The Most Popular Baby Name in Every State
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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