Ava has ascended to the top spot on the list of most popular names for baby girls born in Tennessee in 2019. William holds on to the number one spot as the most popular name chosen for baby boys in Tennessee for the 13th straight year, according to provisional data from the Tennessee Department of Health.
The top 10 names Tennessee parents chose for their new babies born in 2019 are as follows:
Top girl names
1. Ava 2. Olivia 3. Emma 4. Amelia 5. Harper 6. Charlotte 7. Evelyn 8. Elizabeth 9. Isabella 10. Ella
Ava returns to the top spot for names of baby girls after first reaching the number one ranking in 2017 and placing second in 2018. Ella is a new addition to the top ten list of girls' names for 2019, with Abigail dropping from the list from the previous year. All other names in the top ten list for girls are the same as in 2018, but some have changed in ranking.
Top boy names
1. William 2. Liam 3. Noah 4. James 5. Elijah 6. Mason 7. Oliver 8. John 9. Wyatt 10. Jackson
Wyatt is the new arrival on the top ten list of boys' names for 2019, with Grayson falling off the list since 2018. William has been the most popular name chosen for baby boys in Tennessee since 2007. All other names in the top ten list for boys made the list in 2018 as well, but have changed in ranking.
Names chosen for babies are recorded and tallied by the Tennessee Department of Health Division of Vital Records and Statistics staff. This division is responsible for records of all births, deaths, marriages and divorces in Tennessee and registers approximately 230,000 new records each year. Team members handle an average of 8,500 phone calls per month and issue more than 3,200 certificates every week.
"All Tennessee county health department locations can provide copies of birth and death records, offering an important and convenient service for Tennesseans," State Registrar Gray Bishop said in a news release. "We remind new parents to make sure they have a copy of their child's birth certificate before filing their 2019 income taxes so they can claim the exemption for the new additions to their families."
Tennessee birth certificates and other vital records may be securely obtained online by placing an order through VitalChek, the only approved partner for providing Tennessee vital records. Visit the VitalChek website at www.vitalchek.com/.
Learn more about the Tennessee Office of Vital Records including how request these records at www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/vital-records.html.