Shakeup Noted in Wyoming’s Most Popular Baby Names

May 22, 2020

Olivia topped the newborn name charts in Wyoming last year for girls, while Oliver and Liam tied in first place for boys, according to Vital Statistics Services (VSS), part of the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH).

For girls in 2019, Olivia was followed by Harper, Charlotte, Emma and Willow as the most popular choices. Emma had previously been the number one name for three years in a row.

Oliver and Liam were followed by Henry, Asher and William (tied), Elijah and Theodore as the most frequently chosen names for new Wyoming boys.

“We clearly had more of a shakeup among our most popular newborn names last year than we saw in the last few previous years,” said Guy Beaudoin, VSS deputy state registrar with WDH. “There can be many different factors that affect the selections new parents make including family connections and popular culture.”

Wyoming leveled out its downward trend in births with 6,563 babies born to resident mothers during the past year compared to 6,551 in 2018. This was following a decreasing trend that started in 2015 when 7,716 babies were born to Wyoming’s resident mothers.

“Meanwhile, Wyoming’s annual count of resident deaths has been steadily increasing in recent years, likely due to the state’s aging population,” Beaudoin said. In 2019, VSS recorded deaths for 5,121 residents compared to 5,069 deaths in 2018. The count in 2015 when the upward trend began was 4,744.

VSS promotes and protects the health of Wyoming residents by serving as the official custodian of all vital records in the state and by disseminating health information in support of health and social planning efforts. More state statistics and information about the program can be found online at https://www.health.wyo.gov/admin/vitalstatistics/.