Australia’s most popular baby names for 2022 have been revealed PLUS we look at the names on the rise!
While Generation Alpha haven’t finished being born yet, there are clear trends when it comes to the most popular baby names for this generation.
Choosing a name for your baby is never easy, and while we all aim for a moniker that will be uniquely their own, there are definite naming trends in each generation that are difficult to ignore. And this year those trends have seen a consistent baby name winner knocked off its perch!
McCrindle’s research into Australia’s most popular baby names has been released and for the first time in seven years, we have a new most popular baby girl’s name.
Isla, the name given to 1,539 Australian baby girls in 2021, has risen from 4th position to debunk Charlotte from her long-standing number one baby girl name title.
As for boys, Oliver hold tight, claiming nine years of uninterrupted reign since overtaking Jack as the number one boy’s name in 2013.
2022’s most popular baby names.
Thanks to some new trends in millennial baby naming, McCrindle’s research has identified some new players in the list over the past decade.
For girls, names like Hazel, Florence, Daisy, Frankie, Luna, Ayla, Sadie, Billie, Millie, Aurora and Mila are proving more popular proving the prominent baby naming trends of colours, nature-inspired names, botanic names, names that end in ‘ie’ and place names.
Some of the most popular names that have debuted for boys in the past decade include Theodore, Hudson, Arlo, Archer, Harvey, Carter, Arthur, Sonny and Asher.
The naming trends in 2022
Short over long In recent years McCrindle has identified a trend of Australian parents opting for shorter names as first names. For example, Jack outranks Jackson and Leo outranks Leonardo. On the girls’ list currently Ella outranks Isabella and Isabelle!
Names ending in ‘ie’ for girls and ‘o’ for boys In true Aussie fashion, we are also seeing a trend of shortening names and adding an ‘ie’ on the end: Rose to Rosie, Savannah to Sadie, Amelia to Millie, Isabella to Billie, Charlotte to Charlie, Elizabeth to Ellie and William to Billy.
For boys, there is also a trend of names that end with an ‘o’. Names like Leo, Hugo, Theo and Leonardo all claimed spots in the top 100.
Botanic and nature-inspired names Flower names like Willow, Lilly, Ivy, Violet, Daisy, Poppy and Olive remain popular, while atmosphere-inspired names like Luna, Aurora and Stella also claimed their spot.
Kai, River and Bodhiare examples of nature-inspired names for boys that have proven popular in 2022.
As for gender-neutral names, Charlie and Riley are the only two names that appear in both the girl and boy names lists in 2022!
Generation Alpha are being born in a time of the lowest fertility rates in Australia’s history.
The names to keep an eye on in the coming years
Making their debut in the top 100 recently are Mila and Sadie whose rapid rise indicates they may be the names to watch out for in years to come.
For girls, other names on the rose include Remi, Maeve and Delilah while for boys, names like Arthur, Ari, Ezra, River, Theo, Billy, and Luka have been steadily growing in popularity.
