Local news delivered daily to your email inbox. Subscribe for FREE to the rdnewsNOW newsletter.
freeimages.com
the streak continues

Olivia and Noah remain Alberta’s most popular baby names

Jun 29, 2021 | 10:30 AM

Olivia continued a record streak as the most popular baby girl’s name in Alberta in 2020 while Noah remained in the top spot for baby boys.

Alberta families welcomed 49,030 babies in 2020 – 25,160 boys and 23,870 girls. Olivia was the most popular girl’s name for the eighth year in a row, giving it the longest popularity streak for any girl’s name in Alberta since 1980. Noah placed first on the boys’ names list for the second consecutive year.

Other popular names for girls were Emma, Charlotte, Ava and Sophia. Oliver, Liam, Benjamin and William rounded out the top five names for boys.

Alberta remains a province of many cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and many of our youngest members have names reflecting that diversity. Alberta is home to baby girls named Amara, Amaya, Zahra, Zoya, Baani, Danika, Raya, Thalia, Yuna and Chimamanda. Some of Alberta’s youngest boys are named Mateo, Ahmed, Bodhi, Yusuf, Zorawar, Arjun, Gurbaaz, Miguel, Abdul and Idris.

In a year unlike any other, positivity seemed to be a popular theme for some new parents, with names like Hope, Peace, Faith, Charity, Joy, Happy and Brave appearing on the list of registered names.

Some parents also seemed to be inspired by athletes (Kobe, Muhammad-Ali, Beckham), mythology (Artemis, Persephone, Aries, Zeus), music (Dre, Zeppelin, Bowie), video games (Zelda, Link, Eevee), literature (Guinevere, Atticus) and places (Cairo, Nile, Phoenix).