Health Department Announces Jayden and Sophia are 2013’s Most Popular Baby Names

120,457 Babies Born in New York City in 2013

The Health Department announced last week that Jayden and Sophia were the most popular baby names in New York City in 2013. Jayden has been the number 1 boys name for the last five years, while Sophia remained the number 1 girls name for the second year in a row. The Health Department’s birth certificate records showed that more than 740 Jaydens and more than 630 Sophias were born in the Big Apple in 2013. Overall, in 2013, 2,774 fewer babies were born in New York City as compared to 2012.

“Choosing a baby’s name is for many parents a tremendously meaningful moment in their life. We want to make sure that families are able to bring our newest New Yorkers into a healthy, safe environment,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett, whose name ranked 114 this year. “The Health Department has many free and low cost resources that provide access to services, from pre-pregnancy health related issues to offering support for everything a new mother might need to help their baby thrive.”

Name Trends

Nine of the top ten girls’ names from 2012 held their place on the 2013 list. Sofia, which fell off the list last year, rejoined the list at number 8, while Ava moved from number 10 to number 11. Sophia, Isabella, Emma and Olivia all held the top four spots for the second year in a row, while Emily and Mia swapped spots at numbers 5 and 6. Chloe moved down from number 6 to number 10, Madison dropped one spot to number 9, and Leah moved from number 9 to number 7. Eight of the top ten boys’ names were holdovers from 2012, while Ryan fell from number 9 to number 14 and Aiden dropped from number 7 to number 11. Liam joined the list at number 10, and Noah joined at number 6. Jayden has remained number 1 for five years in a row, with Matthew and Michael both moving down the list while David and Alexander moved up.

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The Health Department’s Bureau of Vital Statistics compiles baby name lists from birth certificates and collects other data, including total births by year and demographic characteristics. Learn more about the information gathered from birth certificates.

For more information on baby names, New York City’s births and pregnancies or how to obtain a birth certificate visit NYC.gov.

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