Most popular baby names in North Carolina for 2023: What's changed, US trends

Iris Seaton, Asheville Citizen Times
·3 min read

An estimated 121,000 babies were born to North Carolina residents in 2023.

Baby names in N.C. aren't too different than national favorites, with some exceptions. Here are the most popular baby names in the state from 2023 according to the Social Security Administration.

The new early learning center will provide more opportunities for infants, toddlers, and Pre K children to enroll.
The new early learning center will provide more opportunities for infants, toddlers, and Pre K children to enroll.

Most popular baby names in North Carolina 2023

Liam and Olivia were the most popular baby names for the year in N.C., according to data from the SSA. It's the fourth year in a row that Olivia has topped the list after beating the top choice of 2019: Ava. The name Liam has been at the top of the list for six years.

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Most popular boy names in North Carolina

  1. Liam

  2. Noah

  3. William

  4. James

  5. Oliver

  6. Elijah

  7. Henry

  8. Levi

  9. Lucas

  10. Theodore

Theodore joined the top 10 in 2023 after finishing 24th in 2022. Jackson, which was ninth in 2022, fell to 11th in 2023.

Most popular girl names in North Carolina

  1. Olivia

  2. Amelia

  3. Charlotte

  4. Emma

  5. Sophia

  6. Ava

  7. Mia

  8. Evelyn

  9. Harper

  10. Isabella

All of the top 10 girls names of 2023 were also in the top 10 in 2022.

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Top boys and girls names in the US in 2023

There were some major similarities between popular names in the state and the most popular names in the country, including first place: Liam and Olivia. It's the fifth year in a row that the two made it to the top of the list countrywide. One new name, Mateo, did make it into the top 10 this year, climbing from 11th to sixth place from 2022 and 2023.

Most popular boy names in the US

  1. Liam

  2. Noah

  3. Oliver

  4. James

  5. Elijah

  6. Mateo

  7. Theodore

  8. Henry

  9. Lucas

  10. William

Most popular girl names in the US

  1. Olivia

  2. Emma

  3. Charlotte

  4. Amelia

  5. Sophia

  6. Mia

  7. Isabella

  8. Ava

  9. Evelyn

  10. Luna

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Trending baby names in the U.S.

Brayden Pitcairn of Father Strong Health Coaching with his toddler.
Brayden Pitcairn of Father Strong Health Coaching with his toddler.

The SSA has a separate list for trending baby names, or names that have increased the most in popularity from one year to another. According to previous reporting from the USA TODAY network, the SSA said that social media seems to have had a major influence on names chosen by parents in 2023.

Several top names in this category can be tied to popular social media creators including YouTube and TikTok influencer Kaeli McEwen or Kaeli Mae and TikTok creator Wyatt Eiden. Here's the list of fastest rising baby names in 2023, according to the SSA.

Trending boy names in the US

  1. Izael

  2. Chozen

  3. Eiden

  4. Cassian

  5. Kyren

  6. Semaj

  7. Kaizen

  8. Kyaire

  9. Jahmir

  10. Jesiah

Trending girl names in the US

  1. Kaeli

  2. Alitzel

  3. Emryn

  4. Adhara

  5. Azari

  6. Kya

  7. Ivey

  8. Ainara

  9. Arely

  10. Scottie

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Most popular names in the US, ranked

For the entire list and rankings, and to check how your own name ranks, visit www.ssa.gov/babynames.

Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Most popular baby names in NC, US 2023