The 3 Most Popular Baby Boy Names In West Virginia In 2022 Buck Every Trend

Just weeks ago, the Social Security Administration (SSA) released its official list of the top baby names in 2022. The list is a snapshot of which baby names are losing favor across the U.S. and which baby names are quickly gaining popularity. Overall, the baby names that have been in the top 10 over the past few years continue to hold firm: Liam, Emma, Olivia, Noah, etc. But when we narrow down the most popular baby names by state, there are some unique entries, like Alaska loving the baby name “Aurora” in 2022. And the most popular baby boy names in West Virginia includes some ultra-unique favorites.

According to the SSA, the top three boy names in West Virginia in 2022 were Asher, Grayson, and Waylon. (The 4th and 5th most popular baby boy names in the state in 2022 were more typical — Oliver and Liam, respectively.)

These names — Asher, Grayson, and Waylon — stand out because they’re not common names found multiple times on the top five baby boy names per state. Asher landed in 4th or 5th place in Hawaii, Kentucky, North Dakota, and Oklahoma. Grayson and Waylon, on the other hand, are names only seen on the top 5 most popular baby boy names list for West Virginia. No other state seems to value these names as much.

In 2022, Asher, which means “fortunate, blessed, happy one,” according to Nameberry, was the 19th most popular baby boy name in the U.S., up from the 25th spot in 2021 and 32nd in 2020.

Grayson, which means “the son of the bailiff,” according to Nameberry, is the 37th most popular baby boy name in the United States. It’s also never cracked the top 20 of most popular baby names, per the Social Security Administration.

Waylon is even more unique of a name than Grayson and Asher. According to Nameberry, Waylon means “land beside the road,” and it’s never cracked the top 50 for most popular baby boy names in the United States, despite being the namesake of one of the country’s most beloved country stars, Waylon Jennings. The highest the name ‘Waylon’ has ever got on the list was in 2022, when it was ranked the 66th most popular baby boy name. The name only cracked the top 200 in 2016, when it landed at spot 196.

To check out the complete list of popular baby names by state, and to see what other baby boy names are trending, check out the Social Security Administration’s website.