Which baby names were the Tri-State's most popular in 2016?
The Social Security Administration announced Thursday that Emma topped the list in all three states and nationally. However, the top spot for boys was different in all three states: Liam in Ohio, William in Kentucky and Oliver in Indiana.
The list of the top five girls names in the three states is almost identical, though the rankings vary. Isabella is the exception -- it appears on Kentucky’s Top Five list instead of Charlotte.
The list of the Top Five boys names in the three states varies more, with Liam and Noah on all three. Mason only appears on Ohio’s list, James is unique to Kentucky’s Top Five, while Oliver and Benjamin are only on Indiana’s list.
The top boys names in Ohio were Liam, Noah, Carter, William and Mason. For girls, it was Emma, Ava, Olivia, Charlotte and Harper.
The top boys names in Kentucky were William, Elijah, James, Noah and Liam. For girls, it was Emma, Ava, Olivia, Harper and Isabella.
The top boys names in Indiana were Oliver, Liam, Elijah, Noah and Benjamin. For girls, it was Emma, Olivia, Ava, Charlotte and Harper.
Nancy A. Berryhill, acting commissioner of Social Security, announced last week that Noah and Emma were the most popular baby names in the U.S. The state rankings were released Thursday. Visit the website here to see all 50 states' rankings.
The agency began compiling the baby name list in 1997, with names dating back to 1880. At the time of a child’s birth, parents supply the name to the agency when applying for a child’s Social Security card, thus making Social Security America’s source for the most popular baby names.
This year’s winners for biggest jump in popularity in the Top 1,000 are Kehlani and Kylo.
Kehlani rose 2,487 spots on the girls’ side to number 872, from number 3,359 in 2015. Perhaps this can be attributed to Kehlani Parrish, a singer/songwriter who was nominated for a Grammy in 2016. She was named an artist to watch and clearly new parents agree her star is rising. Kehlani collaborated with Zayn Malik, the former One Direction star and current solo artist, on a song in 2016. The name Zayn also made the boys fastest riser list.
The force was strong for Kylo in 2016 as he soared 2,368 spots for the boys, from number 3,269 in 2015 to number 901. Kylo Ren, the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia and the grandson of Darth Vader, was a character in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Perhaps Kylo can continue to harness the force and climb even higher in the coming years.
The second fastest riser for girls was Royalty. The royal family likely had something to do with this increase in popularity, or the 2015 World Series champions, the Kansas City Royals, may have influenced parents-to-be.
For boys, it was Creed. This could be attributed to the return to the silver screen of America’s favorite boxer Rocky Balboa in the 2015 movie Creed, where Rocky trains and mentors Adonis Johnson Creed, the son of his late friend and boxing rival, Apollo Creed. The name Adonis just happens to be the number four fastest riser on the list for boys.
To read about the winners for the biggest jump in popularity and to see how pop culture affects baby names, go to the website here.
