What are Pennsylvania’s most popular baby names? These favorites made the cut in 2023

Matt DiSanto
·3 min read

Plenty of recent favorites once again checked in as some of the most popular baby names in Pennsylvania and across the U.S.

Newly released data from the Social Security Administration shows Noah was the most popular name for newborn boys in Pennsylvania in 2023, following a second-place finish in 2022. Charlotte became the No. 1 choice for newborn girls in 2023, ending Olivia’s back-to-back run at the top spot in the Keystone State.

According to the agency’s records, Noah and Liam have finished in Pennsylvania’s first or second spots in each of the past eight years. Liam and Noah became the commonwealth’s most popular name for boys four times each in that span.

Charlotte, meanwhile, checked in as the most popular girls’ name for the first time in the last decade after finishing inside the top 10 every year in that period.

Here’s a look at the latest figures from the SSA, including the most popular names in Centre County and across the country.

What were the most popular baby names in Pennsylvania in 2023?

These were the most popular names given to boys born in Pennsylvania in 2023, according to the SSA:

  1. Noah (691 newborns)

  2. Liam (627)

  3. Oliver (527)

  4. Henry (472)

  5. Benjamin (435)

  6. James (431)

  7. Owen (420)

  8. Theodore (416)

  9. Lucas (394)

  10. Michael (377)

These names were also the 10 most popular names for Pennsylvania’s newborn boys in 2022, though some saw their placements change. Henry rose from No. 9 in 2022 to No. 4 in 2023, while Oliver, James, Owen and Michael all stayed put.

According to the SSA, these were the most popular names for Pennsylvania’s newborn girls in 2023:

  1. Charlotte (559 newborns)

  2. Olivia (515)

  3. Emma (506)

  4. Sophia (475)

  5. Amelia (417)

  6. Ava (366)

  7. Isabella (345)

  8. Evelyn (343)

  9. Harper (343)

  10. Mia (329)

Just like the boys’ list, Pennsylvania’s top 10 names for newborn girls are the same as 2022’s batch. Charlotte grabbed the top spot from Olivia, while Evelyn moved from No. 9 in 2022 to No. 8 in 2023, swapping places with Harper. Emma, Sophia, Amelia, Ava, Isabella and Mia’s rank remains unchanged from the previous year.

Locally, Henry and Charlotte were respectively the most popular boys’ and girls’ names at Mount Nittany Medical Center in 2023. The hospital welcomed roughly 1,250 babies throughout the year, according to a hospital spokesperson.

It’s a boy! Local family welcomes New Year’s baby at Mount Nittany Medical Center

What about the rest of the country?

Liam and Olivia were respectfully crowned the top names for newborn boys and girls across the U.S., according to SSA data. This is now the fifth year in a row the pair of names has topped the lists for boys and girls, although Liam’s reign at No. 1 stretches back to 2017.

Here’s a look at the nation’s top 10 names for newborn boys in 2023:

  1. Liam

  2. Noah

  3. Oliver

  4. James

  5. Elijah

  6. Mateo

  7. Theodore

  8. Henry

  9. Lucas

  10. William

The most popular names for newborn girls across the U.S. are as follows:

  1. Olivia

  2. Emma

  3. Charlotte

  4. Amelia

  5. Sophia

  6. Mia

  7. Isabella

  8. Ava

  9. Evelyn

  10. Luna

How does the SSA track baby names?

Each year, the agency records the nation’s most popular baby names by tracking applications for Social Security cards. The SSA has overseen those documents for more than a century.

Several qualifications are enforced for the SSA’s annual release of the nation’s most popular baby names. For example, the agency removes hyphens and spaces while tabulating name data, so “Julie-Anne,” “Julie Anne” and “Julieanne” would all count as single entries. Different spellings of names that sound the same — think Shawn and Sean, Meaghan and Megan — are considered separate names. Rankings are tabulated by sex, so a name like Riley may rank differently for boys’ names than it does for girls’ names.

National name data is restricted to the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Although popular names get tracked for U.S. territories like Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, they are not included in the SSA’s national data sets.

Learn more about the SSA and the nation’s most popular baby names by visiting ssa.gov/oact/babynames.