What’s in a name?

Apparently, there was quite a bit of variety in the naming of the newborns born at St. Luke’s University Health Network in 2024.

These are the top three (or more) favorites at campuses where babies are born:

• St. Luke’s Allentown: Mia, Charlotte, Riley, for girls. Oliver, Henry, Lucas for boys.

• St. Luke’s Anderson: Girls — Olivia and Sophia (tied); Madelyn/Madeline and Riley (tied); Zoe/Zoey and Mia (tied). For boys — Liam, Noah and Theodore.

• St. Luke’s Upper Bucks: Girls — Charlotte, Lucy, Emma. Boys — Jackson and Liam (tied); Henry and Luke (tied); Wesley, Noah, Andrew, Brooks, Carter (tied).

The most popular baby names given to newborns at St. Luke’s University Health Network in 2023 bears only a slight resemblance to the 2024 names.

In 2023, Liam and Isabella were those top monikers, for boys and girls, respectively at the network.

On the Lehigh Valley Health Network side, Noah and Emma led the way among the most popular baby names for 2024.

Baby names at Lehigh Valley Health Network hospitals remains consistent in 2024.

For the fourth straight year you’ll find the same names for both girls and boys respectively at or near the top of the list among newborns.

This year’s most popular overall choice is Noah by a wide margin over the next most popular boy name, Liam.

As of mid-December, with more than 6,200 births for the year so far, 53 boys were named Noah at LVHN hospitals in 2024 compared to 44 who received the name Liam.

The most chosen girl name in 2024 is Emma, picked by 31 parents for their child. Isabella, which was the most popular girl name in 2023, comes in a close second this year (27) with Olivia (26) right behind.

Both Noah and Emma have been firmly near the top of the new-baby names list at LVHN for several years.

Other boy names that continue to head the list are Levi, Lucas and James. Behind Emma, Isabella and Olivia, Sophia and Charlotte remain popular.

Nationally, Noah remains No. 1 according to babycenter.com.

Like at LVHN, Liam also is the country’s second most popular choice for the second straight year.

For girls, Emma comes in third nationally behind Olivia and Amelia.

Name influences

A girl name that shows up more than you might expect with several spellings is Everleigh or Everly.

Twelve girls were named Everleigh at LVHN hospitals in 2024, including six spelled Everleigh. Maybe it’s sheer coincidence, but the interest in the name could be connected to 12-year-old YouTube star Everleigh Rose Smith-Soutas, a young fashionista and social media influencer.

There also appears to be some Greek mythology influence behind a few of the names selected this year.

Several one-offs among boys include Achilles, Atlas and Zeus. Five boys might have a legacy to live up to as their parents chose to name them Legend. And for the accounting audience, there is one Ledger. Or maybe the name was chosen because of the late Heath Ledger, who posthumously won several best supporting actor awards for his role as the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

There also are a Sol, a Soul, Serenitymoon, Glory and True among the rare names that made the list this year.

There is one Beckham, possibly tied to the famous soccer star, and Harper continues to hold its own on the list, especially among girls. There are seven of them, all females.