Updated List of the 20 Most Popular First Names in Massachusetts

Massachusetts history runs deep, in all aspects of life. From some of the nation's most historic colleges, oldest restaurants, and original professional athletics teams. In addition to pride in our state's history, Massachusetts residents also take pride in their unique personal heritage as well.

The city of Boston has deep roots in both the Irish and Italian communities with almost 20% of the state's population claiming Irish descent, followed by about 12% of the population coming from Italian heritage. English, French, German, and Polish round out the top six countries of descent for Massachusetts residents.

When it comes to names, not only does cultural heritage affect what is most common, but religion plays a part as well. For example, biblical names tend to be more common in areas that have a higher Catholic and Christian population. 34 percent of Massachusetts residents qualify themselves as catholic and that is certainly represented on the list of the most common names.

Twenty Most Popular First Names in Massachusetts

We've prepared a list of the most popular first names, according to Forebears, along with the number of people in Massachusetts who have that first name.

20. Edward - 46,557

19. Christopher - 48,299

18. Mark - 49,581

17. Maria - 50,284

16. Elizabeth - 52,587

15. Daniel - 54,573

14. Jennifer - 55,737

13. Patricia - 56,317

12. Susan - 57,575

11. Thomas - 72,111

10. Paul - 74,043

9. Joseph - 88,318

8. Mary - 90,293

7. Richard - 93,452

6. William - 97,444

5. David - 113,298

4. James - 114,160

3. Michael - 141,750

2. Robert - 145,220

1. John - 177,003

This is the Most Popular Name in Massachusetts

With 177,003 going by it, John is the most common name in Massachusetts. It looks like there are plenty more Johns entering the community as it was the 12th most popular baby name in Massachusetts last year, according to NBC News10.