These are 2018’s most popular baby names in State College

Benjamin and Emma were the most popular boy and girl names among parents at Mount Nittany Medical Center this year.

The State College hospital had 1,254 live births, as of Dec. 19, according to Anissa Ilie, Mount Nittany Health communications coordinator. Benjamin was also the favorite boy name at MNMC in 2017, but Emma rose to the top from No. 4 last year.

Benjamin didn’t crack the top five boys’ names nationally, according to BabyCenter’s most popular baby names of 2018 list. Jackson is the top choice for boys for the sixth year in a row, though it didn’t make an impression in State College. The most popular girl name on BabyCenter’s list is Sophia, which ranked No. 5 locally.

Here are the top five names in 2018 for babies born at Mount Nittany:

Girls

1. Emma

2. Evelyn

3. Harper

4. Nora

5. Sophia

Boys

1. Benjamin

2. Liam

3. Lucas

4. Oliver

5. Alexander