Posted by Laura Woods
Rich with history, the East Coast is characterized by a fast-paced lifestyle, true seasons and an appreciation for exciting, urban landscapes. Whether you call this part of the country home, or you simply dream of life on the Atlantic, giving your little boy or girl a name prevalent in these states can be very meaningful.
In order to identify the names that are most common on the East Coast relative to the rest of the United States, MooseRoots used data from the Social Security Administration to find the top names in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida in 2014. We only included names with at least 1,000 occurrences, and compared the frequency of each name on the East Coast with the rest of the U.S. Finally, we compiled a list of names most likely to appear in states on the East Coast, and ranked the list from lowest to highest frequency relative to the rest of the country.
While some names, like Taylor or Morgan, might not surprise you, the list sheds light on heritage patterns among Americans. According to a U.S. Census Bureau survey, counties with the most people claiming Italian heritage live on the East Coast, with concentrated communities located in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Unsurprisingly, such patterns are reflected in the list, where you’ll find names like Gianna and Valentina.
Note: All values are rounded to the nearest tenth.
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#40. Robert
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 36.7%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 44.3
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 32.4
Defined as “bright,” “fame” and “famous,” Robert ranked No. 61 nationwide.
#39. Timothy
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 37.3%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 20.2
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 14.7
The English name Timothy, meaning “God” and “honour,” earned the rank of 135 nationally.
#38. Connor
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 37.5%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 48.8
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 35.4
Connor, a name of Irish origin, was very common among baby boys on the East Coast in 2014, and earned the national rank of 52.
#37. Nathaniel
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 38.4%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 29.0
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 21.0
The English form of the New Testament name meaning “God has given,” Nathaniel ranked No. 94 among male babies in the U.S. in 2014.
#36. Christopher
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 39.1%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 70.4
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 50.6
Christopher, meaning “Christ,” earned the rank of No. 30 nationwide in 2014.
#35. Anthony
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 39.6%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 79.1
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 56.6
Defined as “flower,” the Latin name Anthony ranked No. 21 nationally in 2014.
#34. Matthew
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 39.9%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 88.3
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 63.1
Matthew, a Hebrew and Irish name meaning “gift of God,” ranked No. 16 among baby boys in the U.S. in 2014.
#33. Jeremiah
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 40.0%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 46.8
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 33.4
The name Jeremiah means “appointed by God” in Hebrew and ranked No. 56 among newborn boys for the entire U.S.
#32. Jason
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 41.3%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 38.4
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 27.1
A name with English and Greek roots, Jason earned the rank of 75 among male babies nationally in 2014.
#31. John
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 43.1%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 74.7
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 52.2
John, a form of the Hebrew name meaning “God is gracious,” ranked No. 26 among boys in 2014.
#30. Declan
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 43.2%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 23.3
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 16.3
Though the Irish name Declan was very common among male newborns on the East Coast, it only earned the rank of 122 countrywide in 2014.
#29. Thomas
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 43.9%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 49.4
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 34.3
An English, French and German name meaning “twin,” Thomas ranked No. 54 nationwide in 2014.
#28. Michael
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 46.5%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 110.6
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 75.5
A name meaning “who is like God?” in Hebrew, the English name Michael ranked No. 7 nationally in 2014.
#27. Lucas
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 48.3%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 88.2
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 59.5
The name Lucas ranked No. 19 among newborn boys in the U.S. in 2014.
#26. Joseph
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 49.3%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 88.2
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 59.1
The English form of the Biblical Hebrew name meaning “(God) shall add (another son),” Joseph has English, French and Hebrew roots. The name ranked No. 20 in the U.S. in 2014.
#25. Zachary
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 49.7%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 37.9
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 25.3
A name of English origin, Zachary was prevalent among male newborns on the East Coast, and earned the rank of 82 nationwide in 2014.
#24. Colin
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 57.2%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 22.2
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 14.1
Colin, a nickname for the medieval form of Nicholas, ranked No. 140 among baby boys in the U.S. in 2014.
#23. Patrick
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 57.7%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 20.6
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 13.1
The name of the patron saint of Ireland, Patrick has English, French and Latin roots. In the U.S., it ranked No. 153 in 2014.
#22. Savannah
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 57.9%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 44.2
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 28.0
The name Savannah ranked highly among East Coast girls in 2014, and was also popular throughout the country, earning the national rank of No. 39.
#21. Avery
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 58.4%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 77.7
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 49.1
Avery, a name of English and French origin, ranked No. 13 among female newborns in the U.S. in 2014.
#20. Kayla
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 58.8%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 24.4
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 15.4
Kayla, a Yiddish name, ranked No. 102 nationally.
#19. Ashley
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 60.7%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 29.3
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 18.3
Defined as “ash and wood,” the English name Ashley ranked No. 87 for the entire U.S.
#18. Justin
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 60.9%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 31.6
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 19.7
A name of English origin, Justin ranked No. 96 for the entire U.S.
#17. Brianna
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 61.9%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 29.9
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 18.5
A name with Irish roots, Brianna was very common among newborn girls on the East Coast in 2014, and was also prevalent nationwide, earning the overall rank of No. 85.
#16. Leah
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 62.6%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 46.7
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 28.7
Leah means “languid” in Hebrew and ranked No. 35 among girls throughout the country, in 2014.
#15. Madison
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 64.2%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 86.8
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 52.9
The name Madison ranked No. 9 nationally in 2014.
#14. Alexandra
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 65.5%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 28.1
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 17.0
Alexandra, a name with Latin, Roman and Romanian roots, ranked No. 92 among female newborns nationally in 2014.
#13. Morgan
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 68.6%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 26.0
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 15.4
While Morgan ranked highly among newborn girls on the East Coast in 2014, this English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh name only ranked No. 101 for the U.S. as a whole.
#12. Nicholas
Gender: Male
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 70.6%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 56.4
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 33.1
Meaning “people” and “victory,” the English name Nicholas ranked No. 57 among all newborn boys in the country.
#11. Taylor
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 73.7%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 33.9
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 19.5
Taylor, meaning “to cut,” ranked No. 77 among female babies nationally in 2014.
#10. Sarah
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 74.3%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 41.8
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 24.0
Defined as “princess,” the English, Hebrew and Jewish name Sarah ranked No. 50 among baby girls in the U.S. in 2014.
#9. Julia
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 75.8%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 32.5
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 18.5
The English and Latin name Julia ranked No. 86 among girls in the U.S. in 2014.
#8. Quinn
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 76.5%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 23.1
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 13.1
Despite the popularity of Quinn among female newborns on the East Coast, the name only ranked No. 126 throughout the U.S. in 2014.
#7. Skylar
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 78.8%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 43.6
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 24.4
The name Skylar means “scholar,” and ranked No. 48 across the country.
#6. London
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 79.3%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 30.2
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 16.8
The name London was very common among East Coast girls in 2014, and it was also prevalent throughout the U.S., earning the rank of No. 93.
#5. Valentina
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 86.6%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 26.7
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 14.3
The feminine form of Valentine, the name Valentina ranked No. 112 among girls in the U.S. in 2014.
#4. Gabriella
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 89.9%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 49.5
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 26.1
Gabriella, a name of Hebrew, Portuguese and Spanish origins, earned the rank of No. 232 among baby girls in 2014.
#3. Peyton
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 94.7%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 44.5
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 22.8
Peyton ranked No. 56 among baby girls in U.S. in 2014.
#2. Gianna
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 97.8%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 31.2
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 15.8
Gianna, an Italian name, ranked No. 95 among female babies in the U.S. in 2014.
#1. Riley
Gender: Female
Percent More Likely to Be a East Coast Baby: 122.4%
East Coast Babies per 10,000: 54.6
U.S. Babies per 10,000: 24.6
Defined as “clearing,” “rye” and “wood,” Riley was popular across the U.S, ranking No. 47 among all female babies.
