Bronson Hospital Reveals Kalamazoo’s Most Popular Baby Names in 2025

See the top baby name trends in West Michigan for 2025. What will the new year bring?

This year’s baby name trends are full of surprises! Classic names like Oliver and Sophia, which once topped the list, have been overtaken according to new data released by Southwest Michigan's Bronson BirthPlace.

Think of this as Spotify Wrapped for baby names. With the end of 2025 nearing, many places are releasing their year in numbers. In the case of the Bronson healthcare system, that means releasing a list of the most popular baby names of the year.

According to the press release from Bronson the BirthPlace team helped welcome over 4,500 births this year, making them the authority on all things names:

Known as the leading birthing provider in southwest Michigan, Bronson BirthPlace provides families a safe, family-centered environment for one of life’s most important moments at its locations in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.

Unfortunately, each year we see headlines about dwindling birth rates, not only across Michigan, but nationwide. According to the latest data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), which has been tracking birth rates in Michigan since the 1900s, 2023 marked the fourth consecutive year there were more deaths than live births in the state. As MLive reports,

Michigan had more people born than died annually from 1900 to 2019. Deaths surged past births during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Even after COVID deaths flattened out, total deaths still outpaced live births...Despite the reductions in live births, Michigan’s population increased by an estimated 57,103 people from July 2023 to 2024.

If you or someone you know are expecting in 2026, be sure to share this list with them: