Girls: Ava / Olivia
Boys: William / Noah

HAWAII

Girls: Olivia / Mia
Boys: Noah / Liam

IDAHO

Girls: Emma / Olivia
Boys: Oliver / Liam

ILLINOIS

Girls: Olivia / Emma
Boys: Noah / Liam

INDIANA

Girls: Emma / Olivia
Boys: Oliver / Liam

IOWA

Girls: Olivia / Emma
Boys: Oliver / Owen

KANSAS

Girls: Emma / Olivia
Boys: Benjamin / Henry

KENTUCKY

Girls: Emma / Ava
Boys: William / Elijah

LOUISIANA

Girls: Ava / Olivia
Boys: Liam / Noah

MAINE

Girls: Emma / Charlotte
Boys: Liam / Owen

MARYLAND

Girls: Ava / Olivia
Boys: Noah / Mason

MASSACHUSETTS

Girls: Olivia / Emma
Boys: Benjamin / William

MICHIGAN

Girls: Ava / Olivia
Boys: Noah / Mason

MINNESOTA

Girls: Evelyn / Olivia
Boys: Henry / Oliver

MISSISSIPPI

Girls: Ava / Olivia
Boys: William / James

MISSOURI

Girls: Olivia / Emma
Boys: William / Liam

MONTANA

Girls: Harper / Olivia
Boys: James / Liam

NEBRASKA

Girls: Emma / Harper
Boys: Liam / Henry

NEVADA

Girls: Mia / Sophia
Boys: Liam / Alexander

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Girls: Charlotte / Emma
Boys: Noah / William

NEW JERSEY

Girls: Mia / Olivia
Boys: Liam / Noah

NEW MEXICO

Girls: Mia / Sophia
Boys: Elijah / Noah

NEW YORK

Girls: Olivia / Emma
Boys: Liam / Jacob

NORTH CAROLINA

Girls: Ava / Emma
Boys: William / Noah

NORTH DAKOTA

Girls: Harper / Olivia
Boys: Oliver / William

OHIO

Girls: Emma / Ava
Boys: Liam / Noah

OKLAHOMA

Girls: Emma / Olivia
Boys: Liam / Elijah

OREGON

Girls: Olivia / Emma
Boys: Olivier / Henry

PENNSYLVANIA

Girls: Emma / Olivia
Boys: Noah / Liam

RHODE ISLAND

Girls: Olivia / Isabella
Boys: Liam / Noah

SOUTH CAROLINA

Girls: Ava / Emma
Boys: William / Noah

SOUTH DAKOTA

Girls: Emma / Harper
Boys: Oliver / Liam

TENNESSEE

Girls: Emma / Ava
Boys: William / James

TEXAS

Girls: Emma / Mia
Boys: Noah / Liam

UTAH

Girls: Olivia / Emma
Boys: Oliver / William

VERMONT

Girls: Harper / Charlotte
Boys: Owen / Oliver

VIRGINIA

Girls: Olivia / Emma
Boys: William / Noah

WASHINGTON

Girls: Emma / Olivia
Boys: Liam / Benjamin

WEST VIRGINIA

Girls: Harper / Olivia
Boys: Mason / Noah

WISCONSIN

Girls: Olivia / Emma
Boys: Oliver / Henry

WYOMING

Girls: Emma / Olivia
Boys: Wyatt / Liam
 

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Dustin Nelson is a News Writer with Thrillist. He holds a Guinness World Record but has never met the fingernail lady. Follow him @dlukenelson.