Emma was again the newborn name Wyoming parents chose most often for girls in 2018 while Oliver was the top selection for boys, according to Vital Statistics Services, part of the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH).
Emma was the most frequently used female name for the third year in a row, followed by Amelia, Elizabeth, Evelyn and Harper. For boys, the Jackson and Logan were tied for second after Oliver; Wyatt and Theodore followed to round out the top five.
“Each of these names had been in Wyoming’s top five in the last five years. Names do go in and out of fashion, but it seems to take some time for major changes in popularity to occur,” said Guy Beaudoin, Vital Statistics Services deputy state registrar with WDH.
Wyoming continued the downward trend that started in 2015 when 7,716 babies were born to resident mothers falling to a low of 6,551 babies born to resident moms in 2018. “Our state’s number of births last year was the lowest number of births we’ve seen in more than 15 years,” Beaudoin said.
At the same time, there was a moderate increase in resident deaths from 4,767 deaths in 2017 to 5,069 deaths in 2018. “With Wyoming’s aging population, we expect these numbers will likely continue increasing in future years,” Beaudoin said.
Vital Statistics Services promotes and protects the health of Wyoming residents by serving as the official custodian of all vital records in the state and by disseminating health information in support of health and social planning efforts.
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