Isabella and Jayden: NYC’s Favorite Baby Names

NEW YORK—Nearly 600 Isabellas and more than 800 Jaydens were welcomed to New York City in 2010—they were the most popular baby names for the second year in a row, announced the New York City Health Department.

Statistics for baby names and number of births—which are published annually in December but are a year behind—show that race and ethnicity differences are displayed through different baby names; Isabella and Jayden were the most popular name choices for Hispanics; Madison and Jayden were the top choices for black families; Asian families preferred Sophia and Ryan; Esther was a new favorite for white parents, joined by Joseph.

In 2002, the earliest year favorite baby name statistics are available on the Health Department’s website, Michael was the most popular male name (from 1956–2006), with more than a 1,000 babies named, and Ashley the most popular girl name—for the eleventh straight year—with 567.

New Yorkers continue to use names from celebrities, religious figures, and geographic areas, including Angelina, Daniel, and Charlotte.

Citywide, 124,791 live births occurred in 2010. Brooklyn was the borough with the most babies born, with about 41,500 births.

The institution at which the most births happened was Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, with 7,753. St. Luke’s—Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan helped bring almost 6,500 newborns into the world.