AXEL and Hallie surged up the baby name popularity charts in 2020, although fewer babies were born overall in an unforgettable year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Attorney General Mark Speakman and Minister for Digital and Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello today revealed the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages top 100 baby names in 2020.
“NSW welcomed 88,577 babies in 2020, down from 93,078 in 2019. I congratulate each family on their new arrival,” Mr Speakman said.
“Deciding on a name is a privilege, but remains a tricky decision for parents.”
Mr Dominello said the Government is making life easier for families through digital technology.
“Having a baby is an exciting and busy time for families, and over the last few years we’ve made it easier and faster for parents to register a birth and get their child’s birth certificate, thanks to the online birth registration system,” Mr Dominello said.
In 2020, Oliver claimed the prime position for the boys for the seventh straight year, followed by Noah and William. Amelia took out the girls’ top spot ahead of Olivia, while Charlotte went down to third place after being most favoured for the past three years running.
Axel had the highest popularity climb for boys from 135 in 2019 to 87 in 2020. Dylan had the largest drop from 76 down to 93. Hallie made the biggest jump for girls, moving from 134 in 2019 to 70 in 2020, while Claire had the largest drop from 63 to 88.
A greater diversity of baby names continues to trend with the top 100 only representing 39% of all babies born in 2020.
This is also represented in the number of babies who were given the most popular name in 2020, with Oliver chosen 637 times and Amelia 514 times. This is significantly less than the top names of 1970, with 2016 boys named David and 1199 girls named Michelle.
Parents have 60 days to register their newborn, which can be done for free online. This establishes the child’s legal identity and is important in accessing Government services such as schooling and Medicare. To find out more, visit www.bdm.nsw.gov.au
