Top City Baby Names
What are the top city baby names in the US? How are the names favored by city parents different from those most popular in the rest of the country? And how are the top baby names in cities as diverse as New York, Phoenix, and Minneapolis different from each other?
We looked at which names have been searched the most in a dozen American cities, and discovered popular names as distinctive as the cities themselves.
Among the Top 10 names in all 12 cities, there are a total of 25 girl names, seven of which are unique to one city. Iris makes the Top 10 only in San Francisco, for instance, while Lucy ranks only in Boston.
For boys, there are 26 names in total that rank among the Top 10, including 11 unique selections. Remy is in the Top 10 only in Minneapolis, while Graham ranks only in Chicago.
Interestingly, Olivia and Liam – the current Number 1 names in the US according to official statistics – are completely absent from these cities’ most-searched lists.
Top City Girl Names
The top city girl names include 16 names that rank among the Top 10 in at least three cities.
The most popular city girl names of all are Eloise, Isla, and Maeve, which hold a place on all twelve Top 10 lists. The Irish goddess name Maeve ranks at Number 1 in New York City, Chicago, LA, Atlanta, Seattle, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, and DC and at Number 2 in Dallas, Phoenix, and San Francisco — making it the most beloved choice across the nation.
Glamorous vintage Aurelia is the next most popular, with spots on ten Top 10 city girl names lists. Alice, Aurora, Cora, Luxury, and Violet all feature on six or more Top 10 lists.
The popular girl names ranking on three or more lists are:
1Maeve 2Eloise 3Isla 4Aurelia 5Alice 6Aurora 7Ophelia 8Cora 9Luxury 10Violet 11Evangeline 12Luna 13Charlotte 14Clara 15Daphne 16Eleanor
Top City Boy Names
Five boy names feature on all twelve city name lists: Atticus, Felix, Silas, Soren, and Theodore. Soren takes the top spot in six cities, including Chicago, LA, and San Francisco. Silas is the top name in Atlanta, Dallas, and DC, while NYC and Boston have Theodore in first place. Phoenix is the only city to have Atticus as their top boy name.
Oliver is the next most common name, appearing on 11 cities’ Top 10 lists, while Arlo features on nine.
The 12 popular boy names that show up on three or more city lists are:
New York City Baby Names
New York City baby names feature several cool Gaelic choices near the top of the popularity list. Maeve and Isla are the top two names for girls in New York, while Arlo ranks among the most popular names for New York boys.
The most unique name on New York's Top 10 is celebrity baby name Aire, which it shares only with Los Angeles. New Yorkers also like the name Eloise, the little girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel.
Top NYC Girl Names
Top NYC Boy Names
Chicago Baby Names
Chicago baby names for girls have a tailored flair, with smart choices like Maeve, Alice, and Cora ranking in the Top 10. The floral Violet ranks higher in Chicago than any other city.
Chicago boy names feature friendly traditionals like Arlo, August, and Hugo. Stylish Scottish name Graham is the only name unique to the Windy City.
Top Chicago Girl Names
Top Chicago Boy Names
Los Angeles Baby Names
Los Angeles baby names feature Maeve as the Number 1 name for girls and Scandinavian import Soren in the top spot for boys. Word name Luxury and literary Atticus take second place.
Luna and Sebastian rank highest in LA, where there is a large Spanish-speaking population. At Number 8, Cassius is also ranked higher in LA than any other city.
Top LA Girl Names
Top LA Boy Names
Atlanta Baby Names
The top Atlanta baby names are Maeve for girls and Silas for boys. Atlanta namers love girl names that end in -ia: Idalia, Aurelia, and Ophelia all make the Top 10.
Atlanta is the only city to favor the sunny Greek name Idalia, which ranks at Number 2 on their charts. On the boys’ side, Caspian is especially popular in the Big Peach.
Top Atlanta Girl Names
Top Atlanta Boy Names
Dallas Baby Names
Dallas baby names are led by interest-piquing Luxury for girls, and biblical Silas takes the top spot for boys. Dallas is the only city to feature Luxury in the top spot.
Charlotte and Evangeline are particularly popular in Dallas for girls, along with August and Ezra for boys, the latter of which is unique to DTX.
Top Dallas Girl Names
Top Dallas Boy Names
Seattle Baby Names
Seattle baby names are topped by Maeve on the girls’ side, and Soren is the favorite for boys.
Seattle's most-viewed names have a fashionable, vintage feel. Girl names unique to the Emerald City’s Top 10 are old-fashioned favorites Millie and Beatrice. For boys, Arthur and Caspian rank especially highly here.
Top Seattle Girl Names
Top Seattle Boy Names
Phoenix Baby Names
Phoenix baby names are headed up by two A+ favorites: Aurelia at Number 1 for girls, and Atticus in the top spot for boys.
Evangeline and Luna are particularly popular girl names in Phoenix. On the boys' side, Phoenix favors names that end in -us, like Atticus, Cyrus, and Cassius. Phoenix is the only city with Cyrus in the Top 10.
Top Phoenix Girl Names
Top Phoenix Boy Names
Top Boston Baby Names
Boston baby names are topped by the Gaelic Maeve for girls, followed by Isla. Unsurprisingly — since Boston has a reputation as one of the most conservative American cities — buttoned-up Theodore is the most-searched name for boys.
Boston namers particularly like tailored, versatile names such as Lucy, Charlotte and Cora for girls, Felix, Oliver, Silas, and Milo for boys. Clara ranks higher in Boston than any other city, and Lucy and Oscar are entirely unique to Boston's Top 10.
Top Boston Girl Names
Top Boston Boy Names
Denver Baby Names
Denver baby names are led by the sleek Maeve and Soren in the Number 1 spots.
Genevieve uniquely features on Denver's Top 10 list, and Ophelia ranks higher here than in any other city. For boys, Caspian and Milo are especially popular among Denver Berries.
Top Denver Girl Names
Top Denver Boy Names
San Francisco Baby Names
San Francisco baby names are the most individualistic of the bunch. The top names for boys are led by Soren, but SF is one of only two cities — the other being Phoenix — to feature Aurelia as the top name for girls.
Aside from Aurelia, Daphne ranks higher in the Golden City than any other. Brianna and Iris are unique to San Francisco's Top 10. For boys, Felix, Hugo, Kai are top ranked in San Fran, and Eliseo and Miles are unique to the city.
Top SF Girl Names
Top SF Boy Names
Top Minneapolis Baby Names
Minneapolis baby names are topped by Maeve and Eloise for girls and Soren and Silas for boys. Minneapolis reps the upper Midwest's strong Scandinavian ties with Scandi favorites like Freya, Soren, and Otto in their Top 10.
In addition to Freya, girl names Aurora and Violet rank highest in Minneapolis. At Number 4, Arlo is more popular in the Mini Apple than any other city. Boy names Otto and Remy are unique to Minneapolis.
Top Minneapolis Girl Names
Top Minneapolis Boy Names
Washington, DC Baby Names
Washington, DC baby names are led by Maeve for girls, followed by stylish traditionals Alice, Eleanor, and Josephine, which rank higher in DC than any other city.
DC boy names are headed up by the old-school cool trio of Silas, Felix and Theodore. Felix and Caspian are especially favored by DC Berries, and tailored, biblical boy names Jude and Ethan are unique to the city.