Have you ever thought about why there aren’t very many kids in California named “Helga”, but there are tons of them in Germany?
Ever wondered how regional given names are across the country?
The Name Book:
Over 10,000 Names, Their Meanings, Origins, and Spiritual Significance
Well, now you can, at least for the 2012 LIST OF BABY NAMES, as Frank Jacobs has gone through the list of the most popular baby names and plotted their popularity by region across the US.
For girls’ names, the most popular names/region mashups were:
- West Coast, Illinois, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia: Sophia
- Idaho: Olivia
- Florida: Isabella
- Vermont: Ava
- Everywhere else: Emma
For boys’ names, things were a little more varied:
- Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine: Mason
- New Mexico: Noah
- Nevada: Alexander
- Texas, California, Arizona: Jacob
- Florida: Jayden
- Massachusetts: Benjamin
- Oklahoma: Elijah
- Southeastern US, Utah: William
- Hawaii: Ethan
- Alaska: James
- Everywhere Else: Liam
Go ahead and click the link above for more details and map info on geographic naming.