CASPER, Wyo. — Evelyn won the competition for the number-one female name among Wyoming’s new babies in 2023, with Henry topping the race among male names, according to the Wyoming Department of Health’s Vital Statistics Services.
Runners-up for newborn girl names were Amelia, Olivia, Harper, Charlotte, Hazel, Eleanor, Lainey, Oakley and Aurora.
For boys, the names Jack and Wyatt tied for second place. Next on the list were Elijah, Carter, Asher, Theodore, Benjamin, Waylon and Noah, the WDH release said.
“There was more of a shakeup among the top names last year than we typically see,” said Kyndra Herrera, VSS deputy state registrar with the WDH. “Parents look at many factors when making their choices. Sometimes they pass on family names. Other influences include movies, television shows, musicians or celebrities.”
There were 5,989 births among Wyoming resident mothers in 2023 compared with 6,050 in 2022.
“In general, Wyoming has seen an overall downward trend in births for several years,” Herrera said. “However, in 2023 there were more births than deaths (5,566) among Wyoming residents.”
Herrera noted 5,337 births occurred within the state in 2023, which is fewer than the total births among Wyoming residents.
“We believe this indicates many of our state’s mothers deliver their babies in hospitals in other locations, which can be due to geographic convenience, preference or medical need,” Herrera said.
August was the month with the most resident births at 553 and February had the least with 449.
The release noted that state vital statistics “[promote] and [protect] the health of Wyoming residents by serving as the official custodian of all vital records in the state and by distributing health information and reports.”
Details about obtaining official records, more state statistics and information about the program can be found on the state’s website online.
