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.
Boys’ names concentrated in a handful of states rather than spread evenly across the country.
| Save name | Name & meaning | History 1926–2025, yearly counts; individually scaled | Babies 2025 · rank | 5-year rank movement | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yahweh is salvation, through Yeshua | 2,078#173 | Down 4 rank positions in five years | 2004 | ||
Behold, a son, through Reuben | 632#480 | Down 14 rank positions in five years | 1992 | ||
Bright fame, through Robert | 519#570 | Down 133 rank positions in five years | 1991 | ||
Manly, in the Andrew family | 1,744#200 | Up 19 rank positions in five years | 2007 | ||
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 | ||
Heel-holder or supplanter; possibly may God protect, via James and Jacob | 420#657 | Down 96 rank positions in five years | 1980 | ||
Noble and bright | 301#819 | Down 138 rank positions in five years | 1991 | ||
Home ruler | 517#571 | Down 68 rank positions in five years | 2000 | ||
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 | ||
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 | ||
Saviour | 341#756 | Down 55 rank positions in five years | 1992 | ||
Fame and land; second element disputed | 275#873 | Down 101 rank positions in five years | 1987 | ||
Possibly rival | 3,701#94 | Up 81 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Yahweh will establish; Yahweh raises up | 925#355 | Down 48 rank positions in five years | 2008 | ||
Crown; wreath | 673#461 | Up 10 rank positions in five years | 2005 | ||
Will and protection | 264#902 | Down 70 rank positions in five years | 1998 | ||
Possibly crow or rook | 679#459 | Up 33 rank positions in five years | 2009 | ||
Man | 625#482 | Down 9 rank positions in five years | 2005 | ||
Famous ruler | 614#492 | Up 85 rank positions in five years | 2007 | ||
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 | ||
Greatest | 1,209#280 | Down 15 rank positions in five years | 2019 | ||
Praised; commendable | 1,473#239 | Up 71 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Conquering | 498#589 | Up 177 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Variant of Carson; surname meaning uncertain | 690#453 | Down 187 rank positions in five years | 2018 | ||
Form of Aaron; deeper meaning uncertain | 377#711 | Up 13 rank positions in five years | 2008 | ||
Praised, through Muhammad | 568#527 | Up 29 rank positions in five years | 2014 | ||
Saints | 337#766 | Up 152 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Variant of Braylen | 289#848 | Down 311 rank positions in five years | 2009 | ||
Old friend | 479#598 | Up 74 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Hugh’s town | 402#675 | Up 56 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Helper | 617#487 | Down 127 rank positions in five years | 2019 | ||
Old, or sometimes noble, depending on the longer name | 241#960 | Down 177 rank positions in five years | 2007 | ||
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 | ||
Most praiseworthy | 382#703 | Down 69 rank positions in five years | 2015 | ||
Possibly site in the Parish of South Brent | 2,662#136 | Up 351 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Jordan (river), through Jordan | 252#934 | Down 61 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
Diminutive of Santo | 934#353 | Up 92 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Variant of Braylon | 366#725 | Down 224 rank positions in five years | 2011 | ||
Descendant of Fionnagán | 569#526 | Down 117 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Doer of good | 447#626 | Up 191 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Noble + ready, through Alfonso | 324#785 | Down 1 rank positions in five years | 2010 | ||
Form of Elisha | 547#550 | Up 238 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Form of Darius | 339#760 | Up 59 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Form of Valentinus | 418#660 | Up 111 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Leader | 390#695 | Down 62 rank positions in five years | 2018 | ||
Form of Yosef | 698#450 | Up 123 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
House | 291#846 | Down 179 rank positions in five years | 2014 | ||
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 | ||
Serious, grave, through Søren | 665#464 | Up 45 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
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 | ||
Lion | 556#541 | Up 119 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Variant of Mishael | 359#734 | Up 82 rank positions in five years | 2006 | ||
Literal meaning not recorded | 422#653 | Down 241 rank positions in five years | 2017 | ||
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 | ||
Servant + God | 337#763 | Up 49 rank positions in five years | 2014 | ||
Bridge | 921#356 | Up 84 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Form of Darrell | 1,043#327 | Up 283 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
The cool breeze | 427#649 | Down 134 rank positions in five years | 2020 | ||
Son of Brandr | 165#1,222 | Down 347 rank positions in five years | 2014 | ||
Immortal; glorious; eternal | 250#940 | Down 42 rank positions in five years | 2019 | ||
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 | ||
Form of Yusuf | 349#745 | Up 120 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
English surname transferred into given-name use | 383#701 | Up 230 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Gold | 238#965 | Down 104 rank positions in five years | 2013 | ||
Commander, prince, through Amir | 233#980 | Down 147 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Fisherman | 319#791 | Up 117 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Yahweh has helped | 645#472 | Up 206 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Set of beliefs | 413#663 | Up 128 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Cross + settlement | 162#1,235 | Down 433 rank positions in five years | 2015 | ||
Form of Thaddeus | 753#427 | Up 277 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
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 | ||
Woodland clearing, glade | 357#736 | Down 198 rank positions in five years | 2020 | ||
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 | ||
The stone of Brixi (a Saxon lord) | 349#744 | Down 128 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed | 217#1,026 | Down 247 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
English word name: ocean | 375#720 | Up 75 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
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 | ||
Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed | 329#776 | Up 173 rank positions in five years | 2024 |
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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.