Baby Name: Joonharu

Last year, the Canadian province of Alberta welcomed more than 50,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah, for the sixth year in a row.

Here are Alberta’s top 50+ girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2024:

Girl names

1. Olivia, 184 baby girls
2. Charlotte, 164
3. Amelia, 150
4. Sophia, 146
5. Emma, 145
6. Ava, 120
7. Harper, 115 (tie)
8. Isla, 115 (tie)
9. Hazel, 104 (tie)
10. Sophie, 104 (tie)
11. Ellie, 102 (3-way tie)
12. Evelyn, 102 (3-way tie)
13. Lily, 102 (3-way tie)
14. Abigail, 98 (tie)
15. Aurora, 98 (tie)
16. Nora, 96
17. Mia, 95
18. Isabella, 90
19. Ella, 88 (tie)
20. Violet, 88 (tie)
21. Elizabeth, 86
22. Sofia, 85
23. Chloe, 83 (tie)
24. Scarlett, 83 (tie)
25. Aria, 80 (tie)
26. Emily, 80 (tie)
27. Eleanor, 79
28. Hannah, 76
29. Hailey, 75 (tie)
30. Ivy, 75 (tie)
31. Mila, 73
32. Grace, 72
33. Luna, 70
34. Maya, 69
35. Georgia, 68 (tie)
36. Maeve, 68 (tie)
37. Lainey, 67
38. Anna, 66 (tie)
39. Eliana, 66 (tie)
40. Emilia, 65
41. Lucy, 64
42. Audrey, 61 (tie)
43. Naomi, 61 (tie)
44. Avery, 58
45. Rehmat, 56 (tie)
46. Willow, 56 (tie)
47. Adeline, 55 (tie)
48. Zoey, 55 (tie)
49. Sadie, 54 (tie)
50. Stella, 54 (tie)
51. Ayla, 53 (tie)
52. Claire, 53 (tie)

Boy names

1. Noah, 248 baby boys
2. Oliver, 203
3. Liam, 196
4. Theodore, 187
5. Henry, 160
6. William, 148
7. Ethan, 141 (tie)
8. Leo, 141 (tie)
9. Jack, 140
10. Lucas, 139
11. Levi, 138
12. Benjamin, 133 (tie)
13. James, 133 (tie)
14. Adam, 126
15. Wyatt, 119
16. Daniel, 117
17. Luca, 111
18. Nathan, 108
19. Hudson, 107 (tie)
20. Owen, 107 (tie)
21. Bennett, 105
22. Elijah, 104
23. Thomas, 103
24. Logan, 102 (tie)
25. Muhammad, 102 (tie)
26. Luke, 96
27. Beau, 95
28. Maverick, 94
29. Samuel, 88
30. Arthur, 84
31. Jacob, 83
32. Asher, 81
33. Cooper, 80 (tie)
34. Jackson, 80 (tie)
35. Caleb, 79 (3-way tie)
36. Elias, 79 (3-way tie)
37. Ezra, 79 (3-way tie)
38. Gabriel, 78
39. Alexander, 77
40. David, 76
41. Lincoln, 75
42. Aiden, 74 (tie)
43. Wesley, 74 (tie)
44. Zorawar, 73
45. Isaac, 71 (tie)
46. Miles, 71 (tie)
47. Theo, 70
48. Carter, 68
49. Grayson, 65 (5-way tie)
50. John, 65 (5-way tie)
51. Mason, 65 (5-way tie)
52. Matthew, 65 (5-way tie)
53. Ryan, 65 (5-way tie)

Lainey (ranked 37th) was one of Canada’s fastest-rising girl names, and Zorawar (ranked 44th) was one of Canada’s fastest-rising boy names.

What about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Alberta last year:

Some explanations for a few of the above:

• Aapistsisskitsi means “flower blossom” in Blackfoot.
• Invictus means “unconquered” in Latin.
• Katawasisin means “it is beautiful” in Cree.
• Meikkonen means “little man” in Finnish. (The word mies means “man.”)
• Nîmihitow means “he/she dances” in Cree.
• Okimâw means “chief, leader” in Cree.
• Piyêsiw means “thunderbird” in Cree.
• Viridis means “green, youthful” in Latin.
• Waseskwan means “the sky is clear” in Cree.
• Zildjian is a musical instrument maker specializing in cymbals.
  • The company was founded in the 1620s by Avedis, an Armenian metalsmith based in Constantinople. In 1623, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa I, granted Avedis the family name Zildjian, meaning “son of [the] cymbal maker.”

Finally, here’s a link to Alberta’s 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

• Alberta’s top baby names – Alberta.ca
• Again?! Alberta’s top baby names hold their crown – Alberta.ca
• Online Cree Dictionary
• Blackfoot-English Phrases – Blackfoot Digital Library (University of Lethbridge)
• Avedis Zildjian Company – Wikipedia
• The Zildjian Brand Journey – Zildjian
• Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Alberta (public domain)