Baby Name: Koa

The island nation of New Zealand is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about 1,200 miles east of Australia.

Last year, New Zealand welcomed a total of 59,711 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Isla and Oliver.

Here are New Zealand’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

1. Isla, 246 baby girls
2. Amelia, 210
3. Charlotte, 208
4. Mila, 182
5. Lily, 180
6. Ava, 179
7. Willow, 177
8. Olivia, 175
9. Harper, 167
10. Sophie, 166
11. Hazel, 164
12. Mia, 161
13. Ella, 157
14. Isabella, 156
15. Ruby, 149
16. Chloe, 144
17. Millie, 137
18. Zoe, 130
19. Grace, 128
20. Lucy, 117 (tie)
21. Olive, 117 (tie)
22. Emily, 116
23. Aria, 115
24. Freya, 114
25. Ivy, 111
26. Evelyn, 110
27. Georgia, 105 (tie)
28. Sienna, 105 (tie)
29. Layla, 102 (tie)
30. Poppy, 102 (tie)
31. Matilda, 101 (tie)
32. Sophia, 101 (tie)
33. Frankie, 100
34. Luna, 96
35. Mackenzie, 95
36. Ellie, 94
37. Sadie, 92
38. Maia, 91
39. Florence, 87
40. Riley, 86
41. Isabelle, 85 (tie)
42. Margot, 85 (tie)
43. Maeve, 84
44. Evie, 83 (tie)
45. Violet, 83 (tie)
46. Aurora, 80 (tie)
47. Billie, 80 (tie)
48. Daisy, 78
49. Sofia, 75
50. Eleanor, 73

Boy Names

1. Oliver, 274 baby boys
2. Noah, 262
3. Leo, 243
4. Jack, 234
5. Luca, 222
6. Theodore, 219
7. George, 211
8. Charlie, 195
9. Hudson, 169 (tie)
10. William, 169 (tie)
11. Oscar, 166
12. Arthur, 160
13. Elijah, 158
14. Arlo, 156
15. Thomas, 151
16. James, 150
17. Archie, 146
18. Henry, 144
19. Lucas, 140
20. Hunter, 138
21. Liam, 136
22. Mason, 130
23. Theo, 124
24. Ezra, 123 (tie)
25. Max, 123 (tie)
26. Levi, 121
27. Cooper, 120
28. Carter, 114
29. Hugo, 112
30. Lachlan, 110
31. Asher, 109
32. Beau, 108
33. Finn, 104
34. Archer, 103 (tie)
35. Felix, 103 (tie)
36. Benjamin, 100 (tie)
37. Luka, 100 (tie)
38. Jasper, 94
39. Luke, 92
40. Harry, 91
41. Ethan, 88
42. Alexander, 87 (tie)
43. Roman, 87 (tie)
44. Grayson, 85 (tie)
45. Harrison, 85 (tie)
46. Jackson, 83 (3-way tie)
47. Lincoln, 83 (3-way tie)
48. Samuel, 83 (3-way tie)
49. Jacob, 82 (tie)
50. Louie, 82 (tie)

This is the tenth year in a row that Oliver has been New Zealand’s #1 boy name.

The news release also mentioned that the “most popular gender-neutral name for 2022 was Riley,” which ranked 40th for girls and 51st for boys.

And what about the top Maori baby names?

Maori girl names

1. Aroha / Te Aroha
2. Aria
3. Anahera
4. Maia
5. Moana
6. Kaia
7. Manaia
8. Atarangi / Te Atarangi
9. Ataahua
10. Marama

Maori boy names

1. Ariki / Te Ariki / Teariki
2. Nikau
3. Wiremu
4. Rawiri
5. Mikaere
6. Manaia
7. Kai
8. Manaaki
9. Kahurangi
10. Koa

There are a couple of things we need to note about the Maori baby name rankings, though.

First, the Maori rankings don’t cover the same period of time as the national rankings. Instead, they cover births from June 21, 2022, to July 9, 2023. Why? Because these dates are linked to Matariki, or Maori New Year. (The Maori word Matariki refers to both the Pleiades star cluster and to the yearly celebration of the Pleiades’ return to the night sky, in late June or early July).

Second, a more thorough process is now being used to determine which names to include in the Maori rankings. Previously, the only criterion was that the names be made up of letters in the Maori alphabet. Now, on top of that, the names must: end in a vowel, be “carefully considered and checked,” be discussed with a Maori elder, and be reviewed by the Maori Language Commission.

In 2021, the top names overall in New Zealand were Charlotte and Oliver.

Sources: Top Baby Names – New Zealand Government, Aotearoa’s top ten Maori baby names of the year revealed for Matariki, Matariki (the Pleiades) – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Image by ken lecoq from Pixabay