Illinois' most popular names for babies born in 2022
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You may have recently read that the most popular new baby names in Illinois include Noah, Liam, Oliver, Mateo, Olivia, Sophia, Emma and Charlotte.
- These closely mirror the top national names, according to recently released 2022 data from the U.S. Social Security Administration.
Zoom in: We wanted to dig further into the names that are trending up or down in the state.
Trending: The popularity of Muslim names like Malani, Ibrahim and Nasir in Illinois reflects our big Muslim population.
- Irish names like Maeve, Fiona and Molly also do especially well in Illinois, with the seventh-largest population of people of Irish ancestry in the country.
The intrigue: The meteoric rise of Thiago in our state may be linked to Brazilian soccer sensation Thiago Alcantara, who plays in the Premier League for Liverpool.
- But why Illinois? Not clear to us.
Between the lines: The fall of "Alexa" suggests Illinoisans may be tired of accidentally activating their smart speaker every time they mention their child's name.
- If this is an issue because of a household Alexa (or a terrific editor you talk to often, like ours), you can reprogram your smart speaker with another name.
Our prediction: Brandon may have fallen in the last decade, but we foresee a comeback — at least in Cook County.
