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Baby names in South Dakota

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

Top 20 girls' names in South Dakota, 2025

#NameBirths
1 Lainey 50
2 Charlotte 44
3 Evelyn 39
4 Emma 36
5 Olivia 36
6 Eleanor 32
7 Ellie 31
8 Harper 31
9 Nora 31
10 Amelia 30
11 Lucy 30
12 Ella 29
13 Ivy 29
14 Hazel 27
15 Lily 27
16 Sophie 27
17 Willow 27
18 Aurora 25
19 Emery 25
20 Isla 25

Top 20 boys' names in South Dakota, 2025

#NameBirths
1 Oliver 66
2 Liam 60
3 Henry 50
4 Hudson 50
5 Noah 50
6 Theodore 47
7 Beau 42
8 William 41
9 Leo 40
10 Maverick 38
11 Elijah 35
12 Brooks 33
13 Asher 32
14 James 32
15 Bennett 31
16 Ezra 31
17 Cooper 30
18 Levi 30
19 Colter 29
20 Stetson 29

The most distinctive names in South Dakota

These are the names South Dakota 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 South DakotaLocation quotient
Bridger 68 11.6×
Brecken 56 10.0×
Briggs 139 10.0×
Berkley 55 8.5×
Huxley 66 7.7×
Colter 93 6.8×
Hattie 94 6.6×
Ridge 54 6.0×
Tripp 60 5.7×
Hayes 169 5.6×
Sutton 171 5.6×
Otto 98 5.5×
Wrenley 82 5.3×
Lane 143 5.2×
Stetson 119 5.2×
Kasen 61 5.1×
Odin 86 5.0×
Brynlee 137 5.0×
Rhett 216 5.0×
Lennon 135 4.9×

The number one name in South Dakota, year by year

Twenty years of first-place names.
YearGirlsBirthsBoysBirths
2025 Lainey 50 Oliver 66
2024 Amelia 48 Oliver 52
2023 Ava 43 Oliver 59
2022 Evelyn 43 Oliver 73
2021 Evelyn 48 Henry 66
2020 Harper 47 Oliver 61
2019 Emma 63 Liam 63
2018 Harper 60 Grayson 61
2017 Emma 54 Oliver 68
2016 Emma 66 Oliver 66
2015 Harper 59 Oliver 62
2014 Harper 60 Liam 57
2013 Emma 71 Liam 82
2012 Emma 62 Liam 72
2011 Ava 74 Mason 82
2010 Sophia 59 Jacob 68
2009 Emma 59 Noah 72
2008 Emma 76 Noah 56
2007 Ava 73 Ethan 72
2006 Emma 64 Jacob 81

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.