What are Centre County’s favorite baby names? These were the most popular in 2023

Mount Nittany Medical Center’s most popular baby names in 2023 mostly followed the nation’s favorite choices, but a few more unique ones finished inside the top 10 for boys and girls — including a pair of new No. 1 picks.

This year, Henry claimed the top spot for boys by jumping up from seventh in 2022, landing ahead of picks like Oliver, Noah and Theodore, last year’s most popular name. Benjamin, David, Andrew, Grayson, Alexander, Beau and Cooper — all top 10 picks at Mount Nittany Medical Center in 2022 — did not finish inside this year’s top 10.

No pick for baby girls was more popular than Charlotte, which was the ninth-most popular name at Centre County’s only hospital in 2022. Ellie — the hospital’s most popular name for girls last year — failed to crack this year’s top 10, while Scarlett, Adeline, Amelia, Ava and Grace also fell off the shortlist after placing in 2022.

A few of this year’s top picks were far more rare across the country. Bennett, for example, was the ninth-most popular pick for boys born at Mount Nittany Medical Center this year, but it ranked No. 83 nationwide. No girl name among Centre County’s top picks was less popular nationwide than Caroline, which finished No. 77 across the U.S.

Mount Nittany Medical Center welcomed roughly 1,250 babies in 2023 as of Dec. 19, according to spokesperson Tania Luciow. That figure is down slightly from 1,271 babies born as of roughly the same date in 2022.

Here’s a look at the 10 most popular names for boys and girls born at Mount Nittany Medical Center in 2023 through Dec. 19. The national popularity of the name in 2022 — as calculated by the Social Security Administration — is noted in parentheses.

Boys

1. Henry (7)
2. Oliver (3)
3. Lincoln (54)
4. Maverick (40)
5. Noah (2)
6. Owen (18)
7. Theodore (10)
8. Asher (19)
9. Bennett (83)
10. Cameron (64)

Girls

1. Charlotte (3)
2. Amelia (4)
3. Olivia (1)
4. Lucy (48)
5. Emma (2)
6. Harper (11)
7. Paisley (53)
8. Abigail (24)
9. Caroline (77)
10. Eleanor (16)

This story was originally published December 22, 2023 at 10:07 AM.

Matt DiSanto

Centre Daily Times

814-231-4616

Matt is a 2022 Penn State graduate. Before arriving at the Centre Daily Times, he served as Onward State’s managing editor and a general assignment reporter at StateCollege.com. Support my work with a digital subscription