Baby Name: Kanak

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

1. Olivia, 192 baby girls
2. Sophia, 151
3. Emma, 149
4. Amelia, 133
5. Harper, 125
6. Charlotte, 117
7. Ava, 115
8. Isla, 101
9. Lily, 100
10. Chloe, 92
11. Emily, 91 (tie)
12. Isabella, 91 (tie)
13. Abigail, 90
14. Nora, 88
15. Violet, 86
16. Aria, 85
17. Ivy, 83
18. Mia, 82
19. Hazel, 81 (tie)
20. Zoey, 81 (tie)
21. Ellie, 80 (3-way tie)
22. Evelyn, 80 (3-way tie)
23. Sophie, 80 (3-way tie)
24. Ella, 79 (tie)
25. Hannah, 79 (tie)
26. Aurora, 75
27. Willow, 74
28. Eleanor, 73
29. Scarlett, 72
30. Elizabeth, 71 (tie)
31. Mila, 71 (tie)
32. Avery, 69
33. Grace, 68
34. Luna, 64
35. Everly, 63
36. Claire, 61 (tie)
37. Maya, 61 (tie)
38. Hailey, 60 (tie)
39. Wren, 60 (tie)
40. Alice, 58 (3-way tie)
41. Isabelle, 58 (3-way tie)
42. Madison, 58 (3-way tie)
43. Emilia, 57 (3-way tie)
44. Freya, 57 (3-way tie)
45. Natalie, 57 (3-way tie)
46. Ayla, 56
47. Penelope, 53 (tie)
48. Sadie, 53 (tie)
49. Eliana, 51 (3-way tie)
50. Nova, 51 (3-way tie)
51. Quinn, 51 (3-way tie)

Boy Names

1. Noah, 229 baby boys
2. Liam, 176
3. Theodore, 173
4. Oliver, 172
5. Jack, 159
6. William, 146
7. Benjamin, 138 (tie)
8. James, 138 (tie)
9. Henry, 136
10. Lucas, 135
11. Ethan, 130
12. Jackson, 121
13. Leo, 114
14. Levi, 113
15. Logan, 109 (tie)
16. Wyatt, 109 (tie)
17. Muhammad, 106
18. Owen, 100
19. Adam, 97
20. Luke, 96
21. Bennett, 94 (tie)
22. Maverick, 94 (tie)
23. Asher, 93
24. Alexander, 92 (tie)
25. Nathan, 92 (tie)
26. Caleb, 91 (3-way tie)
27. Daniel, 91 (3-way tie)
28. Elijah, 91 (3-way tie)
29. Thomas, 90
30. Carter, 85 (tie)
31. Theo, 85 (tie)
32. Gabriel, 82
33. Jacob, 80
34. Lincoln, 79
35. Aiden, 76 (tie)
36. Hudson, 76 (tie)
37. Grayson, 75 (tie)
38. Walker, 75 (tie)
39. Emmett, 73 (tie)
40. Isaac, 73 (tie)
41. Cooper, 70 (3-way tie)
42. Luca, 70 (3-way tie)
43. Samuel, 70 (3-way tie)
44. Jasper, 69 (tie)
45. Mason, 69 (tie)
46. Arthur, 67 (3-way tie)
47. David, 67 (3-way tie)
48. Wesley, 67 (3-way tie)
49. Nolan, 66 (tie)
50. 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:

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)