Olivia and Liam again topped the list of most popular baby names in the country in 2025, as they have for years. Here in Maine, where they recently dropped several spots, we’ve apparently moved on.
There are, however, two names we just can’t shake — names whose popularity has outlasted “Baby Shark,” fidget spinners and the entire five-season run of “Yellowstone.”
For eight of the last nine years (aside from Evelyn’s brief appearance atop the list in 2022), Charlotte has been the No. 1 girl’s name in the state.
Oliver has held the top spot for boys all but twice since 2017, bumped by Theodore in 2023 and again last year, according to data released this month by the U.S. Social Security Administration.
Both names with ties to literary classics are popular nationwide, where Charlotte peaked at No. 2 last year and Oliver has held the No. 3 spot since 2019. But they made a more dramatic ascent in the rankings in Maine — a place where, perhaps not by chance, writers and readers abound.
TANGLED ‘WEB’
Could a certain title spider have had more sway in the state where author E.B. White lived?
Angelia Woodbury, of Vassalboro, said the movie version of “Charlotte’s Web” was a favorite of hers as a kid, which may have played a role in the name landing on her long-standing list.
“I always wanted to be a mom growing up, so I’ve always had a list of baby names in my phone,” she said.
Ultimately, she chose Charlotte for her now-9-month-old daughter because she wanted something “vintage but elegant” that would work as well for a baby as a grown woman.
She and her boyfriend also thought it sounded good with the middle names they chose, Pearl and Hester, after their great-grandmothers — not characters from another classic, “The Scarlet Letter,” penned by Nathaniel Hawthorne who lived in Raymond as a boy and attended Bowdoin College.
But that’s quite the coincidence.
‘TWIST’ OF FATE
Woodbury said she didn’t know the name she picked was so popular. Neither did Erin Chance, of Newcastle, when she chose Oliver for her son, though she was aware of at least one other one.
Initially inspired by Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist,” Chance crossed it off her list when she found out it was the name of her ob-gyn’s baby.
Then, she said, “I got an epidural and forgot.”
Upon seeing how serenely her newborn son was sleeping, she returned to Oliver because of its association with peace — not as applicable now that he’s about to turn 2.
Finding out later about its popularity, she said, “was totally annoying.”
Pregnant again, Chance plans to continue the tradition of choosing a name with a literary connection but wants to steer clear of anything super common this time.
As for the name Charlotte? Well, she’s been warned.
Top 10 Maine baby names of 2025
Girls
- Charlotte
- Amelia
- Eleanor
- Violet
- Harper
- Evelyn
- Lucy
- Olivia
- Grace
- Ivy
Boys
- Theodore
- Oliver
- Henry
- Noah
- Levi
- Wesley
- Jack
- James
- William
- Bennett
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
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