Drum roll, please: The top baby names for 2018 (so far!)

Posted in Baby Names.
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UK site BabyCentre has just released the most popular baby names of the year (in the UK) so far. We thought we’d have a wee look and see how they compare to Australia’s most popular baby names.

While we don’t have the mid-year data on the 2018 name choices of Australian parents, we can compare and contrast with the definitive list for last year’s favourite names.

Let’s see what trends emerge, shall we?

Boys’ name cross-country trends 

While Muhammed is number one for boys in the UK, it doesn’t rank in the top 20 Australian boys’ names at all, yet.

Oliver’s next in line for the UK, but it takes the top spot in Australia and is the most popular Australian boys’ name.

Traditional boys names with a royal association did well locally and in the UK picks. George, Harry, Arthur and Charlie were popular regal UK choices. William, Thomas, James and Henry were the local Crown-inspired picks. 


Read more about baby names:


Girls’ name cross-country trends 

Royal-related names did well for girls too, with Charlotte, Sophie and Grace ranking high, and Zara, Princess and Victoria breaking into the top 100.

This year, Olivia is top of the pops in the UK for girls, and second most popular in 2017 for Australian baby girls.

Charlotte was Australia’s favourite girls’ name – and 13th on the list for UK baby girls.

Sophia made number two spot on the UK list but didn’t appear in Australia’s top 20 – although Sophie appears on both lists. 

Amelia came in third on the UK list and fourth on the Australian list. Isla and Mia made both lists’ top 10, too. 

Short and sweet names did well on both girls’ names lists. Lily, Ava, Aria and Mia all made the top ten on the UK list. In Australia, we favoured the succinct Ella, Zoe and Evie amongst the most chosen names. (So-called raindrop names did very well, too!)

UK baby names vs Australian baby names

RankUK Boys' NamesAustralian Boys' NamesUK Girls' NamesAustralian Girls' Names
1MuhammedOliverOliviaCharlotte
2OliverWilliamSophiaOlivia
3NoahJackAmeliaAva
4GeorgeNoahLilyAmelia
5HarryThomasEmilyMia
6LeoJamesAvaIsla
7CharlieLucasIslaGrace
8JackHenryAriaElla
9FreddieEthanMiaChloe
10AlfieCharlieIsabellaHarper
11OscarMasonIsabelleEvie
12ArthurHarrisonEllaZoe
13HenryLiamCharlotteSophie
14JacobLeoGraceEvelyn
15ArchieAlexanderEvieEmily
16JoshuaHunterMayaIsabella
17TheoLachlanHarperRuby
18EthanSamuelSophieIvy
19LucasHudsonLaylaLily
20LoganLeviFreyaWillow

Australian favourites?

While lots of favourite names were the same between Australia and the UK, there are plenty of differences in the top 20 lists, too. In general, the girls’ names were more evenly matched across both lists, while there was more diversity in the boys’ name choices.

For girls: Ruby, Willow, Ivy, Evelyn, Chloe and Zoe were all tip top of the AU list, but further down the UK choices.

For boys: William, Hunter, Thomas, Mason, Harrison, Alexander, Samuel, James, Liam, Levi, Hudson, Lachlan were in the local top 20, but ranked lower in the UK list.

So interesting, right?! We look forward to the end of year list from our UK neighbours, so we can see if these trends hold up.

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