These were Kentucky’s 25 most popular baby names last year. See which ones made the cut

Meredith Howard

Which baby names are the most popular in Kentucky? The 25 most frequently chosen names comprised more than 3,300 births in the commonwealth in 2021, and the most popular name was used 229 times.

Kentucky parents chose the top five most popular names more than 1,000 times combined. While Amelia topped the list of female names in the commonwealth in 2020, it dropped to third place in 2021. The top male name in 2020 kept its title in 2021.

Caroline, Avery, Layla, Mason, Samuel and Jack all made the top 25 list in Kentucky in 2021. The most popular male name in the state was also the most used nationally, but Kentucky parents picked a different top name for female babies from the U.S. favorite.

Here’s a list of the most popular baby names in Kentucky and the U.S., plus information about which names have increased or decreased in popularity recently.

Most popular baby names in Kentucky

Here are the top 25 most popular baby names in Kentucky in 2021, from the U.S. Social Security Administration:

Female names:

  1. Emma (229 births)

  2. Olivia (226)

  3. Amelia (220)

  4. Ava (202)

  5. Charlotte (174)

  6. Harper (160)

  7. Sophia (155)

  8. Willow (146)

  9. Evelyn (138)

  10. Ellie (129)

  11. Elizabeth (122)

  12. Paisley (118)

  13. Nova (117)

  14. Ella (112)

  15. Eleanor (111)

  16. Nora (111)

  17. Isabella (107)

  18. Addison (104)

  19. Mia (104)

  20. Scarlett (101)

  21. Everleigh (100)

  22. Luna (98)

  23. Layla (96)

  24. Avery (95)

  25. Caroline (94)

Male names:

  1. Liam (267 births)

  2. James (233)

  3. Elijah (231)

  4. William (225)

  5. Noah (220)

  6. Oliver (210)

  7. Waylon (182)

  8. Hudson (179)

  9. Grayson (178)

  10. Levi (178)

  11. Asher (175)

  12. Lincoln (172)

  13. Wyatt (167)

  14. Jackson (162)

  15. Henry (155)

  16. Lucas (147)

  17. John (144)

  18. Carter (142)

  19. Colton (142)

  20. Maverick (140)

  21. Easton (137)

  22. Owen (137)

  23. Jack (133)

  24. Samuel (132)

  25. Mason (128)

National naming trends

Here are the top 10 baby names in the U.S. in 2021:

Female names:

  1. Olivia

  2. Emma

  3. Charlotte

  4. Amelia

  5. Ava

  6. Sophia

  7. Isabella

  8. Mia

  9. Evelyn

  10. Harper

Male names:

  1. Liam

  2. Noah

  3. Oliver

  4. Elijah

  5. James

  6. William

  7. Benjamin

  8. Lucas

  9. Henry

  10. Theodore

While some names, like Olivia, Theodore and Noah make top naming lists relatively consistently, others are less predictable. Raya, Wrenley, Angelique, Amiri, Eliam and Colter all saw increased popularity from 2020 to 2021, while Denisse, Denise, Karen, Jaxtyn, Karsyn and Xzavier became less popular.

You can search the Social Security Administration’s website for the top 100 baby names in each state from 1960 to 2021. Information about data limitations is also available online.

Do you have a question about Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email ask@herald-leader.com.

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