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
- Charlotte, 209 baby girls
- Amelia, 184
- Isla, 179
- Olivia, 155
- Harper, 150
- Willow, 145
- Lily, 144
- Ava, 143 (tie)
- Ella, 143 (tie)
- Hazel, 141
- Mila, 138
- Evelyn, 135 (3-way tie)
- Mia, 135 (3-way tie)
- Sophie, 135 (3-way tie)
- Isabella, 130
- Aria, 125
- Ruby, 122
- Grace, 121
- Millie, 119
- Florence, 110
- Lucy, 108
- Ivy, 105
- Chloe, 101
- Zoe, 100
- Maeve, 98
- Daisy, 96
- Matilda, 95
- Sadie, 93 (tie)
- Sophia, 93 (tie)
- Emily, 92 (3-way tie)
- Freya, 92 (3-way tie)
- Luna, 92 (3-way tie)
- Olive, 88
- Georgia, 82 (tie)
- Maia, 82 (tie)
- Poppy, 81
- Frankie, 80 (tie)
- Violet, 80 (tie)
- Mackenzie, 79
- Ellie, 78
- Riley, 77
- Aurora, 76
- Bella, 74
- Madison, 70 (tie)
- Penelope, 70 (tie)
- Kaia, 69 (tie)
- Zara, 69 (tie)
- Billie, 68 (tie)
- Quinn, 68 (tie)
- Layla, 67
Boy names
- Noah, 267 baby boys
- Oliver, 247
- Luca, 207
- Jack, 194
- Leo, 189
- Theodore, 186
- George, 177
- Henry, 172
- Charlie, 163
- Hudson, 162
- Arthur, 158
- Arlo, 156
- Elijah, 153
- William, 147
- James, 146 (tie)
- Lucas, 146 (tie)
- Liam, 143
- Thomas, 142
- Theo, 135
- Oscar, 131
- Cooper, 122
- Beau, 119
- Hugo, 115
- Ethan, 114
- Ezra, 113 (tie)
- Mason, 113 (tie)
- Archie, 111 (tie)
- Levi, 111 (tie)
- Max, 110
- Carter, 106
- Felix, 105 (tie)
- Finn, 105 (tie)
- Alexander, 102
- Lachlan, 97
- Asher, 90 (3-way tie)
- Hunter, 90 (3-way tie)
- Louie, 90 (3-way tie)
- Luke, 87
- Benjamin, 84
- Harry, 83
- Jackson, 82
- Archer, 81
- Micah, 79 (tie)
- Riley, 79 (tie)
- Caleb, 78 (3-way tie)
- Isaac, 78 (3-way tie)
- Louis, 78 (3-way tie)
- Austin, 77
- Luka, 75
- 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
- Aroha/Te Aroha, 164 baby girls
- Amaia, 110
- Maia, 103
- Anahera, 85
- Moana, 70
- Manaia, 68
- Ataahua, 54
- Marama, 51
- Atarangi, 41
- Tui, 39
Maori boy names
- Ariki/Te Ariki, 111 baby boys
- Wiremu, 86
- Rawiri, 80
- Mikaere, 65
- Nikau, 63
- Koa, 62 (tie)
- Manaia, 62 (tie)
- Manaaki, 59
- Kiwa, 45 (tie)
- 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)
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