Most popular baby names in North America revealed: study
One of the biggest decisions for a parent is to decide what to name their newborn baby.
And with over 10,000 babies being born per day in America, online betting company Betway decided to assist parents by analyzing data across all 50 U.S. states and key Canadian cities to establish the top boy and girl names in North America.
The data was collected using BabyCenter’s top baby names of 2024 and further analyzing and ranking each name utilizing Google Trends analytics.
Top boy, girl names 2024 in US
The result revealed that Jack was the most popular baby name with an average Google Trends score of 76, claiming the top spot for choice in 14 different U.S. states.
Elijah followed closely behind in second place, boasting an average Google Trends score of 74 and being the top choice in 11 U.S. states.
Mateo finished at the bottom of the rankings, with an average Google Trends score of just 9. The name was the popular choice in only California and New Mexico.
The results showed that, for female names, Scarlett was the runaway winner, boasting an overall score of 85 and the top choice in 33 states.
File: Baby holds mom's hand (Credit: Getty)
In fourth and fifth place, it was a battle of name spelling preferences, ‘Sofia’ vs ‘Sophia.’ Despite the name pronunciation remaining the same, Sofia was the preferred spelling, with an average Google Trends score of 63, claiming the number one spot in four states.
Charlotte finished in last place with an average Google Trends score of 6, selected only by North Carolina as their favorite. The findings suggest that residents of North Carolina are loyal to their state, with Charlotte being their largest city and favorite baby name.
Top trending baby names in 2024
Laura Wattenberg, the creator of Namerology, recently announced several baby names that will be trending in 2024.
By tracking pop-culture names and what’s rising in the official statistics, Wattenberg gathered 20 names that will be trending in 2024.
"Names don't exist in a vacuum," Wattenberg told FOX Television Stations, adding, "Even a celebrity name will only take off if it's a style that parents are already looking for."
She revealed that parents are looking for names with an "unconventional sound or rhythm" such as names ending in -a like Koa, Luca and Ira, and girls' names ending in -o like Halo, Juno and Indigo
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Wattenberg said she’s also expecting a rise in modern nature names including Wren, Juniper, Aurora and Dove for girls.
Cute old-fashioned names like Millie, Josie, Winnie and Nellie will continue to make a comeback as well, according to the naming expert.
For boys, Wattenberg said that neo-cowboy and surname-styled names will continue to be popular.
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Names from the popular television series "Yellowstone" including Dutton and Tate fit the trends for both neo-cowboy and swift surnames.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.