Charlotte reigned as queen of baby names for girls in 2016, while Oliver took the crown as most popular boys’ name for the third year in a row, according to the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
“Victorian parents have again shown an affinity with the name Oliver, while more traditional names such as Harry and Samuel made a resurgence in 2016.” Attorney-General Martin Pakula commented “Charlotte moved in to the top place for girls, no doubt inspired by the royal arrival of the daughter to the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge.”
Mr. Pakula explained that statistics revealed that Olivia, Mia, Amelia and Ava all remained in the top five most popular baby girls’ names from 2015, while Evelyn broke into the top 20 to replace Sienna. Jack, William and Noah also made a repeat appearance in the top five boys’ names list for the second year in a row, while James edged out Thomas to round out the top five. The names Harry and Samuel also replaced Oscar and Benjamin in the top 20.
Pakula went on to point out that girls’ names looked very different five decades ago with Michelle, Karen, Lisa, Susan and Sharon claiming the top five places, while David, Peter, Michael, Paul and Andrew were the most popular names for boys. Some names have continued to stand the test of time, with Lachlan and Jack both featuring in the top 20 names for boys 10 and 20 years ago. James is the only name to have also appeared in the top 20 list over the past 10, 20 and 50 years.
Victorian popular baby names for 2014
Victorian popular baby names for 2015
Victorian popular baby names for 2016