Sophia holds fast as top name for girls; Ethan claims the number 1 spot for boys
Credit: Michael W. Law
The NYC Health Department announced on Wednesday that Ethan and Sophia were the most popular baby names in New York City in 2014. Sophia has been the number 1 girl’s name for the last three years, while Ethan emerged as the new most popular boy’s name after holding the second place spot for two years in a row. The Health Department’s birth certificate records showed 740 Ethans and 586 Sophias were born in New York City in 2014.
Compared to 2013, there were 1,627 more babies born in the Big Apple in 2014. A total of 122,084 babies were born in New York City in 2014.
Five of the top ten girls’ names from 2013 held their place on the 2014 list. Ava joined the top ten list at number 8, while Madison moved out of the list falling to number 11. Sophia and Isabella held on to the top two spots for the third year in a row while Olivia and Mia climbed to the 3rd and 4th positions respectively. Emma moved two spots down to number 5, while Sofia fell to number 9. Emily, Leah and Chloe maintained their 2013 rankings at number 6, 7 and 10 respectively.
For boys, only Michael maintained its 2013 ranking at number 7, while Ethan climbed to number 1. Liam ranked number 3 in 2014 moving up from number 10. Jayden fell from number 1 to number 4 in the list. Jacob and Noah both climbed up one spot from their 2013 rankings moving to number 2 and 5 respectively. Daniel and Matthew moved two spots down and David moved 4 spots down to number 9.
Births By Borough
From 2013 to 2014, the number of babies born in New York City increased slightly, up 1.35 percent from 120,457 to 122,084 (62,337 boys and 59,474 girls).
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams gets bragging rights as Brooklyn saw the greatest number of babies born last year with 41,190 births. Queens came in second with 26,937 births followed by the Bronx with 20,032 births. 18,143 babies were born in Manhattan and 5,255 were born in Staten Island.
Most Popular Names By Race/Ethnicity
The top 10 most popular baby names have a strong representation across racial and ethnic groups. Isabella and Sophia remained the most popular baby names for girls among Latino families. Madison retained the top spot among Black families, while Ava displaced London as the second most popular name with Blacks. Olivia is the new most popular name with Asians and remained the most popular name with Whites. Among boys, Latino families chose Liam most frequently, while Black families preferred Ethan. In 2014 Asian families chose Jayden as the most popular name while White families preferred Joseph.
Amir and Fatoumata cracked the top 10 among black baby names as West African immigrants are making their presence known.
New York City parents draw upon name inspiration from geographic locations, celebrities, and television shows, including Game of Thrones.
Celebrity names were influential in 2014 with many parents naming their children after television, movie, music and sport celebrities. Last year’s big draw among females included Sofía (#9) and Khloe (#52). Movie stars, musicians and athletes’ names like Liam (#3), Justin (#34), Abby (#116), and Derek (#84) were also popular.
Geographic names are a perennial favorite with places like Charlotte (# 21), Savannah (#49), Phoenix (#127 girls; #158 for boys) and Virginia (#140) making the list. Other parents opted to name their children after international cities like Sienna (#90), Sydney (#99) and London (#68 for girls; #165 for boys).
Some parents found inspiration in literature, television and film. The HBO series Game of Thrones was also influential among Big Apple parents. Game of Throne’s characters that made the list include Arya (#98), Khaleesi (#143), and Jon (#166). Movie character names with a strong showing include Leia (#141) and Luke (#59). Disney movies such as Frozen and the Princess and the Frog inspired Elsa (#112) and Tiana (#131) respectively.
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