Some parents-to-be know the name they will call their child even way before they’re conceived. Others (me included) are trying out options in the delivery suite! To help you find the right name for your baby, or to learn how popular your child’s name is, here are the most popular names Kiwi parents choose for babies born during 2021.
According to statistics released by the Department of Internal Affairs’ Smart Start website in 2021 there were 56,013 births registered in New Zealand with 16,790 different first names.
She’s back!
After Amelia and Isla finally kept Charlotte from the top spot in the last two years, the ever-popular Charlotte has regained her crown as the top girl’s name in 2021.
For the boys, however, there is just no stopping the Olivers who I’m sure must occupy every other household in NZ by now, having been the top choice since 2013!
Nikau and Mia are also the most popular Māori names again for boys and girls respectively, while Manaia has become the most evenly split gender-neutral name for 2021, with an almost 50/50 split between boys and girls.
Most popular names in 2021
Rounding out the top five for the girls are Isla, Amelia, Olivia, and Ava. For the boys – Noah, Jack, Leo and George complete the top five. Matilda is a new entrant to the girls’ top 20 from the previous year. Meanwhile, Luca and Arthur make their way into the top 20 boys’ names and Theodore has moved into the top 10. The top 100 names are shown below.
Want to know what the most popular names were in the year your baby was born (or even yourself)? Pop over to the SmartStart website to go right back to 1954.
Let’s go right back!
Want to know what the most popular names are in New Zealand from the whole of the last 170+ years? Statistics are available for the most popular names for birth registrations from 1848 to the end of 2020. While not all names are included, there are the top 350 female and male first names, plus the top 350 surnames (see more here).
The top 10 names in NZ since 1848 are:
Girls
- Mary
- Margaret
- Elizabeth
- Sarah
- Patricia
- Catherine
- Susan
- Helen
- Emma
- Alice
Boys
- John
- William
- James
- David
- Robert
- Michael
- Peter
- Thomas
- George
- Richard
New Zealand’s 100 most popular baby names in 2021
| RANK | GIRLS | NUMBER | BOYS | NUMBER |
| 1 | Charlotte | 227 | Oliver | 308 |
| 2 | Isla | 214 | Noah | 265 |
| 3 | Amelia | 206 | Jack | 235 |
| 4 | Olivia | 185 | Leo | 234 |
| 5 | Ava | 184 | George | 222 |
| 6 | Willow | 180 | Charlie | 200 |
| 7 | Lily | 174 | Lucas | 190 |
| 8 | Isabella | 171 | Theodore | 187 |
| 9 | Mila | 170 | William | 181 |
| 10 | Ella | 165 | Luca | 172 |
| 11 | Mia | 164 | Elijah | 171 |
| 12 | Sophie | 163 | Liam | 167 |
| 13 | Hazel | 160 | Mason | 167 |
| 14 | Harper | 156 | James | 166 |
| 15 | Emily | 153 | Thomas | 166 |
| 16 | Lucy | 150 | Hudson | 160 |
| 17 | Chloe | 148 | Arlo | 155 |
| 18 | Grace | 144 | Lachlan | 152 |
| 19 | Ruby | 135 | Archie | 147 |
| 20 | Matilda | 125 | Arthur | 144 |
| 21 | Zoe | 125 | Hunter | 144 |
| 22 | Freya | 123 | Oscar | 140 |
| 23 | Aria | 120 | Max | 136 |
| 24 | Ivy | 114 | Levi | 133 |
| 25 | Sophia | 113 | Finn | 128 |
| 26 | Evelyn | 109 | Hugo | 127 |
| 27 | Georgia | 109 | Ethan | 124 |
| 28 | Olive | 109 | Asher | 122 |
| 29 | Riley | 104 | Henry | 118 |
| 30 | Luna | 103 | Cooper | 117 |
| 31 | Ellie | 99 | Carter | 114 |
| 32 | Florence | 98 | Ezra | 110 |
| 33 | Millie | 98 | Lincoln | 107 |
| 34 | Maia | 97 | Felix | 106 |
| 35 | Sienna | 96 | Alexander | 105 |
| 36 | Evie | 94 | Archer | 105 |
| 37 | Frankie | 94 | Beau | 105 |
| 38 | Layla | 92 | Harrison | 105 |
| 39 | Ayla | 90 | Eli | 104 |
| 40 | Isabelle | 87 | Jackson | 104 |
| 41 | Poppy | 87 | Louis | 97 |
| 42 | Aurora | 86 | Theo | 96 |
| 43 | Emma | 85 | Benjamin | 95 |
| 44 | Madison | 83 | Nikau | 93 |
| 45 | Billie | 79 | Isaac | 87 |
| 46 | Mackenzie | 78 | Joseph | 87 |
| 47 | Alice | 75 | Joshua | 86 |
| 48 | Thea | 75 | Blake | 85 |
| 49 | Daisy | 72 | Daniel | 82 |
| 50 | Indie | 72 | Samuel | 82 |
| 51 | Abigail | 71 | Grayson | 81 |
| 52 | Maeve | 70 | Caleb | 80 |
| 53 | Penelope | 70 | Jasper | 79 |
| 54 | Quinn | 70 | Luka | 79 |
| 55 | Emilia | 69 | Braxton | 78 |
| 56 | Scarlett | 68 | Edward | 78 |
| 57 | Violet | 68 | Jacob | 78 |
| 58 | Addison | 67 | Harry | 77 |
| 59 | Sofia | 67 | Harvey | 77 |
| 60 | Eva | 66 | River | 77 |
| 61 | Elsie | 64 | Riley | 76 |
| 62 | Harriet | 64 | Roman | 76 |
| 63 | Amaia | 63 | Sebastian | 74 |
| 64 | Bella | 63 | Bodhi | 73 |
| 65 | Maddison | 63 | Luke | 73 |
| 66 | Sadie | 63 | Nico | 73 |
| 67 | Stella | 63 | Louie | 72 |
| 68 | Elizabeth | 62 | Quinn | 72 |
| 69 | Eleanor | 61 | Logan | 70 |
| 70 | Eden | 60 | Ryan | 68 |
| 71 | Margot | 59 | Oakley | 66 |
| 72 | Piper | 59 | Charles | 65 |
| 73 | Harlow | 58 | Jordan | 64 |
| 74 | Zara | 58 | Ari | 62 |
| 75 | Hannah | 57 | Connor | 62 |
| 76 | Amber | 56 | Nathan | 62 |
| 77 | Eliza | 55 | Aiden | 61 |
| 78 | Ada | 54 | Ryder | 61 |
| 79 | Phoebe | 53 | Toby | 61 |
| 80 | Kiara | 52 | Austin | 58 |
| 81 | Zoey | 51 | Freddie | 58 |
| 82 | Kaia | 50 | Michael | 58 |
| 83 | Nevaeh | 50 | Spencer | 58 |
| 84 | Leah | 48 | Zion | 57 |
| 85 | Summer | 48 | Jaxon | 56 |
| 86 | Eloise | 47 | John | 56 |
| 87 | Jasmine | 47 | Micah | 56 |
| 88 | Maya | 47 | Otis | 56 |
| 89 | Paige | 47 | Gabriel | 55 |
| 90 | Marley | 46 | Isaiah | 55 |
| 91 | Cleo | 45 | Miles | 55 |
| 92 | Maisie | 45 | Zachary | 55 |
| 93 | Pippa | 45 | Leon | 54 |
| 94 | Rosie | 45 | Ezekiel | 53 |
| 95 | Amara | 44 | Tyler | 53 |
| 96 | Kora | 44 | Adam | 52 |
| 97 | Lilly | 44 | Harley | 52 |
| 98 | Nina | 44 | Tobias | 51 |
| 99 | Anna | 43 | Beauden | 50 |
| 100 | Bonnie | 43 | Jayden | 50 |
Written by Julie Scanlon
Julie is Editor for Kidspot NZ and our MVP. Her hobbies include laughing uncontrollably at her own jokes, annoying her family by asking questions about movie plots, and never taking anything too seriously. She speaks a little Spanish and a lot of Yorkshire.
Favourite motto to live by: “It ain’t nothing but a thing”
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