Area hospitals have welcomed first babies of the year and have released the top names for newborns in 2023.

Joshua and Ashley Tillinghast of Bethlehem welcomed Miles, their second child, at 2:52 a.m. on New Year’s Day at St Luke’s Hospital-Anderson Campus, in Bethlehem Township. He weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 21 inches long.

At Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Muhlenberg campus, Liz and Mike Falcone of Bethlehem Township welcomed Jacob at 10:20 a.m. weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces. He measured 20.5 inches long.

Popular names

For the third consecutive year, Lehigh Valley Health Network reported the most popular overall choice is Noah, which was selected for 45 newborn males as of mid-December.

The most chosen girls name in 2023 is Isabella, picked by 32 parents for their child.

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

Last year Noah was No. 2 behind Liam. Isabella also came in second last year to Charlotte, which remains in the top four in 2023.

Oliver and Cameron are other boys’ names selected most often, while on the girls’ side Sophia and Olivia continue to be popular choices.

Nationally, Noah also took over the top spot from Liam for boys, according to babycenter.com. Olivia (at No. 1) and Emma hold the top two spots for girls.

LVHN, who reported more than 6,200 births in 2023, said names seem to be tied to the success and popularity of the Philadelphia Phillies the past couple of years.

The club’s playoff runs that included a World Series appearance two seasons ago might have sparked the parents of 16 newborn girls to name their child Harper this past year.

Phillies slugger Bryce Harper is the team’s superstar and among its most popular players. Last year, Harper was the most popular girls’ name at Lehigh Valley Hospital Schuylkill–E. Norwegian Street, leading the way with six.

Harper became a hot new-baby name in 2016, cracking the Top 10 national list for girls for the first time.

Fourteen boys born at LVHN hospitals were named Bryson. Bryson Stott is one of Harper’s teammates and also a fan favorite.

Hit movies also can influence baby names. However, that was not the case for the “Barbie” movie as that name or some version of it did not make the cut among the girls born this year at LVHN.

On the other hand, “Top Gun: Maverick” might have influenced some parents’ choices both last year and in 2023 as the number of boys named Maverick (various spellings) increased to 15 this year across the network.

Within the St. Luke’s network in 2023, the most popular name for baby boys is Liam, while Isabella is the name given most often to newborn girls. Babies are delivered at St. Luke’s Allentown, Anderson and Upper Bucks campuses.

Isabella is a variation on Isabel, meaning “devoted to God.” Liam means strong willed warrior and protector. This year, Isabella was closely followed in popularity by Emma, while Noah was next most popular to Liam.

St. Luke’s helped approximately 5,000 babies enter the world this year at its three Labor & Delivery units. In February 2024, the network will open its expanded birthing center at the 85,000 square-foot, five-floor Women’s & Babies Pavilion at the St. Luke’s Allentown Campus.