What's in a name? William Shakespeare asked this very question in his play Romeo and Juliet. For most of us, our name, especially our first name, is at the core of our identity.

Not every name has some poetic meaning, but many do. Some names are derived from cultural heritage, others from the Bible or other religious writings, some from familial relationships, and others from celebrities. Whatever the reason is that parents choose a name, there is something to be said about names that are consistently picked to represent newborn babies for (most likely) the rest of their lives. Many of the boys' names below have been in the top 10 over the past 20 years.

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New York State keeps track of the most popular baby names for each year. These 10 names are the most popular for boys in New York State, according to the Department of Health, as of 2020, which is the most up-to-date data:

10. Alexander

Photo by Reynardo Etenia Wongso on Unsplash
Photo by Reynardo Etenia Wongso on Unsplash
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9. James

Photo by Bailey Torres on Unsplash
Photo by Bailey Torres on Unsplash
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8. Benjamin

Photo by Lubomirkin on Unsplash
Photo by Lubomirkin on Unsplash
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7. Michael

Photo by Pranav Kumar Jain on Unsplash
Photo by Pranav Kumar Jain on Unsplash
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6. Ethan

Photo by Luke Michael on Unsplash
Photo by Luke Michael on Unsplash
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5. Joseph

Photo by Terricks Noah on Unsplash
Photo by Terricks Noah on Unsplash
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4. Jacob

Photo by Alyssa Stevenson on Unsplash
Photo by Alyssa Stevenson on Unsplash
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3. Lucas

SEE ALSO: Baby Boomer Names That Have Gone Out of Style

Photo by Laercio Cavalcanti on Unsplash
Photo by Laercio Cavalcanti on Unsplash
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2. Noah

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
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1. Liam

Photo by Chris Benson on Unsplash
Photo by Chris Benson on Unsplash
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