One of the biggest decisions expecting parents have to make is what to name their new bundle of joy.  According to the Romper website, there are a host of reasons parents anoint a name that will stick for the rest of that baby’s life. Some of those reasons include:

  • Family ancestry carries history with a name passed down from generation to generation.
  • Famous person inspired by a real person or a character from a movie, book, athlete, or perhaps an influential political figure. The crazy number of Britney’s in the 80s or Brady’s here in New England over the last two decades is proof of that.
  • Magical is a term Romper uses to describe naming a baby after a Disney or Pixar character. Or a character in a whimsical book or from someone in a book that carries a sense of wonderment from a magical story.
  • Empowerment is also a common reason to name your newborn after someone that has made a difference in the world or the parent’s little part of it according to Romper.

In Massachusetts, the most popular names for newborn babies have shifted over the decades.  Names popular in the 60ys have changed in the 21st century.  The Stacker website compiled data on the most popular baby names for boys from the Social Security Administration.

According to Stacker, the most popular baby name for a boy in Massachusetts is Noah.  The name has seen a 12.4% increase in baby Noah’s since 2015.  Noah is ranked 2nd as the most popular boy name in the country according to the Stacker study.

The top five most popular names for baby boys this decade in Massachusetts is William at #5…James is at #4…Benjamin is at #3…and the 2nd most popular name for a newborn boy in Massachusetts is Liam according to the Stacker study.  Click the Stacker link for the top 50 baby boy names in Massachusetts.

LOOK: The most popular biblical baby names

To determine the most popular biblical baby names, Stacker consulted the name origin site Behind the Name and the Social Security Administration's baby names database then ranked the top 50 names from Behind the Name's Biblical Names origins list of 564 names, based on how many babies had been given these names in 2019. Click through to find out which biblical names have stood the test of time.

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