Look out Emma, Charlotte and Harper made big gains in Maine baby names

The ever-dominant Emma remained Maine’s most popular baby name in 2016, but other favorites for baby girls are quickly gaining favor.

The names Charlotte and Harper have surged in popularity, according to tallies released by the U.S. Social Security Administration Thursday.

There’s less movement among male baby names, where Liam and Owen were the top picks. More notable on the boy’s side is the fall of Jacob, which was the most popular male name by far from 2000 through 2008.

Jacob was ranked 41st last year.

While Liam and Owen remained popular, Benjamin has been playing a long game, as the top pick for all of 2000-2016. In addition to being the top name for 2016, Emma was also the top pick for all of the last 16 years.

And I thought Theodosia would make the charts…

Darren Fishell

About Darren Fishell

Darren is a Portland-based reporter for the Bangor Daily News writing about the Maine economy and business. He's interested in putting economic data in context and finding the stories behind the numbers.