Alberta, one of Canada’s three prairie provinces, shares a border with British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and the U.S. state of Montana.
Last year, Alberta welcomed 48,225 babies — over 24,000 boys and over 23,000 girls.
What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah.
Here are Alberta’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:
Girl Names
- Olivia, 192 baby girls
- Sophia, 151
- Emma, 149
- Amelia, 133
- Harper, 125
- Charlotte, 117
- Ava, 115
- Isla, 101
- Lily, 100
- Chloe, 92
- Emily, 91 (tie)
- Isabella, 91 (tie)
- Abigail, 90
- Nora, 88
- Violet, 86
- Aria, 85
- Ivy, 83
- Mia, 82
- Hazel, 81 (tie)
- Zoey, 81 (tie)
- Ellie, 80 (3-way tie)
- Evelyn, 80 (3-way tie)
- Sophie, 80 (3-way tie)
- Ella, 79 (tie)
- Hannah, 79 (tie)
- Aurora, 75
- Willow, 74
- Eleanor, 73
- Scarlett, 72
- Elizabeth, 71 (tie)
- Mila, 71 (tie)
- Avery, 69
- Grace, 68
- Luna, 64
- Everly, 63
- Claire, 61 (tie)
- Maya, 61 (tie)
- Hailey, 60 (tie)
- Wren, 60 (tie)
- Alice, 58 (3-way tie)
- Isabelle, 58 (3-way tie)
- Madison, 58 (3-way tie)
- Emilia, 57 (3-way tie)
- Freya, 57 (3-way tie)
- Natalie, 57 (3-way tie)
- Ayla, 56
- Penelope, 53 (tie)
- Sadie, 53 (tie)
- Eliana, 51 (3-way tie)
- Nova, 51 (3-way tie)
- Quinn, 51 (3-way tie)
Boy Names
- Noah, 229 baby boys
- Liam, 176
- Theodore, 173
- Oliver, 172
- Jack, 159
- William, 146
- Benjamin, 138 (tie)
- James, 138 (tie)
- Henry, 136
- Lucas, 135
- Ethan, 130
- Jackson, 121
- Leo, 114
- Levi, 113
- Logan, 109 (tie)
- Wyatt, 109 (tie)
- Muhammad, 106
- Owen, 100
- Adam, 97
- Luke, 96
- Bennett, 94 (tie)
- Maverick, 94 (tie)
- Asher, 93
- Alexander, 92 (tie)
- Nathan, 92 (tie)
- Caleb, 91 (3-way tie)
- Daniel, 91 (3-way tie)
- Elijah, 91 (3-way tie)
- Thomas, 90
- Carter, 85 (tie)
- Theo, 85 (tie)
- Gabriel, 82
- Jacob, 80
- Lincoln, 79
- Aiden, 76 (tie)
- Hudson, 76 (tie)
- Grayson, 75 (tie)
- Walker, 75 (tie)
- Emmett, 73 (tie)
- Isaac, 73 (tie)
- Cooper, 70 (3-way tie)
- Luca, 70 (3-way tie)
- Samuel, 70 (3-way tie)
- Jasper, 69 (tie)
- Mason, 69 (tie)
- Arthur, 67 (3-way tie)
- David, 67 (3-way tie)
- Wesley, 67 (3-way tie)
- Nolan, 66 (tie)
- Parker, 66 (tie)
Nearly 13,000 names were registered in Alberta in 2022, and well over 8,000 of these names were given to a single baby. Here’s a selection of the baby names bestowed just once in the province last year:
| Unique Girl Names | Unique Boy Names |
| Acâhkosak, Buffalo-Omeasoo, Cloudlyn, Dixita, Equinox, Febechi, Goncharov, Humanitas, Izcalli, Jenniferjeet, Kanak, Letley, Midnightsky, Mikwan, Nîpin, O’Telly, Philia, Pridhi, Qana, Rooi, Sîsîkwan, Tessandra, Undina, Virianzel, Waylynn, Xiantal, Yseult, Zeebella | Audacieux, Bramber, Chrisser, Dutch, Etoile-Soleil, Frontier, Gavroche, Hendricks, Innis, Jinmu, Kikotawân, Lazael, Mîhkokwan, Mihkwaskâw, Navi, Okihcihtâw, Okîsikow, Piyesiwak, Quezon, Rocker, Spruce, Trudeau, Uazuva, Vlix, Walt, Xildian, Yelta, Ziggs |
Some possible explanations and/or influences for a few of the above:
- Acâhkosak means “stars” in Cree.
- Audacieux means “audacious, bold” in French.
- Etoile-Soleil means “star-sun” in French.
- Gavroche is a young character from the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables (1862).
- Humanitas is a Latin word meaning “human nature” and “humaneness” (among other things).
- Izcalli, the last month of the Aztec calendar, means “stone house” in Nahuatl.
- Kikotawân is based on the Cree word kotawân, meaning “campfire.”
- Mîhkokwan means “red feather” in Cree.
- Mihkwaskâw means “red sky” or “red clouds at sunset” in Cree.
- Mikwan means “feather” in Cree.
- Nîpin means “summer” in Cree.
- Okihcihtâw means “warrior” in Cree.
- Okîsikow means “angel” in Cree.
- Piyesiwak means “thunder” in Cree.
- Pridhi is based on a Sanskrit word meaning “circumference” and “halo” (among other things).
- Quezon is both a province and a city in the Philippines.
- Sîsîkwan means “rattle” in Cree.
- Trudeau is the surname of Justin Trudeau, Canada’s current prime minister.
Finally, here’s a link to Alberta’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.
Sources: Alberta’s top baby names – Alberta.ca, Top baby names of 2022 revealed – Alberta.ca, Online Cree Dictionary, Wiktionary
Image: Adapted from Flag of Alberta (public domain)
