Key Points
- Four of five states have the same five girls names in their top five.
- Oliver appears to have longevity, having been a common baby boy name across the board for a number of years.
- Many parents also chose Charlie or Charlotte for their bundle of joy in 2023.
If you do not already know of a young Oliver or Charlotte, chances are, you'll meet one in the future.
While Oliver was the most common name given to baby boys across five Australian states in 2023, Charlotte ranked highly for girls.
Naming data has revealed Charlotte was in the top five baby names given to girls in Victoria, NSW, Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania last year.
Oliver took the number one spot in Victoria, NSW, Western Australia, Qld and Tasmania in 2023, according to the states' Births, Deaths, and Marriages registries.
Source: SBS News
Coming in second to Oliver in all but Tasmania, the name Noah also proved popular with mums and dads.
In NSW Noah and Oliver have remained the top two baby boy monikers for the past five years.
While Charlotte was the one name that appeared in the top five names for all five states, the pointy end of the girls naming list comprised of the same five names in NSW, Vic and Tas; Amelia, Charlotte, Mia, Olivia and Isla.
Leo, Henry and Luca rounded out the top five baby boy names in the most populous state.
After Oliver came Noah, Henry, Leo and Charlie in Vic, whereas Tasmania's top five 2023 baby boy name list went Oliver, Charlie, Theodore, Noah and Arlo.
The top five baby boy names in Western Australia were Oliver, Noah, Leo, Henry and Jack, in that order.
While there was plenty of overlap of girls names, Mia ranked outside of Queensland's top five, which went Isla, Charlotte, Amelia, Harper, then Olivia.
Source: SBS News
In Western Australia, those rankings were almost completely reversed: with Isla up top, followed by Olivia, Mia, Charlotte and Amelia.
Baby girls in Tasmania have a top five list of names that includes Hazel, Elsie, Charlotte, Willow and Ruby.
What’s in a name?
While parents may choose a name that is symbolic, traditional or just plain quirky, there may be a science behind the choices selected.
found that people with softer-sounding names like Anne or Owen were expected to be more agreeable, emotional and hardworking; people with harder-sounding names like Kate or Kirk were expected to be more outgoing.
Source: SBS News
Five-year trends show little changes
When it comes to baby names, it appears Australians are dedicated to a few choice contenders.
In 2019, parents in Victoria chose these top five baby girl names: Olivia, Mia, Charlotte, Amelia, and Isla – all of which are featured as top names from last year.
The top boy names from that year show a little bit more diversity with Oliver, Jack, Noah, William, and Thomas.
Credit: SBS News
Parents of baby boys in Tasmania chose Oliver, George, Charlie, Leo, and Henry that year. Oliver and Charlie featured in the top five in 2023.
Credit: SBS News
When it came to baby boys, Oliver, Noah, Henry, and Jack were among the top five in both 2019 and 2023.
While South Australia has not published its full list of baby names for 2023, an indicative list provided in December revealed Oliver was on track to be the most popular boys name for an 11th year in a row and Isla the most likely top choice for girls for the third year in a row.
