There was a time when we thought—rightly or wrongly– of regional names in terms of stereotypes—prim and proper appellations in New England, sweetly feminissima Southern belles, Tex-Mex cowboys out west. Now, though, it sometimes seems that baby names have become more and more homogeneous across the United States, but if we really peruse the popularity figures for states’ local baby names we do find some regional differences and state eccentricities.

　　First, a look at which names were in first place and where they ruled:

　　girls

　　Ava—Louisiana, South Dakota

　　Emma—Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, Wyoming

　　Isabella—Florida, West Virginia

　　Madison—Mississippi, South Carolina

　　Olivia—Alaska, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Utah

　　Sophia—Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas,  Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Sophia, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin

　　boys

　　Alexander—Connecticut, Illinois

　　Anthony—Nevada

　　Carter—Iowa

　　Jacob—Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas

　　Jayden—Florida

　　Liam—Colorado, Vermont

　　Mason—Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin

　　Michael—Delaware, New Jersey, New York (among the most conservative states)

　　Noah—Hawaii

　　William—Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Wyoming

　　The girls, as we can see, are perfectly consistent across the land, with no state having a Number 1 name outside the country’s Top 10.  But with the boys, it gets a little more interesting.  William virtually swept the South for most popular boys’ name; there were 22 states with national Number 2 Mason in first place and only four with top name Jacob—explained by the fact that they happen to be four extremely populous states.  Perhaps most interesting is the fact that national Number 41 Carter is Number 1 in Iowa as well as second in North and South Dakota.  Any local Berries have any explanation? And why is Anthony so hot in Nevada?

　　Some other regional anomalies in various states’ Top 5, with their national ranks in parenthesis:

　　Addison (13) ranked in the Top 5 in five states

　　Lily (15)—Number 4 in Utah

　　Benjamin (19)—Top 5 in seven states

　　Brayden (37)—Number 5 in Kentucky

　　Christopher (21)—Number 5 in Mississippi

　　David (18)—Number 5 in Texas

　　Elijah (13)—Number 4 in Colorado and North Carolina

　　Jackson (23)—Top 5 in four states

　　James (17)—Number 5 in Tennessee

　　Jose  (65)—Number 4 in Texas, where Juan also rates high; Jose was for several years top name in Texas

　　Landon (34)—Top 5 in Louisiana and West Virginia

　　Logan (2)—Top 5 in six states

　　Owen (44)—3 in Iowa, 5 in Wisconsin

　　Parker (79)—Number 4 in Wyoming

　　Ryan (25)—Top 5 in three eastern states

　　Wyatt (48)—Number 5 in Maine

　　And then there are those names that pop up in the Top 20 in one place and nowhere else, such as:

　　Adrian—California

　　Aurora—Alaska

　　Blake—Montana

　　Chase—Pennsylvania

　　Colton—West Virginia

　　Cooper—Nebraska

　　Ellie—Idaho

　　Kai—Hawaii

　　London—Georgia

　　Malia—Hawaii

　　Micah—Hawaii

　　Ryker—Utah

　　Santiago—New Mexico

　　Sawyer—Vermont

　　Were you surprised by the stats for your area? What names seem to be most popular where you live?