What's in a name - 2016 edition

Various outlets recently started releasing their lists of the most popular baby names in the U.S. for 2016.

According to BabyCenter LLC, a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies, the most popular girl's name in 2016 was Sophia, while the most popular boy's name was Jackson. Their data comes from nearly 400,000 parents who shared their baby's name with the company in 2016.

BabyCenter's top 10 names of 2016

Boys

• Jackson

• Aiden

• Lucas

• Liam

• Noah

• Ethan

• Mason

• Caden

• Oliver

• Elijah

Girls

• Sophia

• Emma

• Olivia

• Ava

• Mia

• Isabella

• Riley

• Aria

• Zoe

• Charlotte

Essentia Health-St. Joseph's Medical Center, Brainerd

Boys

Liam (5)

Jackson/Jaxon/Jaxson (4/2/1)

Wyatt (4)

Austin (3)

Bennett, Elijah, Hudson, Hunter, Jace, Mason, Michael, Noah, William (3 each)

Girls

Stella (4)

Sadie/Saydee (3/1)

Zoey/Zoe/Zoi (2/1/1)

Brinley/Brynlee (1/2)

Evalyn/Evelyn (1/2)

Kylee/Kylie (2/1)

Madalyn/Madylanne (2/1)

Nora/Norah (2/1)

Grace/Gracie (1/2)

Hazel/Hazelynn (2/1)

In 2015, Oliver and Elijah were tied for the top boy's name. On the girl's side, Addison, Elizabeth, Emma, Evelyn, Isabella, Lydia, Olivia, Riley and Stella tied for most popular. Jackson and its variations, Liam, Noah, Elijah and Mason were also found on BabyCenter's list of top names for 2016. Zoe and its variations was the only girl's name to also show up on the BabyCenter list.

Riverwood Healthcare Center, Aitkin

60 babies

Boys

Calvin

George

Daniel

James

Louis

Simon

Teddy

Mateo

Kobe

Dante

Girls

Ella

Anna

Cora

Sadie

Emberly

Milenna

Kiera

Overall, girls outnumbered boys by about 25 percent. The only repeated name among the girls was Ella. In 2015, popular boy names included Sullivan, Enzo, Jackson, Zane, Colby, Declan, Baylor, Odyn, Aiden and Grant. Girl names included Lucy, Charlotte, Allie, Hattie, Olivia, Brooke, Reagan, Selena, Azaylia and Annarose. None of the BabyCenter names showed up on the list for either boys or girls.

---

This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of the names of two girls born at Essentia Health -- St. Joseph's Medical Center in 2016. The correct spelling is Brynlee, not Bynlee. 

The Dispatch regrets the error.