What baby names are unique to Kentucky?

Estill is the name most distinctive to Kentucky, given about 41 times more often there than in the United States as a whole. Wilgus, Gobel and Veachel follow.

How is a distinctive name measured?

Each name's share of births in Kentucky is compared with its share nationally. The multiplier shown is the conservative low end of that ratio, so a name carried by a handful of births cannot outrank one carried by hundreds.

Name Legacy

Names unique to Kentucky

The most distinctive Kentucky baby names, 1910–2025

These are the names given far more often in Kentucky than anywhere else in the country, across the whole record from 1910 to 2025. Estill leads: it is given about 41× more often here than across the United States as a whole.

The multiplier compares each name's share of Kentucky births with its share nationally, and reports the conservative low end of that comparison — so a name carried by a handful of births cannot outrank one carried by hundreds.

Across the whole record, 1910–2025

#	Name	Births	vs national
1	Estill	837	41×
2	Wilgus	58	33×
3	Gobel	23	28×
4	Veachel	16	28×
5	Hargis	100	27×
6	Malvery	11	26×
7	Estil	359	23×
8	Mossie	257	20×
9	Draxie	24	19×
10	Crit	42	17×
11	Goebel	25	17×
12	Alka	42	16×
13	Woodford	156	14×
14	Ballard	262	14×
15	Lenville	49	14×
16	Linville	107	13×
17	Ova	343	13×
18	Goble	32	13×
19	Hobert	1,100	12×
20	Nancye	224	12×
21	Rondal	387	12×
22	Johnda	56	12×
23	Cova	38	11×
24	Birchel	6	11×
25	Malta	17	10×
26	Bige	17	10×
27	Oval	112	10×
28	Flonnie	145	9×
29	Garnett	895	9×
30	Nannie	2,144	8×
31	Oma	1,001	8×
32	Arvil	349	8×
33	Hager	25	8×
34	Ample	5	8×
35	Browder	5	8×
36	Louard	5	8×
37	Rosala	5	8×
38	Cleda	177	8×
39	Goldia	197	8×
40	Mayme	675	7×

Right now, in 2025

A different list from the one above, and not a contradiction: these are the names distinctive to Kentucky in a single recent year rather than across the whole record.

Name	Births	vs national
Kainen	6	15×
Addalynn	5	9×
Lynnleigh	5	9×
Mallorie	5	9×
Mauwa	5	9×
Brenleigh	6	8×
Oakes	6	7×
Novaleigh	8	6×
Weller	6	5×
Blakeley	6	5×

Decade by decade

The single most distinctive name of each decade.

Decade	Name	vs national
1910s	Estill	28×
1920s	Estill	28×
1930s	Estill	27×
1940s	Estill	30×
1950s	Estill	30×
1960s	Estill	19×
1970s	Johnda	7×
1980s	Estill	8×
1990s	Laken	5×
2000s	Braxton	4×
2010s	Kenton	5×
2020s	Anniston	5×

Explore further

See Kentucky on the interactive map

Names unique to other states

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. State records begin in 1910. Names given to fewer than five babies in a state in a year are withheld at source. namelegacy.org