From Aaron to Zuri, the top 100 baby names in the Washington area contain quite a few surprises. According to the Social Security Association’s annual report released earlier this month, Henry, Liam, Charlotte, and Olivia were most popular in DC, Maryland and Virginia, similar to the rest of the country. So we looked down the list to see who else might be new in town.
Designer district
DC’s fashion-forward families named ten girls Dior in 2021. In Maryland and Virginia, the brand name did not appear in the top 100 baby names, but between the two states, there were more than 150 new Paisleys.
Star-struck
After this Sunday’s blood moon, we can see why moms and dads might be inspired by the night sky. Aurora and Luna were popular in all three DMV jurisdictions. So was Nova, which sounds a little dreamier when you’re talking about superbright stars than when you’re discussing, say, Herndon.
Presidential names drop in Virginia
Fewer parents in Virginia looked to past Oval Office residents for inspiration this year compared to last, though there are still a bunch of presidents in the state’s top 75 most popular names. There were 154 fewer Jacksons and 104 fewer Carters in 2021 than in 2020, and Lincoln, Kennedy, and Reagan dropped in popularity a little bit, too.
High expectations
Between Maryland and Virginia, 159 Legends were born this year. The name is new to the list in both states. In DC, the newcomer of storybook names is Dream, which was given to 14 girls. Similar to last year, 2021 saw the addition of 16 new Kings and 15 Messiahs in the district.
This article has been updated since its original posting.
