How popular is the baby name Kahurangi in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Kahurangi.

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Popularity of the baby name Kahurangi


Posts that mention the name Kahurangi

Popular baby names (and Maori baby names) in New Zealand, 2022

Flag of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand

The island nation of New Zealand is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about 1,200 miles east of Australia.

Last year, New Zealand welcomed a total of 59,711 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Isla and Oliver.

Here are New Zealand’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Isla, 246 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 210
  3. Charlotte, 208
  4. Mila, 182
  5. Lily, 180
  6. Ava, 179
  7. Willow, 177
  8. Olivia, 175
  9. Harper, 167
  10. Sophie, 166
  11. Hazel, 164
  12. Mia, 161
  13. Ella, 157
  14. Isabella, 156
  15. Ruby, 149
  16. Chloe, 144
  17. Millie, 137
  18. Zoe, 130
  19. Grace, 128
  20. Lucy, 117 (tie)
  21. Olive, 117 (tie)
  22. Emily, 116
  23. Aria, 115
  24. Freya, 114
  25. Ivy, 111
  26. Evelyn, 110
  27. Georgia, 105 (tie)
  28. Sienna, 105 (tie)
  29. Layla, 102 (tie)
  30. Poppy, 102 (tie)
  31. Matilda, 101 (tie)
  32. Sophia, 101 (tie)
  33. Frankie, 100
  34. Luna, 96
  35. Mackenzie, 95
  36. Ellie, 94
  37. Sadie, 92
  38. Maia, 91
  39. Florence, 87
  40. Riley, 86
  41. Isabelle, 85 (tie)
  42. Margot, 85 (tie)
  43. Maeve, 84
  44. Evie, 83 (tie)
  45. Violet, 83 (tie)
  46. Aurora, 80 (tie)
  47. Billie, 80 (tie)
  48. Daisy, 78
  49. Sofia, 75
  50. Eleanor, 73

Boy Names

  1. Oliver, 274 baby boys
  2. Noah, 262
  3. Leo, 243
  4. Jack, 234
  5. Luca, 222
  6. Theodore, 219
  7. George, 211
  8. Charlie, 195
  9. Hudson, 169 (tie)
  10. William, 169 (tie)
  11. Oscar, 166
  12. Arthur, 160
  13. Elijah, 158
  14. Arlo, 156
  15. Thomas, 151
  16. James, 150
  17. Archie, 146
  18. Henry, 144
  19. Lucas, 140
  20. Hunter, 138
  21. Liam, 136
  22. Mason, 130
  23. Theo, 124
  24. Ezra, 123 (tie)
  25. Max, 123 (tie)
  26. Levi, 121
  27. Cooper, 120
  28. Carter, 114
  29. Hugo, 112
  30. Lachlan, 110
  31. Asher, 109
  32. Beau, 108
  33. Finn, 104
  34. Archer, 103 (tie)
  35. Felix, 103 (tie)
  36. Benjamin, 100 (tie)
  37. Luka, 100 (tie)
  38. Jasper, 94
  39. Luke, 92
  40. Harry, 91
  41. Ethan, 88
  42. Alexander, 87 (tie)
  43. Roman, 87 (tie)
  44. Grayson, 85 (tie)
  45. Harrison, 85 (tie)
  46. Jackson, 83 (3-way tie)
  47. Lincoln, 83 (3-way tie)
  48. Samuel, 83 (3-way tie)
  49. Jacob, 82 (tie)
  50. Louie, 82 (tie)

This is the tenth year in a row that Oliver has been New Zealand’s #1 boy name.

The news release also mentioned that the “most popular gender-neutral name for 2022 was Riley,” which ranked 40th for girls and 51st for boys.

And what about the top Maori baby names?

Maori girl names

  1. Aroha / Te Aroha
  2. Aria
  3. Anahera
  4. Maia
  5. Moana
  6. Kaia
  7. Manaia
  8. Atarangi / Te Atarangi
  9. Ataahua
  10. Marama

Maori boy names

  1. Ariki / Te Ariki / Teariki
  2. Nikau
  3. Wiremu
  4. Rawiri
  5. Mikaere
  6. Manaia
  7. Kai
  8. Manaaki
  9. Kahurangi
  10. Koa

There are a couple of things we need to note about the Maori baby name rankings, though.

First, the Maori rankings don’t cover the same period of time as the national rankings. Instead, they cover births from June 21, 2022, to July 9, 2023. Why? Because these dates are linked to Matariki, or Maori New Year. (The Maori word Matariki refers to both the Pleiades star cluster and to the yearly celebration of the Pleiades’ return to the night sky, in late June or early July).

Second, a more thorough process is now being used to determine which names to include in the Maori rankings. Previously, the only criterion was that the names be made up of letters in the Maori alphabet. Now, on top of that, the names must: end in a vowel, be “carefully considered and checked,” be discussed with a Maori elder, and be reviewed by the Maori Language Commission.

In 2021, the top names overall in New Zealand were Charlotte and Oliver.

Sources: Top Baby Names – New Zealand Government, Aotearoa’s top ten Maori baby names of the year revealed for Matariki, Matariki (the Pleiades) – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)

Popular Maori baby names in New Zealand, 2012

Flag of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand

A conversation with commenter elbowin a couple of weeks ago prompted me to do a bit of research on Maori names. And what did I stumble upon while doing that research? An official list of the top Maori baby names of 2012:

Baby Girl NamesBaby Boy Names
1. Maia
2. Aria
3. Manaia
4. Anahera
5. Ataahua
6. Aroha
7. Tia
8. Ariana
9. Kaia
10. Kahurangi
11. Maraea
12. Waimarie
13. Tui
14. Amaia
15. Miriama
16. Awhina
17. Hana
18. Anika
19. Huia
20. Mareikura
1. Nikau
2. Wiremu
3. Kahurangi
4. Kauri
5. Nikora
6. Tane
7. Tamati
8. Rawiri
9. Anaru
10. Tai
11. Manaia
12. Tama
13. Mikaere
14. Te Ariki
15. Ariki
16. Te Koha
17. Hoani
18. Manawa
19. Tiare
20. Hemi

The list was created using data from the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry of NZ’s Department of Internal Affairs. How?

The results are for the first name given to nineteen thousand Maori babies (by descent) registered in 2012. The analysis found that Maori girls are more likely to be given Maori names.

So, they tallied up and ranked all the Maori names given to babies of Maori descent. (In case you’re wondering, 61,178 babies were born in New Zealand in 2012 and 33% of these babies were of Maori descent.)

I do wish the press release had included some raw numbers, or at least mentioned what percentage of Maori babies got Maori names in 2012. Because, without this information, there’s no way to know what sort of influence (if any) Maori babies getting Maori names had on the overall 2012 list.

For instance, the top two Maori girl names, Maia and Aria — which aren’t exclusively Maori in origin — ranked 30th and 38th nation-wide. Would they have ranked as well if they hadn’t been so popular among the Maori specifically?

Anyway…it’s a cool list, regardless. Thanks, elbowin, for all the thoughtful comments. :)

Sources: Top 20 Maori boys’ and girls’ names released, Births and Deaths: Year ended December 2012

Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)