Prepare to meet more Georgia girls with this name, now the state’s most popular
How many people named Amelia do you know?
There’s the charming Amelia Bedelia from the beloved children’s book series that bears her name. And Amelia “Mia” Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, Anne Hathaway’s awkward-teen-turned-princess-of-Genovia from the movie “The Princess Diaries.” And don’t forget American aviator Amelia Earhart.
But in the coming years, you may meet many more at park playgrounds and schools. Amelia jumped to the top of Georgia’s most popular baby name list in 2025, up from No. 3 the year before. The name catapulted above Charlotte and Olivia, which previously tied for No. 1.
Georgia parents named 450 little girls Amelia last year.
“Amelia represents this broader trend that we’re seeing … . To get to the top of the charts a name really has to have multicultural appeal,” said Sophie Kihm, editor-in-chief of the popular baby name website Nameberry.
It can be easily pronounced in English, Spanish and other languages, she noted, and it feels “fresh” and comes with a host of possible nicknames.
“There’s a lot to love about Amelia,” she said. “It has that vintage appeal that I think a lot of parents like even if people are looking for a traditional baby name.”
Nationally, Olivia reigns supreme and Amelia is the fourth most popular baby name, according to Social Security Administration data. The federal agency uses newborns’ names taken from Social Security card applications to compile its annual list, watched closely by trend forecasters and expectant parents. It released state-level data Thursday.
On the boy’s side, Liam held on to first place in Georgia and is No. 1 nationwide. Peach State parents chose that name 661 times last year.
Lucas fell out of Georgia’s top 10 list in 2025, replaced by Theodore. For girls, the same 10 names remained most popular but in slightly different order.
Of particular interest to our Southern state’s football fans: Georgia cracked the nation’s top 100 most popular girl names last year for the first time since 1913, according to Nameberry. It’s now at No. 99 after a precipitous decline in popularity during the 1950s through 1980s.
The resurgence fits baby naming trends as parents look for something “kind of quirky but not too out there,” Kihm said. (Though it’s great for a bulldog, “Uga” doesn’t appear on any most popular lists.)
Georgia has vintage flavor and could be used to honor an ancestor, including one named George. But it also isn’t too stodgy.
“Georgia sits in this sweet spot for so many people,” Kihm said.
The boy name to gain the most ground in the state last year was Cooper, which jumped 31 spots to land in a tie at No. 30 with Jack. For Georgia-born girls, the new trendy name is Ailany. It enjoyed a meteoric rise last year, vaulting 68 slots to No. 12.
About the Authors
Jennifer Peebles is a newsroom data specialist at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, helping reporters find and tell stories with government data (and sometimes documents, too).
