According to New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs, the most popular baby names in New Zealand in 2015 were Olivia and Oliver.
Here are New Zealand’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2015:
| Girl Names | Boy Names |
|---|---|
| 1. Olivia, 268 baby girls 2. Charlotte, 260 3. Harper, 259 4. Sophie, 255 5. Emily, 247 6. Ella, 233 7. Isla, 230 8. Mia, 217 9. Amelia, 209 10. Isabella, 201 | 1. Oliver, 348 baby boys 2. Jack, 308 3. William, 272 4. James, 251 5. Benjamin, 246 6. Mason, 238 7. Hunter, 236 8. Charlie, 229 9. Liam, 228 10. Jacob, 220 |
Mia and Isabella replaced Sophia and Ruby in the girls’ top 10, and Hunter and Charlie replaced Noah and Lucas in the boys’ top 10.
Harper, now 3rd, was down in 7th in 2014.
Just for fun, here are NZ’s top baby names of 1915:
| Girl Names, 1915 | Boy Names, 1915 |
|---|---|
| 1. Mary, 551 baby girls 2. Margaret, 433 3. Dorothy, 316 4. Jean, 298 5. Kathleen, 228 6. Edna, 218 7. Eileen, 218 8. Phyllis, 206 9. Joyce, 195 10. Joan, 193 | 1. John, 958 baby boys 2. William, 788 3. James, 561 4. George, 450 5. Robert, 396 6. Thomas, 346 7. Arthur, 313 8. Charles, 291 9. Albert, 259 10. Ronald, 233 |
As you’d expect, the top names of a century ago were much more dominantly popular than today’s top names — which is even more impressive when you consider the fact that, in the 1910s, New Zealand was welcoming roughly half as many babies as it does today in the 2010s.
Sources: Olivia and Oliver top baby names for 2015, Most Popular Male and Female First Names
Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)
