Popular and unique baby names in Alberta (Canada), 2009

Flag of Alberta
Flag of Alberta

According to Service Alberta, the top baby names the Canadian province of Alberta last year were Olivia and Ethan.

Here are Alberta’s top 5 girl names and top 5 boy names of 2009:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia
  2. Isabella
  3. Ava
  4. Emma
  5. Hailey

Boy Names

  1. Ethan
  2. Liam
  3. Jacob
  4. Logan
  5. Noah

Rare baby names that were bestowed just once in Alberta last year include…

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Albertarose, Beauty, Cred, Dessarhey, Eloquence, Fury, Gallary, Heart, Ibiza, Joy-Joviale, Kwynn, Lashes, Manhattan, Noof, Ortal, Poetic, Qhloe, RoyLe, Society, Temprance, Uniqua, Veditha, Weency, Xanet, Yejee, ZimmelAlias, Bison, Crazyhorse, Dat, Edgerrin, Ericlindross, Folly-Noah, Guch, Hawkar, Iex, Jhazriel, Kduss, Lightning, Maxxwel, Neptune, Owies, Philopateer, Qron, Rayon, Seige, Thunder, Uyohoini, Voltaire, Wrath, Xayden, Yak, Zenry

Edgerrin was probably named for American football player Edgerrin James, while Ericlindross was definitely named for Canadian hockey player Eric Lindros.

Fingers crossed that Thunder and Lightning have a playdate together one day. :)

Here’s last year’s post on baby names in Alberta.

Source: Service Alberta

Image: Adapted from Flag of Alberta (public domain)

4 thoughts on “Popular and unique baby names in Alberta (Canada), 2009

  1. I wonder if Voltaire comes from the French enlightenment writer Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire. My husband is part French and a big fan of Arouet, and we both love the name. Seeing someone else bestow it upon their child is an extra push for us, because we’ve been afraid that perhaps it’s a little too “out there”.

  2. I’m sure Voltaire does come from the author. I’ve seen it used before for boys, and at least once for girls (Voltairine de Cleyre).

    But it’s not a name I’d recommend. I think a subtle tribute to Voltaire would be a better idea. Something that won’t totally overshadow your child. Why not Francois, Francis or Marion?

    Francois and Francis (and Frank, and Francisco, etc.) have the added benefit of meaning “Frenchman,” so they pay tribute to your husband’s French ancestry in two ways — via etymology and via the association with the author.

  3. I like the sound of Voltaire. It’s not any more weird than using any other last name as a first name. You could use the nn Terry to downplay the unusualness of the name if need be. Or use Volt, if his personality leans that way.

  4. It could be hidden behind a nickname, I suppose. Though keeping a name hidden kinda defeats the purpose of giving it in the first place.

    I just don’t think the pen name makes an appropriate baby name. This would be a cool name for a dog or a cat, but I don’t think it works well for a human.

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