Top baby names of 2022? You probably already know

Liam and Emma continued their years-long streak as the most popular boys and girls names in New York City in 2022, newly released numbers show, but statewide, Olivia reigned supreme for girls.

On Long Island, Liam has been the most popular name for either gender since 2018, dethroning Matthew, which has been rapidly losing popularity, according to 2021 state health department data. The state has not yet compiled Nassau and Suffolk numbers for 2022.

Liam landed atop New York City’s list for boys' names for the seventh straight year, and Emma was No. 1 for girls for the sixth consecutive year, according to numbers released this week by the city’s health department.

“Liam is an Irish name that has this real cross-cultural appeal,” said Pamela Redmond, co-creator and CEO of Nameberry, a baby name website, noting how it is the second-most popular name in Sweden and the sixth-most popular in Argentina.

It’s short and easy to pronounce across cultures, she said.

Liam was not even in the top 500 of U.S. boys names as late as 1993, according to Babynames.com. It is now the top boys name nationwide, Social Security Administration data shows.

Actor Liam Neeson helped drive the name’s popularity starting in the 1990s, followed by other celebrities with that name, said Jennifer Moss, founder and CEO of babynames.com.

“Celebrity has a lot of influence with baby naming, especially now with the internet and pop culture right in our faces 24/7,” she said.

In addition, she said, “English and Irish names have jumped the pond and are a little more popular now.”

Emma also was common in Britain and Ireland before its ascendancy in the United States, she said.

On Long Island, Olivia edged out Emma as the most popular girls' name in 2021. There were 215 newborns named Olivia and 206 named Emma.

Liam was the most popular boys name, with 293 newborns sharing the name. Noah was second, with 205.

Statewide, Liam and Noah also held the top spots for boys, according to 2022 Social Security data, and Olivia and Emma were the top two for girls, as they were nationwide.

At Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, Liam is by far the most popular name this year, with 23 newborns named Liam in 2023, chief medical officer Dr. Grace Ting said. Mia, the third-most popular girls name on Long Island in 2021, is the most popular at NUMC this year, with eight newborns named Mia.

“The girls' names are more scattered,” with more variety in the top names than with boys, Ting said.

The same was true Islandwide for 2021, state data shows.

Boys' names tend to have “more staying power,” Redmond said, because parents are more likely to name their children after a male family member than a female one. She attributed that to longstanding patriarchal traditions.

Michael was the most popular boys name nationwide from 1961 to 1998, according to Nameberry, and it was the most popular name on Long Island until as recently as 2012, state data shows. It since has fallen to 14th place.

Other names, including Ava, Isabella, Anthony and Ryan, also have been in a popularity freefall on Long Island.

One reason names fall out of favor, Moss said, is that “parents are looking for more unique names. They want to stand out.”

In 1950, 33% of boys shared a name from the list of the 10 most popular names, she said. By 2022, only 7% of newborn boys had names in the top 10.

Despite the popularity of Liam, only 2.5% of the 915 babies born at NUMC as of Wednesday afternoon carried that name.

Another reason for the wide mix of names is cultural diversity, said Dr. Michael Nimaroff, executive director of OB-GYN services for Northwell Health.

“There are some very unique names that are unique to different cultures,” he said.

By David Olson

david.olson@newsday.com@DavidOlson11

David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.