How popular is the baby name Manaia in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Manaia.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Manaia


Posts that mention the name Manaia

Popular Maori baby names in New Zealand, 2015

Flag of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand

According to the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs and the Maori Language Commission (Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori), the country’s most popular Maori names during the second half of 2014 and the first half of 2015 were Maia and Nikau.

Here are the top 10 Maori girl names and boy names of 2014/2015:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Maia
2. Manaia
3. Anahera
4. Ana
5. Aroha
6. Kaia
7. Hana
8. Ataahua
9. Tia
10. Kora		1. Nikau
2. Ari
3. Manaia
4. Wiremu
5. Kauri
6. Mikaere
7. Rawiri
8. Ihaia
9. Kai
10. Manaaki

The top 10 lists above are fairly different from the Maori baby name rankings of 2013. (I don’t believe a 2014 list was released.)

One confusing difference is the absence of Aria and Ariana. Were they reclassified as non-Maori? Otherwise, Aria and Ariana should have come in first and third on this list, given how popular they’ve been in New Zealand overall lately.

Also confusing is the fact that the rankings don’t refer to corresponding periods of time. The 2013 list covers April 2012 to March 2013, whereas the 2015 list covers July 2014 to June 2015.

Maia and Nikau weren’t among New Zealand’s top ten baby names of 2015, but they did appear in the top 100: Maia was ranked 34th for girls, Nikau 97th for boys.

Source: Most popular Maori baby names in 2015

Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)

Popular baby names in New Zealand, 2014

Flag of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand

According to data from New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs, the most popular baby names in New Zealand in 2014 were Charlotte and Oliver.

Here are New Zealand’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2014:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Charlotte, 255 baby girls
2. Olivia, 243
3. Isla, 226
4. Emily, 221
5. Sophie, 211
6. Amelia, 210
7. Ella, 206
8. Harper, 204
9. Sophia, 198
10. Ruby, 180		1. Oliver, 313 baby boys
2. Jack, 265
3. James, 255
4. Mason, 244
5. Liam, 241
6. William, 234
7. Noah, 231
8. Lucas, 228
9. Benjamin, 207
10. Jacob, 202

Harper and Sophia replaced Ava and Isabella in the girls’ top 10, and Benjamin and Jacob replaced Samuel and Thomas in the boys’ top 10.

The biggest movement within the top 10 is Ruby, which dropped from 3rd place all the way to 10th.

Several articles made note of the absence of Maori names on both top 100 lists:

About 20 percent of Maori women aged 15 and over had given birth to four or more children compared to only 12.2 percent of the European women, meaning there was even more reason for Maori names to be chosen.

But this was not the case.

Fifteen percent of the population (598,602) identified as Maori in the 2013 Census.

Maori names like Manaia and Anahera have appeared on the New Zealand girls’ top 100 in recent years, but neither made the list in 2014.

Finally, here are some older sets of baby name rankings from New Zealand: 2013 overall, 2013 Maori names, 2012 overall, 2012 Maori names, and 2010 overall.

Sources: Charlotte and Oliver top baby names for 2014, Most Popular Male and Female First Names, Parents overlook Maori names

Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)

Popular Maori baby names in New Zealand, 2013

Flag of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand

New Zealand’s top Maori baby names of 2013 were announced last month.

According to the Department of Internal Affairs and the Maori Language Commission (Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori), the country’s most popular Maori names of 2013* were Aria and Nikau.

Here are the top 20 Maori girl names and Maori boy names of 2013:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Aria
2. Maia
3. Ariana
4. Anahera
5. Anika
6. Aroha
7. Kora
8. Tia
9. Kaia
10. Ana
11. Ria
12. Tiare
13. Mereana
14. Nia
15. Tui
16. Wikitoria
17. Hinewai
18. Mahi
19. Terina
20. Mareikura		1. Nikau
2. Ari
3. Wiremu
4. Niko
5. Tamati
6. Hemi
7. Nikora
8. Te Ariki
9. Rawiri
10. Tane
11. Mikaere
12. Manaia
13. Kahu
14. Tangaroa
15. Kauri
16. Ariki
17. Manaaki
18. Tama
19. Ihaia
20. Matiu

This is the second-ever official list of popular Maori names, and it’s very different from the first list (2012). Notably, half of the girl names and nearly half of the boy names above are brand new. Two of the newbie boy names, Ari and Niko, now rank 2nd and 4th respectively.

The only Maori name on the list of popular baby names in New Zealand (top 25 of 2013) is Aria, ranked 24th.

*Actually, they’re the top Maori names given during the “2012-2013 financial year,” so, between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2013.

Source: Maori Language Week: Top Maori boys’ and girls’ names

Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)

Popular Maori baby names in New Zealand, 2012

Flag of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand

A conversation with commenter elbowin a couple of weeks ago prompted me to do a bit of research on Maori names. And what did I stumble upon while doing that research? An official list of the top Maori baby names of 2012:

Baby Girl NamesBaby Boy Names
1. Maia
2. Aria
3. Manaia
4. Anahera
5. Ataahua
6. Aroha
7. Tia
8. Ariana
9. Kaia
10. Kahurangi
11. Maraea
12. Waimarie
13. Tui
14. Amaia
15. Miriama
16. Awhina
17. Hana
18. Anika
19. Huia
20. Mareikura		1. Nikau
2. Wiremu
3. Kahurangi
4. Kauri
5. Nikora
6. Tane
7. Tamati
8. Rawiri
9. Anaru
10. Tai
11. Manaia
12. Tama
13. Mikaere
14. Te Ariki
15. Ariki
16. Te Koha
17. Hoani
18. Manawa
19. Tiare
20. Hemi

The list was created using data from the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry of NZ’s Department of Internal Affairs. How?

The results are for the first name given to nineteen thousand Maori babies (by descent) registered in 2012. The analysis found that Maori girls are more likely to be given Maori names.

So, they tallied up and ranked all the Maori names given to babies of Maori descent. (In case you’re wondering, 61,178 babies were born in New Zealand in 2012 and 33% of these babies were of Maori descent.)

I do wish the press release had included some raw numbers, or at least mentioned what percentage of Maori babies got Maori names in 2012. Because, without this information, there’s no way to know what sort of influence (if any) Maori babies getting Maori names had on the overall 2012 list.

For instance, the top two Maori girl names, Maia and Aria — which aren’t exclusively Maori in origin — ranked 30th and 38th nation-wide. Would they have ranked as well if they hadn’t been so popular among the Maori specifically?

Anyway…it’s a cool list, regardless. Thanks, elbowin, for all the thoughtful comments. :)

Sources: Top 20 Maori boys’ and girls’ names released, Births and Deaths: Year ended December 2012

Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)