Emma is back on top in New Jersey. The Social Security Administration released the state’s most popular baby names for 2025, and Emma became the new No. 1 girls’ name while Liam kept the boys’ crown.
The shift puts Emma ahead of Mia, which was the top girls’ name last year. In 2025, 428 baby girls in New Jersey were named Emma, compared with 427 named Mia, a one-name edge that was enough to decide the state title. Liam was more comfortable at the top of the boys’ list, with 749 newborn boys given the name.
Emma’s return to first place is a repeat of its 2022 victory. The Social Security Administration has been compiling baby names since 1997, and its records go back to 1880, giving the agency a long view of how naming tastes change from year to year and from state to state. The New Jersey list is part of that broader database, which lets users search popularity by year and by state.
The 2025 rankings are a reminder that baby names can move quickly, even when the change is small. Emma and Mia were separated by just one baby girl in New Jersey, enough to flip the state’s top spot after Mia led in 2024. Liam, meanwhile, stayed firmly in front on the boys’ side, extending a run that continued through 2025.
That is why the state list draws attention beyond the names themselves. Each year’s rankings show how preferences shift, and the Social Security Administration says the lists also reveal the effect of pop culture on naming trends. The top ten names for newborns in the Garden State are listed below.
