Since 2011 Charlotte has taken the lead in girls’ names,

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Contents

The Australian Top 10.......................................................................................................................................3 More babies, less convergence................................................................................................................3 The `Hundred-Year Return' influences Australia's top baby names...............................................4 William first across four states but Oliver most popular across the nation .................................. 5 Charlotte takes a strong lead 3 years in a row .................................................................................... 5 Top 10 boy trends and insights ................................................................................................................ 5 Top 10 girl trends and insights ................................................................................................................. 5 8 new boy names and 11 new girl names in Top 100 list................................................................... 6 Most significant leaps and declines ........................................................................................................ 6 There's a ring to it ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Boys names feature less syllables ........................................................................................................... 7 Gendered names triumph and popular boys' names not just for boys......................................... 8 Creative spellings prominent, especially for girls ............................................................................... 8 Australian states versus states ................................................................................................................. 9 Rising with the stars..................................................................................................................................... 9 Religious influences strong and ongoing.............................................................................................10 We'll never be royals, but we'll name our kids after them...............................................................10 Most popular Australian royal names ..................................................................................................... 11 12 of 22 current royal names are top baby names too...................................................................... 11

New Zealand's Top 10 Baby Names .......................................................................................................... 12 New Zealand baby names see royal influence decline ................................................................... 12

Sources .............................................................................................................................................................. 13 Contact Us .................................................................................................................................................... 13

Australia's Top 100 Girls' Names................................................................................................................. 14 Australia's Top 100 Boys' Names................................................................................................................ 15 New Zealand's Top 100 Girls' Names........................................................................................................ 16 New Zealand's Top 100 Boys' Names ....................................................................................................... 17

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The Australian Top 10

Rank

Boys

Girls

1

Oliver

Charlotte

2

William

Olivia

3

Jack

Ava

4

Noah

Emily

5

Jackson/Jaxon

Mia

6

James

Amelia

7

Thomas

Ruby

8

Ethan

Sophia/Sofia

9

Lucas

Chloe

10

Cooper

Sophie

Table 1. Top 10 most popular baby names in Australia, 2013.

In 2013, 1 in 10 Australian babies were given one of the Top 10 most popular baby names ? 31,983 babies out of just over 300,000 births! There were more than 2,082 boys born named Oliver and 1,969 girls named Charlotte last year.

More babies, less convergence

While Australia is setting new records in the number of babies born per year ? having reached over 315,000 in 2013 ? parents are being more original in the baby names they choose with fewer babies being given one of the Top 20 names.

While in 2012 the Top 20 baby names accounted for 28,301 baby girls and 29,083 baby boys, these figures dropped to 26,788 baby girls and 28,198 baby boys in the 2013 calendar year.

Parents are congregating less around the most popular names as part of an ongoing trend towards choosing less common names for their newborns.

In fact, 40.6% of babies born in the 2012 calendar year were named one of the Top 100 baby names, with this figure reducing to 39.6% for the 2013 calendar year.

Parents are more likely to choose more common names for baby boys, with 9,267 baby boys in Australia given a Top 5 name in 2013, compared with only 8,239 baby girls given a Top 5 name. Growing is parental desire to impart uniqueness and individuality to their children, especially for baby girls!

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The `Hundred-Year Return' influences Australia's top baby names

The trend in baby-naming in Australia is for the traditional over the trendy.

There is a `Hundred-Year Return' theme taking place in Australia, with many of the top names of today also in the top names of a century ago, while names of a few decades ago have fallen out of favour.

Many of today's most common baby names were popular in the early 20th century and have seen a significant resurgence in the early 21st century. This is illustrated by the NSW Government, which records nearly two fifths (39%) of all of Australia's births, in an interactive baby names data visualisation.

William is an example of the `hundred-year' return, having ranked 2nd overall in NSW in the 1910s and ranking in top place again in NSW from 2009 onwards.

Jack climbed up to 5th place in the 1920s in NSW before seeing a steep decline from the 1940s to 1970s, with a marked resurgence between the year 2000 and 2004.

Ruby was a popular girls' name at the turn of the 20th century, coming to a near decline from the 19050s to 1970s but climbing significantly in popularity since the 1990s.

Figure 1 William's `Hundred-Year Return,' NSW, NSW Government

Figure 2 Jack's `Hundred-Year Return,' NSW, NSW Government

Figure 3 Ruby's 'Hundred-Year Return,' NSW, NSW Government

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William first across four states but Oliver most popular across the nation

Oliver has emerged as Australia's top boy baby name for the first time in Australia's history. Climbing steadily from a rank of 4th in 2010, 5th in 2011, and 3rd in 2012, Oliver has leaped to 1st place in 2013, overtaking both William (1st in 2010 and 2012) and Jack (1st in 2011).

Oliver was the top boys' name in three states/territories (QLD, SA, TAS), while William topped the list in four states/territories (NSW, ACT, VIC, and NT) and Jack took the lead in WA.

While William topped the list across more states than any other boys' name, numerically there were 37 more occurrences of Oliver than William across the nation. In 2013, there were 2,082 babies named Oliver, 2,045 named William, and 1,909 named Jack.

While Jack is currently in 3rd place, the strength and popularity of the name is highlighted by the rise of Jackson/Jaxon ? making its way into the Top 5 for the first time (and into the Top 10 for the first time in 2012)! If the names Jack, Jackson, and Jaxon were to be combined, they would tally 3,481 baby boys ? clearly the most popular name!

Charlotte takes a strong lead 3 years in a row

Since 2011 Charlotte has taken the lead in girls' names, remaining strong in 1st place and the choice for 1969 girls in 2013. The popularity of the name Charlotte is evident ? while last year Charlotte outnumbered the 2nd place name Ruby by only 47 occurrences, this year Charlotte tops the list with an astounding 355 more occurrences than Olivia in 2nd place.

Top 10 boy trends and insights

All of the Top 10 boys' names from 2013 have held on to their Top 10 ranking in 2014, with the most notable rise by Jackson/Jaxon climbing from 10th to 5th place. James saw a rise of two places while Noah held 4th place for the second year. Thomas and Cooper both dropped by one place, Lucas dropped by 2, and Ethan dropped 3 places in the Top 3 list.

Top 10 girl trends and insights

Sophia/Sofia has entered the Top 10 girls' list in 2013 for the first time, ahead of Sophie by two places. If the names Sophie, Sophia, and Sofia were to be combined, they would tally a total of 2,899 baby girls in 2013 and be the clear first in girls' names!

Ava has had the most significant increase in popularity since 2012, climbing 7 places from 10th to 3rd. Emily, Mia, and Amelia have each climbed by 3 rankings and Emily climbed by 2 ranks from 6th to 4th.

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