Yeah, I never did get around to doing this last year......oops. Last but not least are the New England names (CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT).
I've finally done the whole US now, though, so maybe it's time to start over. :p
[other lists:
Southern Names,
"Surfer" Names,
"Cowboy" Names,
Midwestern Names,
Puerto Rican Names]
Here are the most "New England" names (by % of babies given that name) in the New England states' Top 1000:
Boys:
- Lipa
- Hershy
- Yitzchok
- Yakov
- Shaya
- Mordechai
- Shimon
- Yisroel
- Yehuda
- Chaim
- Moshe
- Yaakov
- Shlomo
- Ahron
- Avrohom
- Tzvi
- Shmuel
- Nosson
- Efraim
- Simcha
Girls:
- Faigy
- Malky
- Yitty
- Shaindy
- Sury
- Malka
- Faiga
- Baila
- Rochel
- Rivka
- Toby
- Yehudis
- Chana
- Nechama
- Chava
- Goldy
- Raizy
- Batsheva
- Pessy
- Bracha
If we needed more proof that Jewish descent is strongest in the Northeast, I think we've found it!
To clarify, Lipa, the "most New England" boys' name, is about 7x more common in New England than in the US in general.
These are all still pretty uncommon, though; Faigy, the "most New England" girls name, was given to just 122 girls last year....all in New York and New Jersey! So, here are the names most disproportionately common in New England, from the states' Top 500:
Boys:
- Yitzchok
- Yakov
- Mordechai
- Shimon
- Yisroel
- Yehuda
- Chaim
- Moshe
- Yaakov
- Shlomo
- Tzvi
- Shmuel
- Dovid
- Dov
- Meir
- Yosef
- Avraham
- Menachem
- Zev
- Eliezer
Girls:
- Faigy
- Malka
- Baila
- Rivka
- Chana
- Nechama
- Chaya
- Gitty
- Devorah
- Giuliana
- Giavanna
- Miriam
- Esther
- Maeve
- Francesca
- Amalia
- Milan
- Rachel
- Vienna
- Giovanna
Still quite traditionally Jewish on the boys' list, but starting to get some other origins for the girls'! Regional differences are much more apparent on this list than previous ones, that's for sure.
Finally, on to the most common names! Here are the "most New England" names from the states' combined Top 100:
Boys:
- Nicholas
- Luca
- Ryan
- Cole
- Chase
- Joseph
- Zachary
- Tyler
- Dylan
- Justin
- Michael
- Maxwell
- Cameron
- Gavin
- Connor
- Jack
- Brayden
- Jacob
- Matthew
- Anthony
Girls:
- Esther
- Rachel
- Gabriella
- Sarah
- Gianna
- Mackenzie
- Julia
- Leah
- Valentina
- Alexandra
- Maya
- Brianna
- Hailey
- Grace
- Josephine
- Riley
- Brielle
- Hannah
- Emilia
- Madison
Surprisingly classic, for the most part.
There's not much difference, but I did do it for all the other lists, so here's the New England Top 10 compared to the National Top 10.
|
New England
|
National
|
1.
|
Liam
|
Liam
|
2.
|
Noah
|
Noah
|
3.
|
Lucas
|
William
|
4.
|
Benjamin
|
James
|
5.
|
Michael
|
Oliver
|
6.
|
Logan
|
Benjamin
|
7.
|
Jacob
|
Elijah
|
8.
|
James
|
Lucas
|
9.
|
Mason
|
Mason
|
10.
|
Ethan
|
Logan
|
|
New England
|
National
|
1.
|
Emma
|
Emma
|
2.
|
Olivia
|
Olivia
|
3.
|
Isabella
|
Ava
|
4.
|
Sophia
|
Isabella
|
5.
|
Ava
|
Sophia
|
6.
|
Charlotte
|
Charlotte
|
7.
|
Mia
|
Mia
|
8.
|
Amelia
|
Amelia
|
9.
|
Abigail
|
Harper
|
10.
|
Emily
|
Evelyn
|
Now for my favorite part: the most representative names of each individual state. These are the names that are most disproportionately common in that state compared to the country as a whole (using only the top 40% of each state's data, because rare names can make calculations....messy).
CT: Brendan, Rocco, Nico, Julius, Colin (boys); Siena, Maeve, Gabriella, Gianna, Juliette (girls)
DC: Nasir, George, Amari, Oscar, Edward (boys); Noa, Frances, Reign, Virginia, Amira (girls)
DE: Paul, Carson, Tristan, Brayden, Karter (boys); Briella, Myla, Callie, Noelle, Jayla (girls)
MA: Davi, Jad, Avi, Jadiel, Lucca (boys); Shea, Maeve, Theresa, Bridget, Siena (girls)
MD: Kamari, Damari, Jefferson, Nasir, Trent (boys); Milan, Tori, Sevyn, Zora, Angie (girls)
ME: Brady, Reid, Odin, Ryker, Riley (boys); Maeve, Piper, Madilyn, Fiona, Quinn (girls)
NH: Rory, Wesley, Cole, Rowan, Weston (boys); Maeve, Keira, Eloise, Juniper, Gemma (girls)
NJ: Yechezkel, Binyomin, Nosson, Avrohom, Shmuel (boys); Tzipora, Rochel, Yehudis, Batsheva, Nechama (girls)
NY: Zalmen, Mielech, Hershy, Lipa, Benzion (boys); Yides, Perl, Rifky, Trany, Shaindy (girls)
PA: Mervin, Mahlon, Ervin, Elam, Elmer (boys); Malinda, Fannie, Martha, Carmella, Vienna (girls)
RI: Lorenzo, Luca, Brayden, Cole, Roman (boys); Maeve, Jazlyn, Adriana, Juliana, Julianna (girls)
VT: Jayden, Thomas, Aiden, Weston, Blake (boys); Vera, Eloise, Genevieve, Adeline, Nora (girls)
That's right,
Maeve appears
5 times. Why does upper New England like it so much--just the pure Irish-ness, or local namesake?
Other than that, the states are amazingly distinct. Pennsylvania is full of tiny old men; Vermont and New Hampshire upperclass hipsters. DC, Rhode Island, and Maryland are all over the place (although at least part of that is probably due to sample size).
If you want to see beyond the top 5 for each state, the lists are up
here, on Google Sheets (same link as above; different sheet).
So, with such diverse styles, is it possible to tell what sort of names are "least New England"? Turns, out, yes--Spanish names for both genders, especially recently-coined and trendy ones for girls (Rey, Adán, Vicente; Itzayana, Daleyza, Frida), as well as surnames for both genders, again, particularly the "creative" (Kyson, Kohen, Braylon; Haisley, Oaklynn, Emerie).