What baby names are unique to Minnesota?

Abdirahman is the name most distinctive to Minnesota, given about 25 times more often there than in the United States as a whole. Luverne, Maryama and Gao follow.

How is a distinctive name measured?

Each name's share of births in Minnesota 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 Minnesota

The most distinctive Minnesota baby names, 1910–2025

These are the names given far more often in Minnesota than anywhere else in the country, across the whole record from 1910 to 2025. Abdirahman leads: it is given about 25× more often here than across the United States as a whole.

The multiplier compares each name's share of Minnesota 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	Abdirahman	995	25×
2	Luverne	804	23×
3	Maryama	262	23×
4	Gao	163	22×
5	Anzal	148	22×
6	Muad	235	22×
7	Mumtaz	133	21×
8	Abdullahi	703	21×
9	Alcuin	27	21×
10	Marlys	3,212	21×
11	Mohamedamin	117	20×
12	Abdulahi	182	19×
13	Ayub	525	17×
14	Yahye	121	17×
15	Muhsin	211	17×
16	Valborg	82	16×
17	Arlys	325	16×
18	Munira	210	15×
19	Siham	220	15×
20	Hanad	126	14×
21	Ikhlas	99	14×
22	Maiza	48	14×
23	Sudais	121	13×
24	Pa	312	12×
25	Sundus	153	12×
26	Tou	287	12×
27	Kalley	168	12×
28	Musab	212	12×
29	Ruwayda	51	12×
30	Marlyce	122	12×
31	Adna	140	12×
32	Mubashir	55	12×
33	Arvid	630	12×
34	Sumaya	448	11×
35	Najma	188	11×
36	Eino	156	11×
37	Kong	196	11×
38	Mahir	329	10×
39	Abdimalik	67	10×
40	Yupheng	6	10×

Right now, in 2025

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

Name	Births	vs national
Maida	30	39×
Abdullahi	21	34×
Muhsin	19	33×
Akram	23	28×
Maiza	13	27×
Mahir	54	27×
Hanad	12	26×
Munasar	12	26×
Abdirahman	18	25×
Maryama	11	25×

Decade by decade

The single most distinctive name of each decade.

Decade	Name	vs national
1910s	Ailie	18×
1920s	Luverne	23×
1930s	Marlys	22×
1940s	Luverne	18×
1950s	Marlys	14×
1960s	Jodell	9×
1970s	Maren	6×
1980s	Gao	19×
1990s	Kalley	28×
2000s	Abdirahman	28×
2010s	Abdirahman	29×
2020s	Maida	35×

Explore further

See Minnesota 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