These were Kentucky’s most popular baby names in 2022. See which favorites made the cut

The most popular baby names in Kentucky last year were Liam and Harper, according to newly released data compiled by the federal Social Security Administration.

Kentucky parents chose the Bluegrass State’s five most popular names for boys and girls more than 2,000 times in 2022. Though the rankings for female names saw some shake-ups toward the top, Liam was once again the most popular name for baby boys in Kentucky after taking the crown in 2021.

Asher, which checked in at No. 5 among boys’ names this year, moved all the way up from No. 11 in last year’s tally. Meanwhile, Sophie and Ellie fell out of the top 10 most popular girls’ names. Their drop-off opened up top-10 spots for Paisley and Isabella, which finished No. 12 and No. 17 in 2021’s rankings.

Here’s a look at the most popular baby names in Kentucky and across the U.S.

Most popular baby names in Kentucky

These were the 10 most popular names given to boys born in Kentucky in 2022, according to the SSA:

  1. Liam (260 births)

  2. Noah (235)

  3. Oliver (228)

  4. William (223)

  5. Asher (203)

  6. Waylon (201)

  7. Elijah (199)

  8. James (196)

  9. Levi (189)

  10. Hudson (183)

These were the 10 most popular names given to girls born in Kentucky last year, the SSA reports:

  1. Harper (202 births)

  2. Olivia (194)

  3. Amelia (188)

  4. Emma (179)

  5. Charlotte (165)

  6. Ava (160)

  7. Evelyn (151)

  8. Paisley (150)

  9. Isabella (141)

  10. Willow (133)

National naming trends

Here’s a look at the most popular baby names across the country in 2022. Notably, Kentucky favorites like Asher, Waylon, Harper and Paisley were absent from the nationwide list.

The SSA compiles the nation’s most popular baby names by tracking applications for social security cards. You can visit the agency’s website to see baby name data dating back to 1960, plus information on several data limitations.

When compiling name data, the SSA maintains several qualifications for including names in its annual release. For example, the agency removes hyphens and spaces when tabulating data, so “Julie-Anne,” “Julie Anne” and “Julieanne” would all be considered the same name entry. Meanwhile, different spellings of names that sound the same — Megan and Meaghan, Johnathan and Jonathan and so on — are considered separate entries.

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