Confession time: When my wife was carrying our first child, I didn’t ease my pre-parental anxiety by absorbing What to Expect When You’re Expecting or some similar advice book. Instead, I read a giant baby name dictionary cover to cover. It may not have given me any practical knowledge about caring for a newborn (diapers!?!?), but the experience did give me an appreciation for the vast – almost overwhelming! – range of options for naming a baby. 

New parents face a big challenge: Do they honor the past (using a classic name), fit in with the crowd (picking something popular), or look toward the future (by getting on a new name trend early)? Chippewa Valley parents did a little bit of all of this in 2019.

However, according to compilations provided by the region’s biggest hospitals – Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire and Menomonie, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls – classic sounding names seemed to predominate. The newborn class of 2019 was full of tots with names such as Eleanor, Emily, William, and Jack. Grandma and grandpa – or even great-grandma and great-grandpa – would be proud. 

Below are lists of the top names by hospital. Spellings sometimes vary, and numerous names tied in popularity.

MAYO (EAU CLAIRE)

BOYS:

1. William (10)

2. Lincoln (7)

3. (TIE): Carter, Colton, Liam, Wyatt (6)

GIRLS:

1. Lydia (8)

3. (TIE): Eleanor, Emma (6)

4. (TIE): Emily, Everly, Sophia (5)

MAYO (MENOMONIE)

BOYS:

1. Jackson (5)

2. (TIE): Emmett, Nolan (3)

GIRLS:

1. Emma (4)

2. Natalie (3)

SACRED HEART

BOYS:

1. Oliver

2. Jackson/Jaxon/Jaxson

3. Jack/Jak/Jakk

4. Owen

5. Levi

GIRLS:

1. Stella/Estella

2. Isabell/Izzabella

3. Charlotte

4. Ava/Eva/Ayva

5. Sophia/Sofia/Sophie

ST. JOSEPH’S 

BOYS:

1. Charles

2. Liam

3. Braxton

4. Andrew

5. Luke

GIRLS:

1. Adelyn

2. Emersyn

3. Aubree

4. Eleanor

5. Averly