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What Are Your State’s Quirky Favorite Baby Names?
What Are Your State’s Quirky Favorite Baby Names?
Oct 6, 2024 10:40 PM

  States have official songs and sandwiches. So how about quirky favorite baby names?

  It turns out that certain boy and girl names, rare in the US, are over-represented in certain states. Our intrepid researcher looked at every name given to at least 100 babies in 2015. Then he calculated the percentage of babies with that name born in every state. When ranked, the results revealed the rare names most concentrated in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

  Some of these are easily explained. A hundred baby boys were named Brigham in 2015, 23 of them in Utah. Less than 1 percent of all Americans live in Utah, so that’s 23 times higher than you might expect. But, of course, Brigham Young was an early leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, headquartered in Utah, so it’s not a surprise.

  Yiddish names Shimon and Faigy are the quirky favorites in New York, where there’s the largest concentration of Hasidic Jews, while Spanish names Santana and Estevan are favored in New Mexico and Hawaiian names Kalea and Keanu are popular in, boom!, Hawaii.

  And it does make sense that nature names Wren and Wilder are the Quirky Favorites of rural Vermont, while nouveau names Oakleigh and Bridger are well-liked in Red State Montana, consistent with our analysis that found Red Staters prefer gender-neutral invented names while Blue State baby names are more likely to pick names that are ethnic and traditional.

  Other stands-outs are harder to explain. Why is Ophelia so prominent in Alaska? Or Brecken in Iowa? If you have the secret to why these names are the favorites in your state, please share with the class!

  Here are all the quirky favorites by state:

  AK

  Torin

  Ophelia

  AL

  Dewayne

  Lynlee

  AR

  Payton

  Kynslee

  AZ

  Hiram

  Arleth

  CA

  Arman

  Jaylene

  CO

  Amias

  Aspen

  CT

  Andreas

  Alessia

  DC

  Zyaire

  Egypt

  DE

  Makai

  Devyn

  FL

  Jahmir

  Martina

  GA

  Jarvis

  Ansley

  HI

  Keanu

  Kalea

  IA

  Brecken

  Kinzlee

  ID

  Krew

  Oakley

  IL

  Umar

  Jaylani

  IN

  Ross

  Lucinda

  KS

  Brogan

  Camdyn

  KY

  Leeland

  Kenleigh

  LA

  Tylan

  Jolie

  MA

  Javian

  Maeve

  MD

  Chaz

  Rhyan

  ME

  Eliot

  Quincy

  MI

  Hussein

  Yasmeen

  MN

  Abdirahman

  Sumaya

  MO

  Kelly

  Braylynn

  MS

  Jakobe

  Deasia

  MT

  Bridger

  Oakleigh

  NC

  Juelz

  Ivey

  ND

  Teagan

  Aspyn

  NE

  Coy

  Juana

  NH

  Davin

  Penny

  NJ

  Yaakov

  Nechama

  NM

  Estevan

  Santana

  NV

  Kenji

  Laylani

  NY

  Shimon

  Faigy

  OH

  Jaron

  Bexley

  OK

  Hagen

  Gentry

  OR

  Cedar

  Zinnia

  PA

  Yasir

  Maura

  RI

  Domenic

  Amalia

  SC

  Banks

  Hollis

  SD

  Sutton

  Haddie

  TN

  Courtney

  Briley

  TX

  Mauro

  Renata

  UT

  Brigham

  Oaklee

  VA

  Aubrey

  Iman

  VT

  Wilder

  Wren

  WA

  Ransom

  Roslyn

  WI

  Jordy

  Etta

  WV

  Bryer

  Cambrie

  WY

  Trace

  Taya

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