Charlotte and Oliver are the new David and Michelle

Charlotte has reclaimed its place back at the top of the most popular baby names for girls’ after a one-year hiatus, while Oliver was the most popular baby name for boys in Queensland for the eighth consecutive year in 2020.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Shannon Fentiman today revealed the top baby names for 2020, which are collated by the Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM).

“Queensland welcomed 525 baby boys named Oliver last year, well clear of the second most popular boy name Noah (383),” Ms Fentiman said.

“While 359 baby Charlotte’s were registered in Queensland, just ahead of Olivia with 320 – this is the fifth time in the last six years that Charlotte has led the list of baby girls’ names.

“The year 2020 was also noteworthy for Maverick making its first entry into the top 100 boys’ names since RBDM’s reporting began in 1960, rocketing up the list from No. 169 in 2019 to No. 84 last year.”

The other big movers among boys’ names were Luka (154th most popular to 95th most popular) and Gabriel (No.139 to No.96).

And there were three girls’ names that made similar leaps – Holly (No.139 to No.79), Billie (No.109 to No.52) and Hallie (No.137 to No.88).

Of the 59,914 births registered throughout 2020 in Queensland, there were more than 12,000 different first names recorded.  

The name to hold the record number of registrations in one year is ‘Jason’, with 1,017 boys given the popular name in 1972. Jason held the top spot for most popular baby name for three years (1971-73).

The most registrations in a single year for a female name was in 1990, when Jessica peaked with 805 registrations.

Ms Fentiman said while Charlotte and Oliver have dominated the most popular name charts over the last 10 years, the most popular names have differed at the start of each decade over the last half century.

“In 1970, David was the most popular boy’s name in Queensland and Michelle the most registered girl’s name,” she said.

“In 1980, it was Michael and Rebecca, 1990 Matthew and Jessica, 2000 Joshua and Emily, and 2010 Ruby and Cooper.”

Top 10 baby names in Queensland in 2020:

Girls

1 Charlotte (359)

2 Olivia (320)

3 Isla (319)

4 Amelia (295)

5 Mia (256)

6 Ava (247)

7 Harper (227)

8 Willow (226)

9 Grace (222)

10 Sophie (206)

Boys

1 Oliver (525)

2 Noah (383)

3 Jack (324)

4 William (322)

5 Henry (307)

6 Theodore (283)

7 Elijah (273)

8 Leo (267)

9 Thomas (266)

10 Hudson (263)

Charlotte is roundly accepted as being a female form of the male name Charles with a French origin meaning ‘free man’ or ‘petite’ and dates back to at least the 14th century.

Oliver is believed to be originally derived from the Latin word olivarius, meaning olive tree planter, or from the old Norse name Áleifr, meaning ‘ancestor's descendant’. The name was commonly used in mediaeval England then faded, before regaining popularity in the 19th century.

ENDS

Media contact:          Inga Williams              0439 949 719