State releases Washington’s most popular baby names

Sophia - or Emma
Photo by Peter Kratochvil

The numbers are in and Liam and Sophia are at the top for the most popular baby names in Washington from 2012.

The Washington state Department of Health tracks a variety of important state vital statistics, including births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. Statewide and county by county statistics can be found online. The department is the official state repository for this information.  All births in Washington are reported to the agency. 

In 2012 there were 87,415 babies born in the state. The most popular day for births in 2012 was Friday, June 28 when there were 311 Washington babies born. The recently released list of most-popular names selected for Washington newborns includes the top 100 baby names in the state for years 1980 to 2012.

Liam has been on the top-ten list since 2010, first appearing at number eight. By 2011, Liam climbed into second place and in 2012 won by just one baby -- edging out Mason for the number one spot. Out of the 44,696 boys that were born in 2012 in Washington, 409 babies were named Liam, and 408 were named Mason.

Sophia comes out on top for baby girls for the third year in a row. Since 2007, Sophia has been one of the top four most popular names for baby girls born in Washington. Out of 42,719 girls born in 2012, 473 were named Sophia. There were 456 baby girls named Emma, which was the second most-popular name.

In 2012, Washington birth certificates listed a total of 10,533 different names for girls and 7,761 different names for boys. Among the unusual names in 2012 for girls, Charlie (26 babies) and Gwyneth (6 babies) and Philip (18 babies) and Mustafa (5 babies) were the lesser-used names chosen for boys.