MANCHESTER, NH – If you feel like you’ve been sending “congratulations” cards for a lot of new Charlottes and Theodores entering the world over the past few years, you are correct.
Both were New Hampshire’s most popular baby names in 2025. And 2024. And beyond.
In fact, Charlotte has been the state’s most popular girl’s name eight times between 2016 and 2025, and second the two years it wasn’t, according to the Social Security Administration, which recently released the top baby names for 2025 based on Social Security applications filed with a baby’s birth.
The Social Security Administration compiles baby names from those registered at birth during the year. While registering a baby is voluntary, most parents do it in order to claim their new child as a tax deduction, add them to health insurance and apply for government services and benefits.
The two years over the past decade Charlotte hasn’t been the most popular name, the honors went to Olivia, which Charlotte first replaced at the top of the list in 2016.
Olivias do have some bragging rights – it was the most popular girl’s name in the U.S. in 2025. Second to… Charlotte.
Theodore, which has been the most popular boy’s name in New Hampshire three times between 2022 and 2025, vaulted from No. 20 in New Hampshire in 2018 to No. 6 in 2019, dropped to 11 in 2020, hit 7 in 2021, before taking the top spot in 2022. Oliver was the most popular boy’s name in 2023, but Theodore surged back in 2024.
Compared to the top names in the U.S., New Hampshire parents went rogue more when it came to naming girls – a little at least – than naming boys.
Four of the 2025 top 10 girls’ names in New Hampshire were on the U.S. top 10 list. Seven of the top 10 most popular boy’s names were on the U.S. top 10 list.
There were 80 Charlottes born in New Hampshire last year, followed by Olivia, Sophia, Maeve, Violet, Amelia, Lucy, Nora, Isla, with Eleanor and Harper tying for No. 10.
New to the top 10 were Violet, which moved up from 28 in 2024, and Lucy, which was at 27 in 2024.
Falling out of the top 10 were Evelyn, which was No. 4 in 2024, and 13 in 2025; and Emma, which was No. 6 in 2024 and 12 in 2025.
Olivia has been the most popular girl’s name in the U.S. since 2019, replacing Emma, which had held the spot since 2014. Emma dropped to second until last year, when Charlotte overtook it.
Theodore was No. 4 in the U.S., with Liam the top name, No. 6 on the New Hampshire list. There were 101 Theodores born in New Hampshire in 2025, followed by Henry, Oliver, Jack, James, Liam, Lucas, Noah, Wesley, and Owen and William tying for No. 10.
New to the New Hampshire boys’ Top 10 in 2025 were Lucas, which was No. 14 in 2024; Wesley, which was No. 22 in 2024 and William, which was No. 11 in 2024.
Liam has been the top boy’s name in the U.S. since 2017, replacing Noah, which has held second place since then.
Parents who opted to go a different route in 2025 named their girl babies Allison, Amara, Callie, Caroline, Hallie – 12 babies each were given those names, for No. 100 on the girls’ list.
Chase and Christopher were shared by 15 babies each, for no. 100 on the boys’ list.
Name popularity over the century
James and William are the only New Hampshire top 10 boys’ names that are also in the U.S. 100-year top 10. James is the all-time most popular boys’ name in the U.S. since 1926, with 4,505,076 parents giving that name to their son. William is no. 6, given to 3,358,163 babies since 1926.
None of the top 10 New Hampshire girls’ names for 2025 are on the U.S. top 10 100-year list.
The top all-time girls’ name in the U.S. is Mary, given to 2,845,637 babies since 1926.
The one caveat in “most popular” names is that Social Security began in 1937. While anyone going back to 1879 could apply for it and register, fewer people did in its early days. Still, given the most popular names lists over the last 100 years, it doesn’t seem likely that there are names out there that would overtake the ones listed.
The Top 10 boys’ names since 1926 are James, followed by Michael, John, Robert, David, William, Richard, Joseph, Thomas and Christopher.
Michael has been the most popular boy’s name by year 44 times in the last century, topping the list every year from 1954 to 1998, except for 1960, which David held the top spot.
Top boys’ names by year are Robert, 1926-1939; James, 1940-1952; Robert, 1953; Michael, 1954-59; David, 1960; Michael, 1961-1998; Jacob, 1999-2012; Noah, 2013-2016; Liam, 2017-2025.
The 10 most popular girls’ names since 1926 are Mary, Patricia, Jennifer, Linda, Elizabeth, Barbara, Susan, Jessica, Karen and Sarah.
Mary also has the longest run for most popular yearly, holding the top spot 30 times since 1926, from 1926 to 1946, then again from 1953 to 1961.The top girls’ names by year since 1926 are Mary 1926-1946; Linda, 1947-1952; Mary, 1953-1961; Lisa, 1962-1969; Jennifer, 197-1984; Jessica, 1985-1990; Ashley, 1991-1992; Jessica, 1993-1995; Emily, 1996-2008; Isabella, 2009-2010; Sophia, 2011-2013; Emma, 2014-2018; Olivia, 2019-2025.
In 1960, the first year for which the SSA provides New Hampshire most popular baby names, David was the top boy’s name, given to 345 babies. The most popular girl’s name that year was Susan, with 187 babies given that name.
The boy’s name that has been the most popular yearly name since 1960 in New Hampshire is Michael, which held the top spot 23 times, the last time in 1995. The second-most popular is Jacob, which first appeared at the top in 1998.
Boys’ names that have been the most popular yearly since 1960 besides Michael and Jacob are David (4), Jason (4), Christopher (3), Logan (3), Oliver (3), Theodore (3) Matthew (2), Benjamin (2), Mason (2), Nicholas (1), Liam (1), Jackson (1), and Noah (1).
The most popular girl’s name yearly in New Hampshire since 1960 is Jennifer, which held the top spot for 15 straight years, from 1970 to 1984. The second is Emily, which was the most popular name for 10 straight years, from 1993 to 2002.
The other most popular girls’ names by year are Lisa (9), Charlotte (8), Emma (7), Olivia (6) Jessica (3), Amanda (2), Sarah (2), Susan (1), Ashley (1), and Sophia (1).
To get an idea how the popularity of a name can ebb and flow, you can check out your own name – or any other – using the interactive tool on Social Security Administration’s baby names page.
You can check popularity of a name going back to 1900. Did I check my name? You bet I did. I wasn’t surprised to find that the name Maureen is so unpopular that it hasn’t even registered on the charts since 1998 after only 212 parents named a baby Maureen in 1997. In fact, it was ranked no. 104 the year I was born, 1961, and was never that high again, it’s decline becoming more rapid as the years went by. This doesn’t surprise me. I’ve given up trying to spell it when I order a pizza, for instance.