The annual release of the top U.S. baby names every spring always generates a lot of media buzz and excitement, but I tend to be more interested in the Minnesota list that comes out a week later with less fanfare.

It's interesting to see how the state differs from the rest of the country. In 2011, Minnesota parents seemed to have less interest in some traditional Biblical names for their sons than U.S. parents.

  • Michael ranked 6 in the U.S. but 34th in Minnesota.
  • Daniel ranked 10 in the U.S. but 47th in Minnesota.
  • David ranked 18 in the U.S. but 54th in Minnesota.

Joshua, Matthew and Jayden were also popular in the U.S. but lower in the list in Minnesota. So which names did Minnesotans like more? Liam, Benjamin and Logan to name a few. And Minnesotans were all jacked up about Jack and Jackson -- at least compared to the rest of the nation.

And the girls? There wasn't as much difference from the national list, but Claire, Amelia, Harper, Anna and Lucy all were more popular in Minnesota than in the rest of the nation.

Comparing 2010 and 2011 in Minnesota, Harper saw a big jump in popularity for girl names along with Eleanor and Sofia. Minnesotans got all excited about K names in 2011 as well, as Keira, Kendall and Kennedy were new to the top 100 list. Annabelle also made the top 100 at 77, ya'll! Girl names that got dumped from the top 100 included Reese (sorry Witherspoon), Alyssa (sorry Milano) and Teagan (???).

On the boy side, parents' desire to name their sons after a bat -- Easton -- has ebbed a bit. The name wasn't on the list in 2009, but made it to 58 in 2010 before declining to 72 last year. Jaxon, Blake and Colton were big gainers on the top 100 list for boy names.

Below is the top 25 list for Minnesota compared to the U.S. in the 2011. Go to the Social Security Administration web site for more of the fun.

MN Rank MN Male name U.S. Rank U.S. Male name MN Rank MN Female name U.S. Female name U.S. Female name 1 Mason 1 Jacob 1 Olivia 1 Sophia 2 William 2 Mason 2 Sophia 2 Isabella 3 Jacob 3 William 3 Emma 3 Emma 4 Liam 4 Jayden 4 Ava 4 Olivia 5 Benjamin 5 Noah 5 Isabella 5 Ava 6 Ethan 6 Michael 6 Abigail 6 Emily 7 Logan 7 Ethan 7 Grace 7 Abigail 8 Jack 8 Alexander 8 Ella 8 Madison 9 Noah 9 Aiden 9 Elizabeth 9 Mia 10 Jackson 10 Daniel 10 Chloe 10 Chloe 11 Owen 11 Anthony 11 Emily 11 Elizabeth 12 Samuel 12 Matthew 12 Claire 12 Ella 13 Henry 13 Elijah 13 Evelyn 13 Addison 14 Alexander 14 Joshua 14 Natalie 14 Natalie 15 Carter 15 Liam 15 Addison 15 Lily 16 Gavin 16 Andrew 16 Lily 16 Grace 17 Isaac 17 James 17 Avery 17 Samantha 18 James 18 David 18 Lillian 18 Avery 19 Andrew 19 Benjamin 19 Amelia 19 Sofia 20 Evan 20 Logan 20 Aubrey 20 Aubrey 21 Nolan 21 Christopher 21 Hannah 21 Brooklyn 22 Aiden 22 Joseph 22 Audrey 22 Lillian 23 Oliver 23 Jackson 23 Madison 23 Victoria 24 Wyatt 24 Gabriel 24 Anna 24 Evelyn 25 Elijah 25 Ryan 25 Alexis 25 Hannah