Topping the list of most popular baby names in Washington in 2011 was Mason for boys and Sophia for girls, according to a state health department report.
The state released the list this week. At least one of the names is popular in the Tri-Cities.
Delt Clark, a spokesman for Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, said his hospital doesn't keep a record of popular names given to babies born there. But workers in the birthing center recall delivering "a lot of Sophias," he said.
Staffers at Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco tallied up names of babies born there so far this year. Sophia was not tops -- that honor went to Isabella.
Next in line was Lilian. The names Addison, Ava, Harper and Ashley tied for third.
The most popular boy's name was Jonathan, followed by Alexander. The names Christian, Noah and Declan tied for third.
Statewide, the most popular boy's names in 2011 after Mason were Liam, Alexander, Ethan, Jacob, Daniel, Noah, William, Logan and Benjamin.
For girls, the most popular names after Sophia went like this: Olivia, Emma, Isabella, Emily, Ava, Abigail, Madison, Chloe and Elizabeth.
The state report also stated there were fewer tobacco smokers among pregnant women too, less than 9 percent. And, preterm births declined from 10.5 percent in 2006 to 9.5 percent in 2011.
Gestational diabetes among pregnant women did increase more than 6 percent in 2011, and that's up from 4 percent in 2003.
There were 107,562 pregnancies and 86,929 babies born in Washington in 2011 -- 42,325 girls and 44,604 boys. And there's been a steady decline in pregnancies and births that coincides with the economic downturn, the report says. The largest number of births was among mothers 25 to 29 years old. Teen pregnancies fell 31 percent from 3,613 in 2008 to 2,526 in 2011. A little more than 1,500 teens gave birth in 2011, which was down from 2,131 in 2008.
Nationally, Sophia also held the top spot for girls names in 2011, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration's website.
Jacob led for boy's names.
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