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Need some baby-naming inspiration? Or wanting to avoid the most popular names? To help you find the right name for your baby, or to learn how popular your child’s name is, check out the most popular names Kiwi parents chose for babies born during 2023.
According to statistics released by the Department of Internal Affairs’ Smart Start website, there were 57,889 births registered in 2023 in New Zealand with 18,666 different first names. That’s about a 3% drop in the number of births compared to 2022, but a rise of around 3.5% in the number of different first names chosen.
Noah knocks Oliver off the top spot!
After a ten year reign as the most popular boy’s name, Oliver has finally been bumped down to second favourite. Noah is the new king of the castle with Luca, Jack, and Leo just trading places since the previous year to keep the status quo in the top five.
Theodore, George, Charlie, and Hudson also remain in the top ten from 2022 with the only newcomer being Henry, up from 18th to 8th. William is the one to drop out of the top 10.
Charlotte is queen again
For the girls, Charlotte regains the top spot that she lost in 2022 to Isla. Mila and Sophie drop out of the top 10, replaced by Ella and Hazel in 2023. Amelia,
Olivia, Harper, Willow, Lily, and Ava complete the top choices.
Most popular Māori names
Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs releases the top Māori pēpi names based on the Tangaroa lunar calendar period (associated with Matariki). The latest list is for those names registered between 10 July 2023 and 30 June 2024 and is subject to a thorough review of each name’s origins and a comprehensive evaluation by advisors and kaumātua.
This year, Aroha/Te Aroha was the top name for kōtiro (girls). Ariki/Te Ariki was the most popular name for tama (boys). So no change at the top for either kōtiro or tama since the last list.
A full list of the top names is available on the SmartStart website.
Most popular names since way back
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.
New Zealand’s 100 most popular baby names in 2023
| RANK | GIRLS | NUMBER | BOYS | NUMBER |
| 1 | Charlotte | 209 | Noah | 267 |
| 2 | Amelia | 184 | Oliver | 247 |
| 3 | Isla | 179 | Luca | 207 |
| 4 | Olivia | 155 | Jack | 194 |
| 5 | Harper | 150 | Leo | 189 |
| 6 | Willow | 145 | Theodore | 186 |
| 7 | Lily | 144 | George | 177 |
| 8 | Ava | 143 | Henry | 172 |
| 9 | Ella | 143 | Charlie | 163 |
| 10 | Hazel | 141 | Hudson | 162 |
| 11 | Mila | 138 | Arthur | 158 |
| 12 | Evelyn | 135 | Arlo | 156 |
| 13 | Mia | 135 | Elijah | 153 |
| 14 | Sophie | 135 | William | 147 |
| 15 | Isabella | 130 | James | 146 |
| 16 | Aria | 125 | Lucas | 146 |
| 17 | Ruby | 122 | Liam | 143 |
| 18 | Grace | 121 | Thomas | 142 |
| 19 | Millie | 119 | Theo | 135 |
| 20 | Florence | 110 | Oscar | 131 |
| 21 | Lucy | 108 | Cooper | 122 |
| 22 | Ivy | 105 | Beau | 119 |
| 23 | Chloe | 101 | Hugo | 115 |
| 24 | Zoe | 100 | Ethan | 114 |
| 25 | Maeve | 98 | Ezra | 113 |
| 26 | Daisy | 96 | Mason | 113 |
| 27 | Matilda | 95 | Archie | 111 |
| 28 | Sadie | 93 | Levi | 111 |
| 29 | Sophia | 93 | Max | 110 |
| 30 | Emily | 92 | Carter | 106 |
| 31 | Freya | 92 | Felix | 105 |
| 32 | Luna | 92 | Finn | 105 |
| 33 | Olive | 88 | Alexander | 102 |
| 34 | Georgia | 82 | Lachlan | 97 |
| 35 | Maia | 82 | Asher | 90 |
| 36 | Poppy | 81 | Hunter | 90 |
| 37 | Frankie | 80 | Louie | 90 |
| 38 | Violet | 80 | Luke | 87 |
| 39 | Mackenzie | 79 | Benjamin | 84 |
| 40 | Ellie | 78 | Harry | 83 |
| 41 | Riley | 77 | Jackson | 82 |
| 42 | Aurora | 76 | Archer | 81 |
| 43 | Bella | 74 | Micah | 79 |
| 44 | Madison | 70 | Riley | 79 |
| 45 | Penelope | 70 | Caleb | 78 |
| 46 | Kaia | 69 | Isaac | 78 |
| 47 | Zara | 69 | Louis | 78 |
| 48 | Billie | 68 | Austin | 77 |
| 49 | Quinn | 68 | Luka | 75 |
| 50 | Layla | 67 | Samuel | 74 |
| 51 | Amaia | 66 | Jordan | 73 |
| 52 | Eleanor | 65 | Sebastian | 73 |
| 53 | Sienna | 65 | Daniel | 72 |
| 54 | Bonnie | 64 | Ezekiel | 72 |
| 55 | Isabelle | 64 | Eli | 70 |
| 56 | Phoebe | 64 | Jasper | 70 |
| 57 | Abigail | 63 | Ryan | 70 |
| 58 | Eden | 63 | Blake | 69 |
| 59 | Emilia | 63 | Harvey | 68 |
| 60 | Eva | 63 | Harrison | 67 |
| 61 | Sofia | 62 | Nikau | 67 |
| 62 | Stella | 62 | Grayson | 65 |
| 63 | Delilah | 61 | Roman | 65 |
| 64 | Aaliyah | 60 | Zion | 65 |
| 65 | Scarlett | 59 | Toby | 64 |
| 66 | Kiara | 57 | Jacob | 63 |
| 67 | Emma | 56 | Joshua | 63 |
| 68 | Alice | 55 | Tommy | 61 |
| 69 | Molly | 55 | Joseph | 60 |
| 70 | Thea | 55 | Nathan | 60 |
| 71 | Indie | 54 | Spencer | 58 |
| 72 | Maya | 54 | Bodhi | 57 |
| 73 | Ayla | 53 | Edward | 57 |
| 74 | Elsie | 53 | Miles | 57 |
| 75 | Evie | 53 | Oakley | 57 |
| 76 | Margot | 53 | Ryder | 56 |
| 77 | Hannah | 52 | Jayden | 55 |
| 78 | Ada | 51 | Malakai | 55 |
| 79 | Esther | 50 | Logan | 54 |
| 80 | Harlow | 50 | Elias | 53 |
| 81 | Maddison | 50 | Gabriel | 53 |
| 82 | Cleo | 49 | River | 53 |
| 83 | Harriet | 49 | Angus | 51 |
| 84 | Manaia | 49 | Lincoln | 51 |
| 85 | Elizabeth | 48 | Nico | 51 |
| 86 | Iris | 47 | Billy | 50 |
| 87 | Summer | 47 | Ari | 49 |
| 88 | Arabella | 45 | Enzo | 49 |
| 89 | Maisie | 45 | Adam | 48 |
| 90 | Amber | 44 | Freddie | 48 |
| 91 | Tilly | 44 | Harley | 48 |
| 92 | Addison | 42 | Myles | 47 |
| 93 | Rehmat | 42 | Atlas | 46 |
| 94 | Zoey | 42 | Isaiah | 46 |
| 95 | Eliana | 41 | Leon | 46 |
| 96 | Marley | 41 | Niko | 46 |
| 97 | Skylar | 41 | Zorawar | 46 |
| 98 | Faith | 40 | Braxton | 45 |
| 99 | Clara | 39 | Matthew | 45 |
| 100 | Piper | 39 | Aiden | 44 |
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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