The recently release list of most popular children’s names in Alaska in 2020 contains some expected names, but a few surprises speckled among its lists.
Released by the Social Security Administration, the list showed that some names climbed in popularity, while others sank down the ranks as sentiments shift.
Amelia was the most popular girl’s name for 2020, replacing Emma, with 42 girls named Amelia in Alaska last year, according to Social Security Administration data. Oliver traded places with Liam to climb to the top of the pile in Alaska, with the SSA recording 43 boys named Oliver being born in Alaska last year.
Nationally, the conventions in naming were similar, but not perfectly identical. Liam and Olivia were the most popular boy and girl names respectively. Oliver is the third most popular boy’s name nationally, while Amelia is sixth most popular girl’s name.
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Names that are pronounced the same but spelled differently are counted separately by the SSA. For example, while together, Jackson, Jaxon, and Jaxson would be the most popular name for boys in the state with 66 total children, separately, they come in at 13th, 21st, and 35th respectively, with 28, 23, and 18 boys named thusly. There are nine of both Eliana and Elliana.
Mythology and history made a good showing in 2020, with nine boys named Odin, 18 named Atlas, 14 named Roman and nine girls named Athena.
Nature was particularly well represented in the girl’s names, with Juniper, Ruby, Autumn, Ember, Luna, Nova, Willow, Aurora, Hazel, Piper, Aspen, Magnolia, Rowan, Olive, Winter, Wren and Lily all placing in the top 100. River made the top 100 for both the boy’s and girl’s names, the only name to appear on both lists.
Presidential-ish names, including Lincoln, Jackson, Madison, Kennedy and Theodore, were well stood-for in both the boy’s and girl’s categories. Geography made a decent fist of things with Savannah, Brooklyn, Bristol and Hudson, And wooly metaphorical concepts such as Serenity, Harmony, Hope, Grace and Destiny made a good showing in the girl’s category.
Nationally, Star Wars-based names, including Kylo and Anakin were on the rise in popularity.
Some atypical names that nevertheless made the top 100 list include Maverick, Raiden and Nevaeh.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
