Popular baby names (and Maori baby names) in New Zealand, 2023

Last year, the island nation of New Zealand welcomed a total of 57,889 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Charlotte and Noah.

Here are New Zealand’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

1. Charlotte, 209 baby girls
2. Amelia, 184
3. Isla, 179
4. Olivia, 155
5. Harper, 150
6. Willow, 145
7. Lily, 144
8. Ava, 143 (tie)
9. Ella, 143 (tie)
10. Hazel, 141
11. Mila, 138
12. Evelyn, 135 (3-way tie)
13. Mia, 135 (3-way tie)
14. Sophie, 135 (3-way tie)
15. Isabella, 130
16. Aria, 125
17. Ruby, 122
18. Grace, 121
19. Millie, 119
20. Florence, 110
21. Lucy, 108
22. Ivy, 105
23. Chloe, 101
24. Zoe, 100
25. Maeve, 98
26. Daisy, 96
27. Matilda, 95
28. Sadie, 93 (tie)
29. Sophia, 93 (tie)
30. Emily, 92 (3-way tie)
31. Freya, 92 (3-way tie)
32. Luna, 92 (3-way tie)
33. Olive, 88
34. Georgia, 82 (tie)
35. Maia, 82 (tie)
36. Poppy, 81
37. Frankie, 80 (tie)
38. Violet, 80 (tie)
39. Mackenzie, 79
40. Ellie, 78
41. Riley, 77
42. Aurora, 76
43. Bella, 74
44. Madison, 70 (tie)
45. Penelope, 70 (tie)
46. Kaia, 69 (tie)
47. Zara, 69 (tie)
48. Billie, 68 (tie)
49. Quinn, 68 (tie)
50. Layla, 67

Boy names

1. Noah, 267 baby boys
2. Oliver, 247
3. Luca, 207
4. Jack, 194
5. Leo, 189
6. Theodore, 186
7. George, 177
8. Henry, 172
9. Charlie, 163
10. Hudson, 162
11. Arthur, 158
12. Arlo, 156
13. Elijah, 153
14. William, 147
15. James, 146 (tie)
16. Lucas, 146 (tie)
17. Liam, 143
18. Thomas, 142
19. Theo, 135
20. Oscar, 131
21. Cooper, 122
22. Beau, 119
23. Hugo, 115
24. Ethan, 114
25. Ezra, 113 (tie)
26. Mason, 113 (tie)
27. Archie, 111 (tie)
28. Levi, 111 (tie)
29. Max, 110
30. Carter, 106
31. Felix, 105 (tie)
32. Finn, 105 (tie)
33. Alexander, 102
34. Lachlan, 97
35. Asher, 90 (3-way tie)
36. Hunter, 90 (3-way tie)
37. Louie, 90 (3-way tie)
38. Luke, 87
39. Benjamin, 84
40. Harry, 83
41. Jackson, 82
42. Archer, 81
43. Micah, 79 (tie)
44. Riley, 79 (tie)
45. Caleb, 78 (3-way tie)
46. Isaac, 78 (3-way tie)
47. Louis, 78 (3-way tie)
48. Austin, 77
49. Luka, 75
50. Samuel, 74

And what about Maori names specifically?

Currently, the top Maori baby names in New Zealand are Aroha/Te Aroha for girls and Ariki/Te Ariki for boys. In Maori, the word aroha means “love” or “affection,” the word ariki means “chieftain” or “leader,” and the word te (in these two cases) is the article “the.”

Here are New Zealand’s top 10 Maori girl names and top 10 Maori boy names:

Maori girl names

1. Aroha/Te Aroha, 164 baby girls
2. Amaia, 110
3. Maia, 103
4. Anahera, 85
5. Moana, 70
6. Manaia, 68
7. Ataahua, 54
8. Marama, 51
9. Atarangi, 41
10. Tui, 39

Maori boy names

1. Ariki/Te Ariki, 111 baby boys
2. Wiremu, 86
3. Rawiri, 80
4. Mikaere, 65
5. Nikau, 63
6. Koa, 62 (tie)
7. Manaia, 62 (tie)
8. Manaaki, 59
9. Kiwa, 45 (tie)
10. Kaitoa, 45 (tie)

Please note that the Maori rankings don’t cover the calendar year 2023, as the national rankings do. Instead, they cover births from July 10, 2023, to June 30, 2024. (These dates coincide with Matariki, a.k.a. Maori New Year.)

Finally, here’s a link to New Zealand’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

P.S. Did you know that New Zealand’s closest geographic neighbor in the Pacific is New Caledonia (to the north)?

Sources: Top Baby Names – New Zealand Government, Most common Maori baby names in 2023/24 released for Matariki – Te Ao Maori News, Te Aka Maori Dictionary, New Caledonia – New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

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