Baby Name Popularity: How local is it?

We look at the national name statistics and somehow start to  assume that Isabella and Jacob are the top names all across the country.  But then we look at the state stats and see that there very much still are local preferences. 

For example, Carter, which is Number 50 nationally, is in second place in Nebraska and third in Iowa; Wyatt (60) is Number One in Wyoming (Wyoming/Wyatt?), Owen (50) is third in Vermont and fourth in Maine, and for girls, Brooklyn (37) has relocated to Utah, where she’s Number Three.

So our Question of the Week is a two-parter:

Are there any names near the top of the Social Security list that you never hear in your neighborhood/city/state/country? (Please identify where that might be.)

Are there names that seem absolutely epidemic where you live, but are not as popular elsewhere?

Any explanations?

About the Author

Linda Rosenkrantz

Linda Rosenkrantz

Linda Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with Pamela Redmond of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. You can follow her personally at InstagramTwitter and Facebook. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed New York Review Books Classics novel Talk and a number of other books.

The Nameberry App Is Live

Nameberry app screenshot
Find your perfect baby name together in our iPhone app, now available on the App Store.
  • Swipe through thousands of names with your partner
  • Names you match on are saved to your shared list
  • Get personalized recommendations that learn based on your and your partner's preferences
  • Partner with friends and family to find names you all love
  • Backed by Nameberry's 20 years of data around name preferences.
Download on the App Store
Nameberry app screenshot

The Nameberry App Is Live

Nameberry app screenshot
Find your perfect baby name together in our iPhone app, now available on the App Store.
  • Swipe through thousands of names with your partner
  • Names you match on are saved to your shared list
  • Get personalized recommendations that learn based on your and your partner's preferences
  • Partner with friends and family to find names you all love
  • Backed by Nameberry's 20 years of data around name preferences.
Download on the App Store
Nameberry app screenshot