OLYMPIA — Sophia and Jacob were the most popular names for babies born in Washington state in 2010.
Of the 42,233 girls born in the state that year, 474 were named Sophia, the state Department of Health said in a statement.
Overall, 44,247 boys were born in 2010 in Washington. Of those, 416 babies were named Jacob.
Washingtonians mirrored the rest of the nation in their top choice for boys but differed in their favorite name for girls.
Isabella was the most popular girl’s name nationally.
Jacob has held the No. 1 spot for the past decade in the United States.
In Washington state, Jacob was the first choice for baby boys this decade in every year but three.
In 2009, Alexander was first and Jacob second.
In both 2002 and 2008, Ethan was first and Jacob second.
Over the previous four decades — 1961 through 1998 — Michael was the No. 1 name for baby boys in the United States, according to the Social Security Administration.
Every couple years
Although there are consistent favorites for girls, the most popular names in Washington change every couple of years.
Four names have been in the state’s top five for most of the decade: Olivia, Isabella, Emma and Emily.
Sophia has been one of the top four most popular names beginning in 2007.
The state department presented the statistics while also telling about a new texting service for pregnant women and new mothers.
Text4baby is a free health information program that sends weekly text messages about giving children healthy starts.
To sign up, text “BABY” for messages in English or “BEBE” for messages in Spanish to 511411, or visit www.text4baby.org.
