The Most Popular Baby Names of 2018

The Most Popular Baby Names of 2018

Emma has unseated Ava as the number one name for baby girls born in Tennessee, rising to the top of the list of the most popular names for babies born in 2018, according to the Tennessee Health Department. William maintains the number one spot as the most popular name chosen for baby boys in Tennessee for the 12th straight year.

The top 10 names Tennessee parents chose for their new babies born in 2018* are as follows:

Girls
1. Emma
2. Ava
3. Olivia
4. Harper
5. Amelia
6. Charlotte
7. Isabella
8. Elizabeth
9. Evelyn
10. Abigail

Boys
1.William
2.James
3. Liam
4. Elijah
5. Noah
6. Jackson
7. Mason
8. Grayson
9.John
10. Oliver

*provisional data

Emma returns to the top spot for names of baby girls born in Tennessee, which she had held since 2011 until overtaken in 2017 by Ava. Evelyn is a new addition to the top ten list of girls’ names for 2018, with Ella dropping from the list since last year. All other names in the top ten list for girls are the same as in 2017, but have changed in ranking.

Oliver is the new arrival on the top ten list of boys’ names for 2018, with Samuel falling off the list since 2017. William has been the most popular name chosen for baby boys in Tennessee since 2007. All other names in the top ten list for boys made the list in 2017 as well, but have changed in ranking with the exception of Mason, which also ranked at number seven last year.

Names chosen for babies are recorded and tallied by the dedicated team in the Tennessee Department of Health Division of Vital Records and Statistics. This division maintains the integrity of approximately 15 million records, including issuance and amending records of births, deaths, marriages and divorces in Tennessee.