What baby names are popular in Illinois and Missouri? Here’s a list of the 25 most used

The latest baby naming trends are in, and Scarlett, Stella, Luna, Maverick and Lincoln all made top 25 lists for 2021 births.

Illinois parents chose the most popular female baby name almost 700 times in 2021, and several names made both Illinois’ and Missouri’s most frequently used lists. One female name made the Illinois list for two different spellings.

According ot the U.S. Social Security Administration, here are the top 25 female and male baby names in Illinois, Missouri and nationally, and where to search online for more data.

Most popular baby names in Illinois

Female names:

1. Olivia (697 births)

2. Emma (551)

3. Sophia (499)

4. Charlotte (493)

5. Amelia (482)

6. Ava (454)

7. Isabella (435)

8. Mia (399)

9. Evelyn (351)

10. Camila (341)

11. Sofia (324)

12. Gianna (309)

13. Eleanor (289)

14. Nora (280)

15. Layla (277)

16. Emily (259)

17. Elizabeth (255)

18. Harper (255)

19. Mila (250)

20. Avery (246)

21. Abigail (240)

22. Luna (237)

23. Emilia (234)

24. Penelope (232)

25. Ella (228)

Male names:

1. Noah (648 births)

2. Liam (613)

3. Oliver (584)

4. Henry (498)

5. Benjamin (490)

6. Alexander (450)

7. Theodore (435)

8. William (422)

9. Mateo (415)

10. Logan (406)

11. James (402)

12. Lucas (400)

13. Owen (396)

14. Daniel (389)

15. Jack (385)

16. Michael (385)

17. Leo (363)

18. Elijah (348)

19. Sebastian (325)

20. Mason (318)

21. Anthony (317)

22. Joseph (317)

23. Ethan (310)

24. Jackson (308)

25. Aiden (303)

Most popular baby names in Missouri

Here are the 25 most frequently chosen baby names in Missouri in 2021, based on Social Security card application data:

Female names:

1. Olivia (340 births)

2. Charlotte (331)

3. Amelia (300)

4. Ava (267)

5. Emma (259)

6. Harper (242)

7. Sophia (224)

8. Eleanor (221)

9. Evelyn (215)

10. Isabella (168)

11. Avery (166)

12. Nora (160)

13. Elizabeth (158)

14. Nova (158)

15. Willow (154)

16. Hazel (152)

17. Paisley (147)

18. Ella (143)

19. Penelope (129)

20. Chloe (127)

21. Ellie (126)

22. Abigail (125)

23. Stella (123)

24. Scarlett (121)

25. Luna (120)

Male names:

1. Oliver (359 births)

2. Henry (307)

3. Liam (304)

4. William (298)

5. Elijah (292)

6. Noah (262)

7. James (245)

8. Benjamin (228)

9. Theodore (225)

10. Jack (224)

11. Hudson (221)

12. Owen (220)

13. Grayson (219)

14. Wyatt (215)

15. Jackson (211)

16. Asher (210)

17. Lincoln (205)

18. Maverick (201)

19. Lucas (197)

20. Levi (182)

21. Waylon (175)

22. Carter (171)

23. John (170)

24. Samuel (170)

25. Michael (168)

National naming trends

Here are the top 10 baby names in the U.S. in 2021:

Female names:

1. Olivia
2. Emma
3. Charlotte
4. Amelia
5. Ava
6. Sophia
7. Isabella
8. Mia
9. Evelyn
10. Harper

Male names:

1. Liam
2. Noah
3. Oliver
4. Elijah
5. James
6. William
7. Benjamin
8. Lucas
9. Henry
10. Theodore

While some names, like Olivia, Theodore and Noah make top naming lists relatively consistently, others are less predictable. Raya, Wrenley, Angelique, Amiri, Eliam and Colter all saw increased popularity from 2020 to 2021, while Denisse, Denise, Karen, Jaxtyn, Karsyn and Xzavier became less popular.

You can search the Social Security Administration’s website for the top 100 baby names in each state from 1960 to 2021. Information about data limitations is also available online.

This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 8:00 AM.

Meredith Howard

Belleville News-Democrat

Meredith Howard is a service journalist with the Belleville News-Democrat. She is a Baylor University graduate and has previously freelanced with the Illinois Times and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Support my work with a digital subscription