For parents who want a meaningful baby name, one easy theme is location, location, location. Maybe there's a state that means something to them — perhaps the state where the parents met, or where the baby was conceived. Giving the baby that state name is an easy way to ensure their child has a unique and special moniker.
But which state names are the most popular? BeenVerified found out by conducting a study using Social Security Administration data from the past 10 years. The data determined the top 20 most-used state-themed baby names.
Keep reading to see what made the list, ranked from least to most popular.
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Utah
Missouri
The state of Missouri has the honor of having 44 baby girls named after it over the last 10 years. And the real debate among them may be how to pronounce it. Some people call the state "Missourah" and some say "Missouree." Hope these 44 girls don't get tired of explaining their pronunciation to people.
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York
York is actually a city in England, but it also lent its name to New York state when the United States were formed. Are the 11 girls and 94 boys named York named after the UK version or the US version? We may never know. Maybe they're named in honor of Sex and the City character Charlotte York or the York Peppermint Patties.
California
Only 105 girls in the last decade can call themselves true California girls, because they're actually named California. There's so much to love about the state from its beaches to its culture-packed cities, so it's not surprising that some parents wanted to pay homage with their baby names.
Alabama
There were 110 Alabamas born in the last year — all of them girls. Nine of them were born just last year, per the Social Security Administration data. It's really so interesting to speculate wither these people actually live in their namesake state or if their parents just had a connection that they wanted to honor.
Washington
There were 115 boys born in the last decade who were named Washington — and zero girls. George Washington may have been a male president and Denzel Washington may be a male actor, but we think this could make a cuts girls' name too. Maybe this year some parents will decide to make it more of a gender neutral option.
Texas
There's a lot of state pride in Texas, so we're not surprised that it's a popular baby name too. We'd bet a good chunk of the 17 girls and 123 boys with this name were born in the state or their parents were. It would be a little funny to be a person living in a place with their same name, though.
