Selecting a name for a child can be as simple as selecting a name the parents like. For other parents, the name may be the product of family tradition, an homage to one’s ethnicity, or an attempt at attaching a unique quality to the newborn.

The baby names trending higher on the East Coast reflect the diversity of the region — the ethnically varied blue states in the Northeast along with the more traditional red states located in the South.

Baby names Emma and Olivia top the list on the East Coast, as they do in the West, and names such as Liam, Noah, and Isabella populate the top ranks on both sides of the country. But the paths diverge farther down the list of the top-trending names on the East Coast.

To help explain these naming patterns, 24/7 Wall St. used data obtained from the Social Security Administration to compile a list of the top 25 names trending higher on the East Coast.

Click here to see the list of names trending on the East Coast.
Click here to read our detailed findings & methodology.

25. Aiden
> 2017 East Coast babies: 3,728 (0.77%)
> Most popular East Coast state: New Jersey
> 2017 nationwide babies: 11,259 (0.61%)
> Famous person named Aiden: Aidan Quinn

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24. Elijah
> 2017 East Coast babies: 3,783 (0.78%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Delaware
> 2017 nationwide babies: 13,268 (0.72%)
> Famous person named Elijah: Elijah Wood

23. Daniel
> 2017 East Coast babies: 3,800 (0.79%)
> Most popular East Coast state: New Jersey
> 2017 nationwide babies: 11,640 (0.63%)
> Famous person named Daniel: Daniel Day-Lewis

22. Alexander
> 2017 East Coast babies: 3,940 (0.82%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Delaware
> 2017 nationwide babies: 12,467 (0.68%)
> Famous person named Alexander: Alexander McQueen

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21. Abigail
> 2017 East Coast babies: 3,477 (0.82%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 10,551 (0.62%)
> Famous person named Abigail: Abigail Spencer

20. Ethan
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,148 (0.86%)
> Most popular East Coast state: New Jersey
> 2017 nationwide babies: 12,389 (0.68%)
> Famous person named Ethan: Ethan Hawke

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19. Amelia
> 2017 East Coast babies: 3,702 (0.87%)
> Most popular East Coast state: New Hampshire
> 2017 nationwide babies: 11,800 (0.69%)
> Famous person named Amelia: Amelia Earhart

18. Matthew
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,227 (0.87%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 11,611 (0.63%)
> Famous person named Matthew: Matthew McConaughey

17. Benjamin
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,370 (0.90%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Massachusetts
> 2017 nationwide babies: 13,733 (0.75%)
> Famous person named Benjamin: Benjamin Netanyahu

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16. Michael
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,485 (0.93%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 12,579 (0.69%)
> Famous person named Michael: Michael B. Jordan

15. Jacob
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,606 (0.95%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Connecticut
> 2017 nationwide babies: 13,106 (0.71%)
> Famous person named Jacob: Jacob deGrom

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14. Logan
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,606 (0.95%)
> Most popular East Coast state: New Hampshire
> 2017 nationwide babies: 13,974 (0.76%)
> Famous person named Logan: Logan Lerman

13. James
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,672 (0.97%)
> Most popular East Coast state: New Hampshire
> 2017 nationwide babies: 14,232 (0.78%)
> Famous person named James: James Harden

12. Mason
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,721 (0.98%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 13,502 (0.74%)
> Famous person named Mason: Mason Ramsey

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11. Mia
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,213 (0.99%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 13,437 (0.78%)
> Famous person named Mia: Mia Hamm

10. Lucas
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,790 (0.99%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 12,951 (0.71%)
> Famous person named Lucas: Lucas Grabeel

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9. William
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,820 (1.00%)
> Most popular East Coast state: South Carolina
> 2017 nationwide babies: 14,904 (0.81%)
> Famous person named William: William Jefferson Clinton

8. Charlotte
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,267 (1.00%)
> Most popular East Coast state: New Hampshire
> 2017 nationwide babies: 12,893 (0.75%)
> Famous person named Charlotte: Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana

7. Sophia
> 2017 East Coast babies: 4,624 (1.09%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 14,831 (0.87%)
> Famous person named Sophia: Sophia Loren

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6. Isabella
> 2017 East Coast babies: 5,042 (1.18%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 15,100 (0.88%)
> Famous person named Isabella: Isabella Rossellini

5. Noah
> 2017 East Coast babies: 6,172 (1.28%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 18,326 (1.00%)
> Famous person named Noah: Noah Wyle

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4. Ava
> 2017 East Coast babies: 5,468 (1.28%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Delaware
> 2017 nationwide babies: 15,902 (0.93%)
> Famous person named Ava: Ava DuVernay

3. Liam
> 2017 East Coast babies: 6,370 (1.32%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 18,728 (1.02%)
> Famous person named Liam: Liam Neeson

2. Olivia
> 2017 East Coast babies: 5,955 (1.40%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 18,632 (1.09%)
> Famous person named Olivia: Olivia Wilde

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1. Emma
> 2017 East Coast babies: 5,964 (1.40%)
> Most popular East Coast state: Rhode Island
> 2017 nationwide babies: 19,738 (1.15%)
> Famous person named Emma: Emma Watson

Detailed Findings & Methodology

Pamela Redmond Satran, co-creator and chief executive officer of Nameberry, an online source for baby names, lists, and name meanings, provided some insight into the baby names trending on the East Coast.

“The East Coast is much more diverse in terms of ethnicity and politics, which can both have a strong influence on name choice,” said Satran in an email. “With more traditional, ethnically distinct, and gender traditional names, the East Coast has a strong blue state influence in its more populous northern states. In the red states in the South, the names are traditional.”

Ranking high on the East Coast are names like Ava, William, and Charlotte, which are more popular in the South than in other parts of the country, Satran explained. Similarly, the influence of larger Jewish and Irish populations in the East explains the popularity of names such as Elijah and Abigail from the Old Testament, and the Irish name Aiden.

“Some names with theoretically ethnic ties, like the Hebrew Noah, the Irish Liam, and the Latinate Isabella, are so widely popular with so many kinds of parents not only on the coasts but throughout the country that they now largely transcend any ethnic identification,” said Satran.

To identify names trending on the East Coast, 24/7 Wall St reviewed data from the Social Security Administration. The states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida were considered for this list as they are true coastal states. Our list is ranked on the share of babies of each sex born in 2017 with a given name. We selected the 25 names with the highest shares of total boy and girl births.

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