Staying at the top of this list is anything but child’s play.
Once again, Liam and Emma were the two most popular baby names in the five boroughs, the NYC Department of Health announced on Thursday. The agency annually releases the top 10 names for newborn boys and girls in New York City.
Out of the 100,022 babies born in 2020, 682 were named Liam and 442 were called Emma.
Liam has reigned since 2016 while Emma has dominated since 2017.
Rounding out the top 10 beneath Liam were: Noah, Jacob, Ethan, Lucas, Joseph, David, Aiden, Alexander and Daniel for the 51,255 boys born in NYC last year.
As for the 48,767 girls born, the names Sophia, Mia, Olivia, Isabella, Ava, Leah, Sarah, Chloe and Amelia came in most popular behind Emma.
Charlotte, which held the 10th spot in 2019, was relegated to 12 this time around. Sophia replaced Olivia at the number two spot while Mia moved from four to three last year. Sarah returned to the top 10 after a hiatus and Madison was the 25th most popular name for girls.
Matthew and Michael, the 10th and eighth most popular boy names of 2019, were booted for Joseph and Alexander. Jacob and Ethan flipped positions while Aiden and Daniel dropped to seven and eight after being six and seven last year as well.
Like Charlotte and Madison, the popularity of destination names also remained a constant. Austin (57), Savannah (77), Samara (97), Phoenix (103), Brooklyn (112), Siena (116), Florence (127), Kingston (143) and Princeton (146) were all within the top 150.
In wake of the traumatic year, the names Zion (64), Harmony (105), Hope (110), Joy (115), Dream, Heaven (both tied for 117), and Love (128) all scored in top 130 names as well. Grace was 32 and Serenity came in at 57.
Names of nature were also notably popular in NYC. Luna (11), Lily (40), Aurora (49), Rose (50), Violet (52), Jade (67), Ruby (76), Jasmine (78), Ivy (81), and Iris (99) all made the top 100.
There was also an aquatic theme in 2020 as the names River and Ocean were the 146th and 147th most popular.
Beyond the news of the frontrunners remaining in place, the DOH’s data on newborns in 2020 has some eye-catching statistics.
Births decreased in 2020 from 2019 by 9.4%. In 2019, there were 110,443 babies born in the city.
Manhattan led the way with 38,951 children born, followed by Brooklyn’s 24,129, and then Queens with 19,877.
The Bronx had 11,516 births while Staten Island had only 5,549.
