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Girl names on the rise in Canada, 2024

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Which names were the trendiest among baby girls born in Canada last year?

Below you’ll find Canada’s fastest-rising and highest-debuting girl names of 2024.

Rises (absolute)

Here are the girl names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of absolute change (number of babies) from 2023 to 2024:

  1. Lainey, rose from 193 to 341 baby girls (+148)
  2. Charlotte, 1,418 to 1,528 (+110)
  3. Eliana, 343 to 452 (+109)
  4. Asees, 180 to 272 (+92)
  5. Clara, 558 to 646 (+88)
  6. Arzoyi, 40 to 127 (+87)
  7. Scottie, 97 to 181 (+84)
  8. Lara, 133 to 210 (+77)
  9. Arzoi, 69 to 144 (+75) [tie]
  10. Ayla, 367 to 442 (+75) [tie]

Lainey, the second-fastest-rising girl name a year earlier, continues to be influenced by country singer Lainey Wilson. (In the U.S., Lainey was similarly one of the fastest-rising girl names in both 2023 and 2024.)

Rises (relative)

Here are the girl names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of relative change (percentage of babies) from 2023 to 2024:

  1. Sada, rose from 6 to 29 baby girls (383% increase)
  2. Arjoi, 5 to 19 (280%)
  3. Ambar, 7 to 26 (271%)
  4. Raha, 16 to 59 (269%)
  5. Elody, 6 to 22 (267%)
  6. Jaap, 11 to 40 (264%)
  7. Clea, 7 to 25 (257%)
  8. Ayleen, 5 to 17 (240%)
  9. Haneen, 6 to 20 (233%)
  10. Brie, 5 to 16 (220%) [tie]
  11. Hidayah, 5 to 16 (220%) [tie]

Debuts

Finally, here are the girl names that debuted most impressively in Canada’s baby name data in 2024:

  1. Yashna, 28 baby girls
  2. Lewhat, 17
  3. Riyasat, 16
  4. Jeevat, 14
  5. Sukoon, 13
  6. Kamsiyochukwu, 12 [3 -way tie]
  7. Sanjog, 12 [3 -way tie]
  8. Solenne, 12 [3 -way tie]
  9. Fiora, 11 [5-way tie]
  10. Jasnaaz, 11 [5-way tie]
  11. Jeeva, 11 [5-way tie]
  12. Pranvi, 11 [5-way tie]
  13. Raaya, 11 [5-way tie]

Yashna may have been influenced by a character in the Indian movie Hi Nanna, released in late 2023. (In the U.S., Yashna was the top girl-name debut of 2024 as well.)

Other girl-name debuts in the Canadian data included Apollonia (6), Galadriel (5), and Happy (5).

Do you have thoughts/theories about any of the names above?

Sources: First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators (Number) – Statistics Canada, Canada’s most popular baby names in 2024 (Sept. 2025)

Image: Adapted from Turkey-2036 by Dennis Jarvis under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Boy names on the rise in Canada, 2024

hot air balloons

Which names were the trendiest among baby boys born in Canada last year?

Below you’ll find Canada’s fastest-rising and highest-debuting boy names of 2024.

Rises (absolute)

Here are the boy names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of absolute change (number of babies) from 2023 to 2024:

  1. Arjan, rose from 160 to 292 baby boys (+132)
  2. Zorawar, 247 to 367 (+120)
  3. Samuel, 627 to 723 (+96)
  4. Levi, 818 to 909 (+91)
  5. Muhammad, 637 to 716 (+79) [3-way tie]
  6. Weston, 286 to 365 (+79) [3-way tie]
  7. Wyatt, 448 to 527 (+79) [3-way tie]
  8. Wesley, 459 to 534 (+75)
  9. Arthur, 813 to 883 (+70) [tie]
  10. August, 215 to 285 (+70) [tie]

Zorawar, the fastest-rising boy name a year earlier, continues to climb.

Rises (relative)

Here are the boy names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of relative change (percentage of babies) from 2023 to 2024:

  1. Laken, rose from 5 to 28 baby boys (460% increase)
  2. Macklin, 10 to 52 (420%)
  3. Ilyes, 8 to 31 (288%)
  4. Rishiv, 7 to 26 (271%)
  5. Avitaj, 11 to 40 (264%)
  6. Gurshaan, 8 to 29 (263%)
  7. Anveer, 7 to 25 (257%)
  8. Lael, 7 to 24 (243%)
  9. Jugaad, 5 to 16 (220%) [3-way tie]
  10. Mateus, 5 to 16 (220%) [3-way tie]
  11. Sabr, 5 to 16 (220%) [3-way tie]

Macklin — which now ranks 536th in Canada — was no doubt influenced by Canadian hockey player Macklin Celebrini, who was selected first overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2024 NHL draft. (The U.S. usage of Macklin also increased last year.)

Debuts

Finally, here are the boy names that debuted most impressively in Canada’s baby name data in 2024:

  1. Avitaaz, 46 baby boys
  2. Akaay, 32
  3. Lovic, 20
  4. Avitaaj, 13
  5. Arshiv, 12 [3-way tie]
  6. Parwaaz, 12 [3-way tie]
  7. Rustyn, 12 [3-way tie]
  8. Charvik, 11 [4-way tie]
  9. Daler, 11 [4-way tie]
  10. Jaitegh, 11 [4-way tie]
  11. Neeom, 11 [4-way tie]

Akaay was influenced by a celebrity baby — the son of Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma. (Thank you to Clare for figuring out why Akaay debuted in both Canada and the U.S. last year!)

Other boy-name debuts in the Canadian data included Juancho (10), Lupin (6), and Melchizedek (5).

Do you have thoughts/theories about any of the names above?

Sources: First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators (Number) – Statistics Canada, Canada’s most popular baby names in 2024 (Sept. 2025), Macklin Celebrini – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Turkey-2036 by Dennis Jarvis under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Popular baby names in Canada, 2024

Flag of Canada

Last year, our neighbor to the north welcomed 365,737 babies.

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

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

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 1,639 baby girls
  2. Charlotte, 1,528
  3. Emma, 1,358
  4. Amelia, 1,123
  5. Sophia, 1,086
  6. Sofia, 921
  7. Mia, 905
  8. Chloe, 868
  9. Lily, 794
  10. Ava, 782
  11. Mila, 773
  12. Alice, 756
  13. Isla, 746
  14. Nora, 724
  15. Evelyn, 688
  16. Maya, 680
  17. Violet, 677
  18. Ellie, 676
  19. Sophie, 671
  20. Clara, 646
  21. Zoe, 620
  22. Aria, 610
  23. Elizabeth, 607
  24. Isabella, 601
  25. Abigail, 597
  26. Ella, 586
  27. Hazel, 573
  28. Florence, 569
  29. Hannah, 562
  30. Charlie, 559
  31. Eleanor, 550
  32. Eva, 549
  33. Ivy, 539
  34. Aurora, 538
  35. Harper, 522
  36. Emily, 521
  37. Luna, 508
  38. Rose, 503
  39. Victoria, 494
  40. Emilia, 469
  41. Scarlett, 465
  42. Grace, 461
  43. Eliana, 452
  44. Ayla, 442
  45. Georgia, 435
  46. Maeve, 432
  47. Julia, 431
  48. Elena, 427
  49. Penelope, 422
  50. Layla, 419

Boy names

  1. Noah, 2,115 baby boys
  2. Liam, 1,694
  3. Theodore, 1,429
  4. Leo, 1,410
  5. William, 1,367
  6. Oliver, 1,244
  7. Lucas, 1,183
  8. James, 1,131
  9. Benjamin, 1,090
  10. Thomas, 1,061
  11. Jack, 1,039
  12. Henry, 1,019
  13. Nathan, 991
  14. Adam, 962
  15. Ethan, 954
  16. Levi, 909
  17. Theo, 896
  18. Arthur, 883
  19. Jacob, 875
  20. Logan, 829
  21. Luca, 815
  22. Owen, 803
  23. Gabriel, 749
  24. Samuel, 723
  25. Jackson, 721
  26. Muhammad, 716
  27. Hudson, 707
  28. Daniel, 683
  29. Felix, 660
  30. Charles, 653
  31. Louis, 639
  32. Maverick, 626
  33. Elijah, 618
  34. Nolan, 586
  35. Caleb, 579
  36. Isaac, 573
  37. Alexander, 559
  38. Miles, 547
  39. Luke, 540
  40. Wesley, 534
  41. Bennett, 528
  42. Wyatt, 527
  43. Jayden, 520
  44. Mason, 511
  45. Ryan, 502
  46. David, 499
  47. Asher, 490
  48. Ezra, 489
  49. Austin, 483
  50. Beau, 475

Among Canada’s fastest-rising baby names were the girl names Lainey, Charlotte, and Eliana and the boy names Arjan, Zorawar, and Samuel.

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the baby names that were given to just 5 babies each in Canada last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Anica, Boshra, Celestina, Daneen, Elilta, Floraly, Georgette, Hazelyn, Iriza, Juana, Kateri, Laylin, Miela, Navika, Ovee, Pessy, Quynh, Ramneek, Sedona, Tarini, Urwah, Vaya, Winsley, Yuvika, ZuhaAlazar, Birpartap, Clint, Drayce, Ender, Famien, Gaspar, Haoyu, Iktaj, Jove, Kipling, Ludwig, Modibo, North, Oleg, Pinchas, Qudus, Rapha, Savio, Tylan, Udham, Vidit, Wilbert, Yiheng, Zeeshan

Finally, here are Canada’s 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators (Number) – Statistics Canada, Canada’s most popular baby names in 2024 (Sept. 2025)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Canada (public domain)

Babies named for the Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar — during which an outnumbered Royal Navy fleet (under Horatio Nelson) soundly defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet (under Napoleon Bonaparte) — took place off the south-western coast of Spain, near Cape Trafalgar, on October 21, 1805.

The battle cost Nelson his life, but the decisive victory “cemented Britain’s reputation as ruler of the seas.”

Dozens of babies in England were given the name “Trafalgar,” typically as a middle, over the next few years. Most of them were boys, but several were girls. Some examples…

  • John Trafalgar Black, b. 1806 in England
  • John Trafalgar Cotton, b. 1807 in England
  • Joseph Trafalgar Dowding, b. circa 1806 in England
  • Jane Trafalgar Grapes, b. 1805 in England
    • Among her siblings were William Nile (b. circa 1798), Charles Wellington (b. circa 1811), and Charlotte Waterloo (b. circa 1815) — likely named for the Battle of the Nile, the Duke of Wellington, and the Battle of Waterloo.
  • William Trafalgar Hannah, b. 1806 in England
  • Richard Trafalgar Hillgrove, b. 1807 in England
  • Robert Trafalgar May, b. 1807 in England
  • Louisa Trafalgar Priske, b. 1805 in England
  • John Trafalgar Salmon, b. 1805 in England
  • Samuel Trafalgar Sparks, b. 1807 in England

A good number of these babies — including Nelson Trafalgar Black (b. 1805 in Scotland) and Horatio Trafalgar Taylor (b. 1806 in England) — were also named in honor of the late admiral.

The Spanish place-name Trafalgar can be traced back to a pair of Arabic words. The first, taraf, means “edge, extremity” (in reference to the cape itself), and the second may mean “west.”

Sources: Battle of Trafalgar – Wikipedia, Battle of Trafalgar – Britannica, Battle of Trafalgar Timeline – National Maritime Museum, Cape Trafalgar – Wikipedia, FamilySearch.org

Image: Adapted from Battle of Trafalgar (1836) by William Clarkson Stanfield