“Luke!” is the name most likely to be shouted across Andover’s kindergarten playgrounds a few years from now.
It was the most popular baby name selected by Andover parents during 2024.
Birth data from the town shows there have been 1,326 newborns from 2020-2024, and a check of that information unveils the most popular names among Andover babies.
Luke took the crown for the most popular name in 2024, with four babies sharing that name. A total of 11 different names tied for second. Three Andover babies each in 2024 were named: Anastasia, Blake, Cameron, Charlotte, Grace, Leo, Noah, Owen, Riley, Roman and Zoe.
Tied for the top birthday in 2024: Jan. 17, Feb. 7 and July 11, all with four babies being born.
Nothing like entering the world with a bang — two babies were born on July 4, 2024.
Baby-name consultant Colleen Slagen, of the Boston-area Naming Bebe, said there are many factors that make a baby name popular at a certain time.
This story was published as part of a collaboration between Andover News and the Department of Journalism in Boston University’s College of Communication. The student journalist is a member of Professor Meghan E. Irons’s Reporting in Depth class.
Slagen said, “There is definitely a positive feedback loop. Popular names stay popular. We are more likely to hear them in our daily life and form a positive association, as compared to less common names. They also gain a societal ‘stamp of approval.’ Sometimes, it feels like everyone just happened to discover the same name at the same time and it’s hard to understand what made a name popular. Other times, it could be a celebrity or pop culture reference that causes a name to take off.”
When looking at the past four years, James takes the cake in Andover with 16 babies. In second place comes a tie between Jack and Olivia, with 14 babies sharing each of those two names. This is followed by a three-way tie between Benjamin, Cameron, and Theodore, with 12 babies per name.
“A lot of vintage names are coming back. Think Hazel, Evelyn, Violet for girls. Theodore, Arthur, Leo, Harvey for boys. What’s old is new again! While to our parents, these may seem like ‘dad names’ or ‘mom names,’ to millennials and gen Z, they may feel like fresh options,” said Slagen.
Winter babies seem to have been popular in Andover throughout the last four years, with Jan. 17 and Feb. 26 being the most popular birthdays. Twelve Andover babies were born on both days. This is followed by a three-way tie between Feb. 15, April 26 and June 6, with each day having 10 newborns
Over the last four years, four families started the year with a new family member, as four babies were born on New Year’s Day. Two other families took Labor Day a bit too literally, with two babies born on that first Monday in September.