The most popular baby names in every state

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• The Social Security Administration releases annual statistics on the popularity of baby names in each state.
• The two most popular baby names of 2018 nationally were also dominant in several states. Liam was the top name for baby boys in 20 states, and Emma was the most popular name for girls in 15 states.
• There were some interesting regional differences, with lots of baby boys named William and girls named Ava in Southern states.
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Every year in May, the Social Security Administration releases statistics about the popularity of baby names in the previous year.

On Thursday, the Administration published its lists of the most popular names for baby boys and girls born in each state in 2018.

Read more: Here are the most popular baby names in America

Among boys' names, Liam, the most popular name nationally, was the top name in 20 states. William was the most popular name in several Southern states:

Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Social Security Administration

The most popular girls' name in the country, Emma, was the top name in 15 states. Olivia was popular across a large stretch of the middle of the country, and mirroring William's popularity among boys' names in the South, Ava was the top name in many of the same states:

Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Social Security Administration

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