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Baby names in North Carolina

What parents in North Carolina actually named their children in 2025, and which names the state uses far more than the country does.

Top 20 girls' names in North Carolina, 2025

#NameBirths
1 Amelia 459
2 Charlotte 453
3 Olivia 441
4 Sophia 396
5 Emma 391
6 Isabella 342
7 Mia 325
8 Eliana 321
9 Evelyn 317
10 Eleanor 315
11 Ava 313
12 Ailany 275
13 Sofia 275
14 Harper 267
15 Elizabeth 260
16 Isla 245
17 Violet 228
18 Lily 226
19 Lucy 225
20 Aurora 221

Top 20 boys' names in North Carolina, 2025

#NameBirths
1 Noah 684
2 Liam 680
3 Oliver 507
4 William 500
5 James 471
6 Henry 450
7 Elijah 426
8 Theodore 425
9 Levi 376
10 John 360
11 Lucas 349
12 Hudson 341
13 Samuel 334
14 Elias 329
15 Mateo 319
16 Benjamin 300
17 Ezra 298
18 Wyatt 298
19 Asher 297
20 Luke 285

The most distinctive names in North Carolina

These are the names North Carolina uses most out of proportion to the rest of the country. The location quotient is the state's share of births going to a name divided by the national share, over 2016–2025. A quotient of 3.0 means the name is three times as common here as it is nationally.

NameBirths in North CarolinaLocation quotient
Macon 54 5.5×
Avett 78 4.7×
Kymir 100 4.5×
Zymir 169 4.4×
Caison 71 4.0×
Unknown 129 4.0×
Ivey 194 3.5×
Mahogany 79 3.4×
Everette 123 3.3×
Braylen 555 3.3×
Hampton 100 3.2×
Tymir 73 3.0×
Merritt 220 3.0×
Ansley 223 2.9×
Knowledge 136 2.8×
Charleston 101 2.8×
Davis 406 2.7×
Kenleigh 70 2.7×
Jakari 231 2.7×
Karmen 110 2.7×

The number one name in North Carolina, year by year

Twenty years of first-place names.
YearGirlsBirthsBoysBirths
2025 Amelia 459 Noah 684
2024 Olivia 470 Liam 747
2023 Olivia 503 Liam 722
2022 Olivia 504 Liam 650
2021 Olivia 533 Liam 705
2020 Olivia 526 Liam 688
2019 Ava 598 Liam 686
2018 Ava 632 Noah 621
2017 Ava 654 William 633
2016 Ava 619 William 715
2015 Ava 624 William 706
2014 Ava 600 William 732
2013 Emma 648 William 706
2012 Emma 657 William 711
2011 Emma 613 William 766
2010 Emma 578 William 821
2009 Emma 587 William 794
2008 Emma 652 William 888
2007 Madison 681 William 896
2006 Madison 670 William 890

State files start in 1910 and use the same five-birth reporting floor as the national data, applied per state, year and sex — so small states show fewer distinct names, not fewer names in use.