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In part, it's because of big families. My parents have six children, and each come from a family of seven children. That means I have 28 aunts and uncles and nearing 100 cousins. When that happens, it makes it harder to choose names that others already haven't chosen before. So the more "uncommon" names have appeal.

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Also in Utah, there is a big push for naming children with a name that has significance to a family. The practice of giving children a name and a blessing in front of the whole congregation will invite questions of how the name was chosen. However, when you are in a big family where cousin X already took your favorite ancestral name, it could be perceived as "stealing" the name to use it again, not to mention confusing. Hence, taking a maiden name such as Remington or a grandfather's name and shortening it and making it feminine could be appealing to many. Also, Navy could be paying homage to the fact that a grandfather or other respected family figure served in the Navy.

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Also, Utah is big on consumer culture. That leads people to feel pressure to be unique. I think that's the main driving factor for names that are uncommon elsewhere.

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My two cents!