According to New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs, the most popular baby names in the country in 2020 were Isla and Oliver.
Here are New Zealand’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:
Girl Names
- Isla, 243 baby girls
- Charlotte, 222
- Amelia, 213
- Olivia, 208
- Willow, 184
- Harper, 177
- Ava (tie), 175
- Lily (tie), 175
- Sophie, 168
- Ella, 163
Boy Names
- Oliver, 315 baby boys
- Jack, 261
- Noah, 240
- Leo, 235
- Lucas, 206
- George, 197
- Charlie, 183
- William (tie), 175
- Thomas (tie), 175
- Hunter, 174
In the girls’ top 10, Lily and Ella replaced Mila and Ruby.
In the boys’ top 10, Hunter replaced James.
Notably, top girl name Isla “first made the top 100 girls’ names in 2004.”
Here are a few other factoids:
Taylor and Darcy are the most evenly split gender-neutral names for 2020, with a 51/49 per cent divide between boys and girls.
There were no Jacindas or Judiths on the top 10 list and no increase in Ashleys despite these names appearing often in the media during 2020.
The top Maori baby names of 2020 were Mia, Aria and Maia for girls and Nikau, Manaia, and Ari for boys.
Back in 2019, the top names were Amelia and Oliver.
Sources: Top Baby Names in New Zealand, Top 2020 baby names: Same name tops list eight years in a row
Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)
