Top Baby Girl Names in Minnesota

Ava, Olivia, & Emma Top the MN State Popularity Chart in 2007

May 20, 2008 Naomi Rockler-Gladen

For the third year in a row, Ava tops the list of popular baby girl names in Minnesota. Here are the top 20 choices in 2007 from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

The U.S. Social Security Baby Name Index reports are in for 2007-- and in Minnesota, Ava is the number one baby girl's name for the third year in a row. Here's the top 20 baby girl names in Minnesota from the year 2007:

1. Ava
2. Olivia
3. Emma
4. Addison
5. Sophia
6. Grace
7. Abigail
8. Ella
9. Isabella
10. Emily
11. Hannah
12. Elizabeth
13. Madison
14. Anna
15. Samantha
16. Lauren
17. Chloe
18. Natalie
19. Hailey
20. Alexis

For the most part, Minnesota's list of baby girl names is pretty similar to the nationwide list of top names (unlike the list of top baby boy names in Minnesota, which is surprisingly different). One of the biggest differences is the surprisingly low ranking of Emily, which has been the number one girl's name in the United States since 1996. In Minnesota, it only ranked #10 in 2007, and that was down two points from 2006. Minnesotans seem to prefer the similar names Emma (#3 in Minnesota, as it is nationwide) and Ella (#8 in Minnesota, although only #21 nationwide).

Of course, if you go back just a few years, Emily was the number one name in Minnesota as well. Unlike some states, where names tend to remain number one for years at a time, Minnesota has actually had seven top baby girl names since 1970, which is unusual. These names are:

• Jennifer (1970-1984)
• Amanda (1985)
• Ashley (1986-1993)
• Emily (1994, and 1996-2000)
• Samantha (1995)
• Emma (2001-2004)
• Ava (2005-2007)

Another difference in Minnesota is the relative lack of popularity for Isabella, which ranked #9 in Minnesota and #2 nationwide. Isabella is the #1 name in some states--like New York--and perhaps it sounds a little too formal for the tastes of many Midwesterners. Minnesotans do seem partial to the softer version of this name, Isabelle. Although Isabelle only ranked at #22 nationwide, it ranked all the way up at #9 in Minnesota.

Three other popular names that did not fair as well in Minnesota: Alyssa (#14 nationwide, #35 in Minnesota), Mia (#15 nationwide, #54 in Minnesota), and Sarah (#18 nationwide, #55 in Minnesota)

On the other hand, Grace ranked much higher in Minnesota than it did in many other states (#6 in Minnesota, #20 nationwide), and its been in the top #10 since 1999. Another pretty, old-fashioned name that's more popular in Minnesota than it is elsewhere is Anna, which ranked at #14 in Minnesota and #25 nationwide.

Other names that are more popular in Minnesota than elsewhere are Lydia (#33 in Minnesota, #123 nationwide), Avery (#27 in Minnesota, #48 nationwide), Amelia (#29 in Minnesota, #77 nationwide), Audrey (#29 in Minnesota, #51 nationwide), Aubrey (#37 in Minnesota, #69 nationwide), Nora (#71 in Minnesota, #242 nationwide), and Greta (#96 in Minnesota, #671 nationwide).

The top 20 list didn't change a great deal between 2006 and 2007. There was only one new name (Chloe, which rose from #21 to #17) and one name that fell off the list (Isabelle, which fell from #19 to #22). By far, the biggest jumper was trendy Addison, which leaped from #14 to #4-- way ahead of Madison, which was #13. The only name to fall more than two points was Grace, which fell from #3 to #6.

See also:

Top Baby Boy Names in Minnesota

Top Baby Girl Names in the U.S. 2007

The copyright of the article Top Baby Girl Names in Minnesota in Pregnancy & Childbirth is owned by Naomi Rockler-Gladen. Permission to republish Top Baby Girl Names in Minnesota in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

A Little Minnesota Girl