Most Popular Baby Names in North Carolina

What the Data Says About Baby Names in North Carolina

The Social Security Administration has registered 3,533,970 births across the top 50 boy and top 50 girl names in North Carolina from 1910 through 2024 — the portion of state-level naming data released publicly. Among boys, James leads with 211,907 cumulative births, while Mary tops the girl rankings with 134,082 births. The top 50 boy names collectively account for 2,151,088 births versus 1,382,882 for the top 50 girl names, reflecting the typical U.S. pattern in which boy-name distributions are more concentrated among fewer high-frequency entries. SSA state files include any name appearing five or more times in a given state-year, so lower-frequency names are suppressed for privacy and are not counted in these totals.

Decade-by-decade data for North Carolina extends back to 1910, making it possible to track how North Carolina parents' naming choices have shifted across more than a century of birth records. In the 1910s, the #1 boy name was James and the #1 girl name was Mary. By the 2020s, the top names had shifted to Liam for boys and Olivia for girls. Across 12 decades with complete data, the turnover in #1 rankings reflects broader cultural and generational forces — baby-boom naming conformity, the 1970s individualism shift, and the current resurgence of short, classic names.

Because North Carolina reports under the same SSA framework as every other jurisdiction, these figures are directly comparable across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The cumulative totals reflect every recorded birth registration rather than a survey sample, though names with four or fewer annual occurrences are excluded per SSA privacy policy. This means the true naming distribution in North Carolina is slightly broader than what appears here, particularly for rare and emerging names. The dataset does not distinguish between alternate spellings (for example, Sophia and Sofia are tracked as separate names) or middle names, and reflects first names as they appear on Social Security card applications only. This page is for informational and research purposes.