OliviaWhen I first took a look at this map of the most popular baby names by state, I was a little bit surprised for a couple of reasons.

First of all, there's not a whole lot of variance from state to state. Out of all the states in the U.S. -- there are only 10 baby names that made the list, which means parents all over the country seem to be following the same trends when it comes to choosing what to call their babies.

Second, out of those 10 names, one in particular -- a very traditional name, was only the most popular in the southeastern states. (Guess us folks up north like to venture off the beaten path a bit more.)

Ok, ok, enough with the suspense. Here are the most popular baby names by state, along with their breakdowns.

Mason -- Washington, Montana, Idaho, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Louisiana, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland.

Sophia -- Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire.

Emma -- Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Maine.

Olivia -- Alaska, Colorado.

William -- Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas.

Noah -- Hawaii

Alexander -- Illinois

Liam -- Vermont

Michael -- New Jersey

Isabella -- Florida

Soooo, I guess Mason and Sophia aren't quite as unique and original as they used to be, huh?

And the William thing still has me shaking my head, because the popularity of the name is clustered into that one little area of the U.S. (Kinda weird, right?)

And while I'm not the least bit surprised that Hawaii and Vermont favor different names than the rest of the country, what's up with New Jersey, Illinois, and Florida going against the norm? (Who knew those states were so ... trendy.)

Are you thinking of giving your baby one of these names? What state do you live in?

 

Image via bubblecakesbabyblankets/Flickr