Tennessee’s modern tradition for the top names for new babies has held out again in 2012, with William and Emma taking the top spots for a second consecutive year as the most popular names given by new Tennessee parents.

William has been the No. 1 name chosen for new baby boys born in Tennessee for six straight years. Emma repeats as the most popular name for Tennessee baby girls after taking the top spot on the list in 2011.

While the most popular names for both girls and boys born in 2012 in Tennessee remain largely unchanged from the previous year, some new names have made their way into the top 10 list of boys’ names this year.

The top 10 names Tennessee parents chose for their new babies born in 2012 are as follows:

1. Emma, William
2. Ava, Mason
3. Olivia, Elijah
4. Isabella, James
5. Sophia, Jacob
6. Abigail, Jackson
7. Madison, Ethan
8. Chloe, Noah
9. Addison, Liam
10. Emily, Michael

The list of Tennessee’s most popular names for boys includes three new entries this year: Ethan, Liam and Michael. William has been the top choice for boys’ names in Tennessee since 2007.

There are no new entries in the top ten list of Tennessee girls’ names this year, although the rankings of those names have changed since 2011.

TDH collects data on baby names from birth certificates, an area in which the Tennessee Department of Health touches the lives of all native Tennesseans.

The Tennessee Office of Vital Records reviews, registers, amends, issues and maintains the original certificates of births that occur in the state.

For more information on requesting birth certificates and other Tennessee vital records, contact your local health department, call the Tennessee Office of Vital Records toll-free at 1-855-809-0072 or visit http://health.state.tn.us/vr/Certificate.htm.