Most Regional Names
Most names are used at about the same rate everywhere. A few are not — they belong to one part of the country. These are the names whose share of babies varies most from state to state over the last decade, so state population is already accounted for: a name here is genuinely tied to a place, not just common where lots of people live.
Names used far more in some states than others — Hawaiian names that barely leave Hawai‘i, Spanish names rooted in the Southwest, and pioneer names that stayed in the Mountain West.
| Save name | Name & meaning | History 1926–2025, yearly counts; individually scaled | Babies 2025 · rank | 5-year rank movement | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Counsel and wolf, from Radulf | 440#634 | Down 77 rank positions in five years | 2000 | ||
Counsel and protection | 288#852 | Down 93 rank positions in five years | 1991 | ||
Army man or soldier | 538#556 | Down 54 rank positions in five years | 1997 | ||
Noble and bright | 301#819 | Down 138 rank positions in five years | 1991 | ||
Wealth or fortune | 422#652 | Down 4 rank positions in five years | 1920 | ||
Meaning uncertain | 446#627 | Down 44 rank positions in five years | 2005 | ||
Elf counsel | 301#820 | Down 72 rank positions in five years | 1993 | ||
Night | 1,193#259 | Down 54 rank positions in five years | 2010 | ||
Spear and strength | 401#678 | Down 123 rank positions in five years | 2000 | ||
Koli’s settlement | 455#615 | Up 3 rank positions in five years | 2001 | ||
Home ruler in the Henrietta family; also a familiar ending | 281#930 | Down 6 rank positions in five years | 1920 | ||
Dark, in the Irish-derived form; Russian origin uncertain | 801#385 | Steady | 2005 | ||
Gold; golden | 469#621 | Up 404 rank positions in five years | 1915 | ||
Victory | 167#1,337 | Down 491 rank positions in five years | 1994 | ||
Short form of María Soledad; also associated with sea and sun | 423#667 | Up 311 rank positions in five years | 1996 | ||
Lou with the ending -ella | 349#780 | Up 194 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Will and protection | 264#902 | Down 70 rank positions in five years | 1998 | ||
Man | 625#482 | Down 9 rank positions in five years | 2005 | ||
Pearl | 291#908 | Down 168 rank positions in five years | 1967 | ||
Famous ruler | 614#492 | Up 85 rank positions in five years | 2007 | ||
Hearing or listening | 254#998 | Down 138 rank positions in five years | 1988 | ||
Divine in the Hawaiian tradition; other origins | 366#743 | Up 156 rank positions in five years | 1996 | ||
Son of Jeffrey | 298#831 | Down 125 rank positions in five years | 2009 | ||
North African; Moorish | 413#664 | Down 32 rank positions in five years | 2008 | ||
Praised; commendable | 1,473#239 | Up 71 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Conquering | 498#589 | Up 177 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Famous in battle | 407#697 | Up 28 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Form of Aaron; deeper meaning uncertain | 377#711 | Up 13 rank positions in five years | 2008 | ||
Short form of Katarina or Katariina; meaning uncertain | 1,618#193 | Up 107 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Altar of heaven | 364#746 | Up 249 rank positions in five years | 2002 | ||
Variant of Kylie | 190#1,202 | Down 369 rank positions in five years | 2011 | ||
Uncertain; associated with the ceibo legend | 623#482 | Up 147 rank positions in five years | 2006 | ||
Praised, through Muhammad | 568#527 | Up 29 rank positions in five years | 2014 | ||
Saints | 337#766 | Up 152 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
A form of Leah; deeper meaning uncertain | 1,033#297 | Down 1 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
Old friend | 479#598 | Up 74 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Helper | 617#487 | Down 127 rank positions in five years | 2019 | ||
From the Lucius family, associated with light | 1,118#305 | Up 108 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Meaning uncertain; probably from Visigothic name elements | 328#777 | Up 76 rank positions in five years | 2000 | ||
Star | 477#612 | Up 127 rank positions in five years | 2005 | ||
Head + ugly, through Kennedy | 398#709 | Down 185 rank positions in five years | 2015 | ||
Alternate transcription of Dimi | 804#381 | Down 42 rank positions in five years | 2020 | ||
Reborn | 635#481 | Up 27 rank positions in five years | 1980 | ||
Lily | 315#859 | Up 295 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind, through joli | 243#1,030 | Down 314 rank positions in five years | 2008 | ||
Variant of Braylon | 366#725 | Down 224 rank positions in five years | 2011 | ||
Moon | 436#658 | Up 98 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Sea + sky | 1,215#253 | Up 29 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
Form of Guiomar | 665#463 | Up 146 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
Noble + ready, through Alfonso | 324#785 | Down 1 rank positions in five years | 2010 | ||
Form of Valentinus | 418#660 | Up 111 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Form of Juliet | 1,086#285 | Up 331 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Leader | 390#695 | Down 62 rank positions in five years | 2018 | ||
Possibly royal + fortress | 278#936 | Down 251 rank positions in five years | 2016 | ||
Strength + my, through חזקיהו | 621#485 | Up 93 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Entertaining, through سَمِير | 434#643 | Up 6 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
Malaysia country name | 269#958 | Down 334 rank positions in five years | 2014 | ||
Possibly aid, assistance + wolf, through Botwulf | 451#620 | Down 26 rank positions in five years | 2014 | ||
Modern coinage; no established literal translation | 507#579 | Down 54 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
Keeper of horses | 2,354#157 | Up 815 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Form of Vincent | 403#674 | Up 62 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Diminutive of Antonia | 1,087#284 | Up 274 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition | 206#1,133 | Down 77 rank positions in five years | 2004 | ||
At dawn, through zòra | 264#969 | Down 94 rank positions in five years | 2019 | ||
Literal meaning not recorded | 445#631 | Down 29 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
King | 262#908 | Down 28 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Gracious or dear in Slavic; meeting or union in Sanskrit-derived use | 362#753 | Down 118 rank positions in five years | 2013 | ||
Literal meaning not recorded | 360#754 | Up 141 rank positions in five years | 2016 | ||
Bridge | 921#356 | Up 84 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
The cool breeze | 427#649 | Down 134 rank positions in five years | 2020 | ||
Literal meaning not recorded | 255#994 | Down 7 rank positions in five years | 2002 | ||
Son of Brandr | 165#1,222 | Down 347 rank positions in five years | 2014 | ||
Form of Andreas | 232#984 | Down 157 rank positions in five years | 2014 | ||
English word name: ridge | 566#530 | Up 99 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
Short form of Calvin | 554#543 | Up 394 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Warrior, courage; koa tree | 1,281#269 | Up 313 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Son of Nick | 206#1,061 | Down 410 rank positions in five years | 2017 | ||
Variant of Romana | 569#531 | Up 137 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
English surname transferred into given-name use | 383#701 | Up 230 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Yahweh has helped | 645#472 | Up 206 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Modern coinage; no established literal translation | 239#1,041 | Down 215 rank positions in five years | 2019 | ||
Cross + settlement | 162#1,235 | Down 433 rank positions in five years | 2015 | ||
Literal meaning not recorded | 203#1,142 | Down 192 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
Form of Landric | 279#935 | Down 52 rank positions in five years | 2018 | ||
Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed | 301#888 | Down 66 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Glorious heaven | 383#727 | Up 31 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
Possibly golden | 208#1,126 | Down 627 rank positions in five years | 2020 | ||
Bear | 298#829 | Down 52 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Literal meaning not recorded | 159#1,252 | Down 456 rank positions in five years | 2017 | ||
Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed | 333#769 | Up 54 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
Alternate transcription of Kenzō | 445#630 | Down 82 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
Possibly Yahweh is gracious, through يَحْيَى | 455#616 | Up 390 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Diminutive of India | 459#634 | Up 107 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
English word name: ocean | 375#720 | Up 75 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Form of Áile | 329#827 | Up 73 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Variant of Crew | 476#601 | Up 106 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
English word name: reign | 333#772 | Down 132 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed | 432#645 | Up 485 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Improvement | 895#364 | Up 1,220 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
| 293#904 | Down 6 rank positions in five years | 2021 |
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Used evenly nationwide
The opposite end: names whose share of babies is almost identical in every state. If you want a name that reads the same across the whole country, these are the flattest maps in the data.
How concentration is measured
For each name we take its share of babies in every state over 10 years (2016–2025) — the number of babies given the name per 100,000 in that state, not the raw count, so a big state like California doesn’t top every list simply for being big. A name used at the same rate everywhere has shares that barely differ; a regional name has shares that swing wildly. We rank by how much those shares vary (their coefficient of variation).
A name is ranked only when it appears in at least 25 states. That gate matters: birth hides any name used fewer than five times in a state in a given year, so a truly rare name shows up in only a few states — and without the gate it would look “regional” when really it’s just uncommon everywhere. Some famously local names are therefore absent here: they don’t clear five uses a year in enough states to measure. Absence means uncommon, never invalid.
The measure is a spread of shares within a single decade, so — unlike most statistics on this site — it needs no adjustment for the fact that far more babies were born mid-century than at the record’s edges.