What baby names are unique to Virginia?

Welford is the name most distinctive to Virginia, given about 16 times more often there than in the United States as a whole. Saford, Alease and Linwood follow.

How is a distinctive name measured?

Each name's share of births in Virginia 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 Virginia

The most distinctive Virginia baby names, 1910–2025

These are the names given far more often in Virginia than anywhere else in the country, across the whole record from 1910 to 2025. Welford leads: it is given about 16× more often here than across the United States as a whole.

The multiplier compares each name's share of Virginia 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	Welford	187	16×
2	Saford	9	14×
3	Alease	526	13×
4	Linwood	3,358	13×
5	Otelia	233	10×
6	Percell	233	9×
7	Nannie	2,968	9×
8	Junius	841	8×
9	Ashby	409	8×
10	Lynwood	686	7×
11	Dreama	478	7×
12	Charmie	15	7×
13	Junious	239	7×
14	Garnett	861	6×
15	Waverly	864	6×
16	Edmonia	95	6×
17	Garland	2,942	6×
18	Leronia	5	5×
19	Lelia	1,260	5×
20	Trequan	105	5×
21	Brehon	7	5×
22	Cabell	16	5×
23	Trula	204	5×
24	Lenwood	248	4×
25	Haywood	592	4×
26	Breon	267	4×
27	Gilmer	116	4×
28	Glenwood	207	4×
29	Worley	67	4×
30	Raquan	125	4×
31	Virgie	1,344	4×
32	Vernelle	110	4×
33	Randolph	3,639	3×
34	Eldridge	393	3×
35	Traquan	35	3×
36	Pattie	652	3×
37	Carlton	3,469	3×
38	Kidus	77	3×
39	Raekwon	185	3×
40	Drema	188	3×

Right now, in 2025

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

Name	Births	vs national
Heela	7	10×
Brynne	6	8×
Arsh	9	5×
Beauregard	5	5×
Burhan	5	5×
Jhonatan	5	5×
Mckinlee	5	5×
Olga	5	5×
Ottilie	5	5×
Salaar	5	5×

Decade by decade

The single most distinctive name of each decade.

Decade	Name	vs national
1910s	Ashby	20×
1920s	Ryland	19×
1930s	Ryland	21×
1940s	Ryland	18×
1950s	Ryland	16×
1960s	Linwood	12×
1970s	Linwood	12×
1980s	Brehon	12×
1990s	Linwood	8×
2000s	Breon	4×
2010s	Virginia	4×
2020s	Nolawi	4×

Explore further

See Virginia 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