These Are the Quirkiest Baby Names In Every State
Choosing the perfect baby name is a fine art. Often, a new parent will want to toe the line between a name that's uncommon without being too obscure – so maybe not an Alex, but also not a Dauphinoise Petunia Brittany Scheherazade Von Funkinstein Mustard Witch RBG Cross Tamblyn-Bey Jr., à la Amber Tamblyn's joke about her newborn daughter's name. You also want a name that fits the little person you've brought into the world. It's a lot of pressure.
In an interesting new study on unique baby names, baby name site Nameberry examined which names generally considered rare in America are over-represented in specific states. To do this, their researcher looked at each name that was given to 100 or more babies born in the United States in 2015, then calculated what percentage of babies with each name were born in every state. The results revealed the most popular "rare" boy and girl names for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
A few of the results are pretty intuitive. Most of the names can be explained by the prevalence of specific ethnic groups in that state, local hometown "heroes," or an area's culture, according to Nameberry. Brigham, for instance, was the most popular boy's name in Utah, a state with a particularly high Mormon population – Brigham Young was a prominent Mormon leader. Aspen, a unisex name, was the most popular "quirky" girl name in Colorado, where the residents apparently love their world-famous ski town so much they name their kids after it. The Somali boy's name Abdirahman was over-represented in Minnesota, where there's a prominent Somalian community.
Other names make less immediate sense. Does Alaska have a particular affinity for Shakespeare? Apparently, because Ophelia was that state's most prominent unusual girl's name. Or how about Egypt in D.C., and Aspyn in North Dakota? Utah's way-overrepresented girl's name, Oaklee, isn't particularly expected either.
Check out the rest of the quirkiest baby names for each gender in every state below.
Quirkiest Baby Girl Names, By State
Quirkiest Baby Boy Names, By State
(h/t PopSugar)
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