--- description: The top boy's name retained its place in 2015, but there's a new favorite name for girls after three years of no change title: Here’s What New Yorkers Were Naming Their Kids in 2015 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc10d8dbcd42e5bdd/6988b42397cdff1e856aefe9/gettyimages-530065501.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here’s What New Yorkers Were Naming Their Kids in 2015 by [Feliz Solomon](/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 29, 2016 8:38 AM CUT  Getty Images by [Feliz Solomon](/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 29, 2016 8:38 AM CUT Sorry, Sophia. In 2015, New Yorkers had a new favorite name for girls: Olivia. The _Wall Street Journal_ reports that 1 in every 100 girls born in the Big Apple this year was called Olivia, taking the title of most popular after Sophia’s three-year reign. While Sophia slipped into the No. 2 slot, her cousin Sofia was gently nudged off the top 10 list altogether, with Madison taking her spot. Madison proved to be most popular among African-American babies, with Skylar moving in as second, according to [Gothamist](http://gothamist.com/2016/12/28/sorry%5Fdylan%5Fand%5Fsebastian.php "undefined"). Isabella and Sophia took off among newborn Latinas. Emma and Mia were also popular for girls born this year, the _Journal_ reports, while Ethan kept its comfortable lead in the No. 1 spot for boys. Liam, Noah, Jacob and Jayden also made the top five. In the nation more broadly, Emma and Noah took the top spots, according to the Social Security Administration. Olivia and Ethan, New York City’s favorites, were not far behind, the _Journal_ said. Baby-name expert and author Laura Wattenberg told the paper that the most popular girls’ names tend to be “old-fashioned in a smooth and easy way,” while boys are typically dubbed with two-syllable names that have a “dominant strong vowel.” \[[_WSJ_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/olivia-takes-no-1-spot-for-baby-girls-born-in-new-york-city-in-2015-1482961066 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4619376/popular-baby-names-2015-emma-noah-olivia-ethan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4619376/popular-baby-names-2015-emma-noah-olivia-ethan/"},"headline":"Here’s What New Yorkers Were Naming Their Kids in 2015","datePublished":"2016-12-29T08:38:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:57:47.603Z","description":"The top boy's name retains its place, but there's a new favorite for girls","url":"https://time.com/4619376/popular-baby-names-2015-emma-noah-olivia-ethan/","keywords":["Living","Family","New York","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc10d8dbcd42e5bdd/6988b42397cdff1e856aefe9/gettyimages-530065501.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Feliz Solomon","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/feliz-solomon/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc10d8dbcd42e5bdd/6988b42397cdff1e856aefe9/gettyimages-530065501.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"USA, New York, New York City, Mother photographing newborn daughter","caption":"USA, New York, New York City, Mother photographing newborn daughter","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4619376/popular-baby-names-2015-emma-noah-olivia-ethan/","name":"Here’s What New Yorkers Were Naming Their Kids in 2015"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Why U.S. Babies Are More Social Than Other Kids","description":"They're more impulsive and less cuddly, too","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zgDfvfYS/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-12-22T22:11:09.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zgDfvfYS.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4619376/popular-baby-names-2015-emma-noah-olivia-ethan/","duration":"PT1M3S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4619376/popular-baby-names-2015-emma-noah-olivia-ethan/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```