{"id":215,"date":"2026-05-15T11:04:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215"},"modified":"2026-05-15T11:04:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:04:17","slug":"what-are-ncs-most-popular-baby-names-see-the-top-picks-for-boys-girls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215","title":{"rendered":"What are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Social Security Administration drops lists of the most used baby names in the country and by state each year, and it\u2019s that time of year again. Let\u2019s see what North Carolinians are naming their babies.<\/p>\n

Read more Who will design Carolina North? UNC\u2019s plans come into focus<\/a><\/p>\n

The No. 1 girl\u2019s name in the country<\/a> in 2025 was Olivia. While popularized by William Shakespeare in the play Twelfth Night, the name predates his work.<\/a> It means \u201cOlive\u201d or \u201cOlive branch\u201d in Latin.<\/p>\n

The top 5 girls names in NC in 2025:<\/b><\/p>\n

These are the same five names as 2024\u2013 but in a different order. Queen City residents may rejoice, as Charlotte has jumped from No. 4 to No. 2. Olivia was the top name in 2023<\/a>, The Observer previously reported.<\/a><\/p>\n

The number one boy\u2019s name in the country in 2025 was Liam. The name is an Irish diminuitive of William, according to Ancestry.<\/a><\/p>\n

The top 5 boys names in NC in 2025:<\/b><\/p>\n

As with the girl\u2019s names, this is the same North Carolina top five as 2024, aside from Noah overtaking Liam. Liam was also the top name in 2023.<\/p>\n

Read more NC cities are imposing water limits. How will they know if you break them?<\/a><\/p>\n

So far, Liam and Olivia are the most popular baby names not only of 2025, but of the 2020s. Your little one may be a Liam or an Olivia, or be running around with several on the playground.<\/p>\n

To see how popular your name or your baby\u2019s name was in 2025, go to ssa.gov\/OACT\/babynames<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Inspired by a story from The Sacramento Bee<\/a> in California.<\/i><\/p>\n

Questions about life in North Carolina? Or have a tip or story idea you\u2019d like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you.<\/p>\n

You can submit your question by filling out this form<\/a><\/b>. <\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 7:00 AM<\/span> with the headline “What are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more 3 NC metros have among the worst driving commutes in the US. Here\u2019s where & why<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These are North Carolina\u2019s most used baby names in 2025 \u2014 Charlotte rises while Olivia and Liam remain decade favorites. See complete SSA baby name list online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"These are North Carolina\u2019s most used baby names in 2025 \u2014 Charlotte rises while Olivia and Liam remain decade favorites. See complete SSA baby name list online.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-15T11:04:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6b1649226e2e7906c427dff65d8cc269.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"674\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"headline\":\"What are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-15T11:04:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215\"},\"wordCount\":383,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6b1649226e2e7906c427dff65d8cc269.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215\",\"name\":\"What are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls - Durham Moving Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6b1649226e2e7906c427dff65d8cc269.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-15T11:04:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6b1649226e2e7906c427dff65d8cc269.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6b1649226e2e7906c427dff65d8cc269.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?p=215#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Durham Moving Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/durhammovinghub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls - Durham Moving Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls - Durham Moving Hub","og_description":"These are North Carolina\u2019s most used baby names in 2025 \u2014 Charlotte rises while Olivia and Liam remain decade favorites. See complete SSA baby name list online.","og_url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215","og_site_name":"Durham Moving Hub","article_published_time":"2026-05-15T11:04:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":674,"url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6b1649226e2e7906c427dff65d8cc269.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"headline":"What are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls","datePublished":"2026-05-15T11:04:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215"},"wordCount":383,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6b1649226e2e7906c427dff65d8cc269.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215","name":"What are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls - Durham Moving Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6b1649226e2e7906c427dff65d8cc269.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-15T11:04:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6b1649226e2e7906c427dff65d8cc269.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6b1649226e2e7906c427dff65d8cc269.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=215#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What are NC\u2019s most popular baby names? See the top picks for boys & girls"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/","name":"Durham Moving Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf1f081e7f06a3ab66052e5f6015fd85","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/durhammovinghub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}