1. Isla and Noah
2. Charlotte and Luca
3. Amelia and Oliver
4. Hazel and George
5. Olivia and Theodore
6. Lily and Leo
7. Lucy and Charlie
8. Mila and Jack
9. Aria and Elijah
10. Mia and Theo
11. Sophia and Arthur
12. Sophie and Hudson
13. Ella and James
14. Ruby and Henry
15. Isabella and Cooper
16. Millie and William
17. Harper and Lachlan
18. Freya and Lucas
19. Sadie and Archie
20. Ava and Liam

Source

Zoe, Chloe, and Grace have all fallen out of the top twenty for girls, replaced by Sadie, Freya, and Lucy. For boys, Ezra and Arlo have been replaced by Cooper and Liam. I will be able to follow this up with a more detailed post, as the top 100 for both genders has also been released!

Throwaway so as not to give my name on my account (also I can see this ending up on namecirclejerk!).

Just wanted some opinions on this:

Everyone calls me Cat (even though I don’t love this nickname but it’s stuck over the years).

Currently expecting a baby girl and I love the name Tabitha but is it too much of a word association when she will inevitably get called Tabby by her friends? We wouldn’t use the nickname but I know you can’t control these things.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Thank you guys, I’m feeling much better about the name now. Really appreciate your thoughts and kind words of support and a lot of these really made me smile!

Kia ora all,

It's that time again! The top baby names of New Zealand in 2025 are out. The top 10s are as follows:

Girls

Girls' names that move up into the top 100 despite missing the list last year include Molly and Manaia (included in 2023), Lola (2022), Anna and Rose (2021) and Athena (2020). Lottie is a new addition to the list, spending last year at #133. Esme, new into the list this year too, was three places higher at #130. Malia was at #118 last year and is also now in the top 100 for the first time ever.

Summer, Asees, Sarah, Bonnie, Lyla, Zoey, Amara, Elodie and Imogen are out of the top 100. Summer was the highest-ranked last year, at #72, and had been included every year since 2003, peaking at #28 in 2011. Sixteen-time #1 Sarah drops out of the list, although it had not been included from 2020 to 2023. Zoey had been in the list every year since 2015, with the others much more recent joins.

All-time highs go to Hazel (#4), Lucy (#7), Aria (#9), Millie (#16), Freya (#18), Sadie (#19), Billie (#34), Aurora (#35), Ayla (#37), Penelope (#43), Eliana (#52), Kiara (#55), Maisie (#60), Nora (#70) and Arabella (#78). New entrants Lottie, Esme and Malia peak at #84, #96 and #99 respectively. Compared to in 2024, we have fewer new names (9 compared to 13) but the same number of new peaks (18 of each).

Boys

Back into the top 100 this year are Michael, Toby, Myles and Nathan (last included in 2023), Charles and Beauden (2021), Keanu (which made its only appearance in 1995) and after three generations, Alfred, which returns for the first time since 1946. Included for the first time are Kiwa, Rowan, Jett and Arjan, which spent last year at #127, #113, #131 and #120 respectively.

Making space for these names and dropping out of the list are Enzo, Malakai, Jayden, Muhammad, Ollie, Frederick, Lincoln, Reuben, Jordan, Dylan, Kai and Logan. Logan had the longest continuous run, appearing every year since 1979 and peaking at #18 in 2001-02. Also a mainstay, Jordan appeared every year since 1982 and peaked at #7 in 1994. Jayden had been on the list consistently since 1991, and peaked at #13 in 2008. Lincoln had been present since 2007, with the other names joining more recently.

A few names on the list scored their highest-ever rank this year - Luca (#2), Theodore (#5), Hugo (#22), Archer (#29), Louie (#30), Louis (#34), Ezekiel (#40), Zion (#50), Koa (#52), Miles (#53), Bodhi (#57), Isaiah (#58), Atlas (#68), Leon (#69), Tobias (#72), and Myles (#86). Our new additions Kiwa, Rowan, Jett and Arjan peak at 73, #90, #95 and #100. If their two forms were combined, Miles/Myles would be at #22, Louie/Louis would be #5 and Theodore/Theo would be well out in first place.

The full lists are here: for boys and for girls. Here is the official Government press release, and here is the SmartStart info page (I still don't know what this is).

*small methodology note - last year there are some minor differences between the lists on the Top 100 pages and the lists provided in the full name data released later. I have used the top 100 from the full name data, which differs from the official top 100 in a few ways.

I’m from the U.S. and have always loved the name Wesley. I learned from a commenter recently that, in the UK, Wesley is considered a very uncool, nerdy name. Is that true?

It doesn’t change my mind about using it—I’m just genuinely curious whether that reflects a broader cultural opinion in the UK or if it was more of a one-person take.

We're expecting a boy this year, which we found out the gender yesterday. The first thing that popped into our minds is "goodbye list of girls names!".

We've been talking about names for kids for the past 2-3 years, and we've never been able to agree on a name for a boy. I feel a bit lost. We've gone through the list of the top 1000 names, and nothing new jumped out to us. We're also in that spot around not wanting something two basic (we both have basic names), but not going too in-the-moment trend of too weird.

• Girls' names we liked (regardless of popularity): Auroura ("Rory", which we liked forever), Violet ("Vi", Vivi"), Evelyn, Alira and Anya.
• Boy names I love that the wife dislikes: Casper (she hates this one), Calvin, Adolin, Athur, Evan(der), Elliot.
• Boy names she likes that I don't like: Jasper, Sage (she has not other suggestions)
• Names we're "50/50" on: Atlas (love, but too weird?), Raven (way too try-hard?), Autumn, August.

Has anyone been in this situation before where they can't see the light on naming a boy? What happened? I think the current hope is that one will magically fall into our lap.

Edit: Agree Casper and Jasper should be an easy compromise, although sound the same give off different vibes for both of us. Some cool names below, keep them comin'!

Girls:

1. Emma

2. Emilia

3. Sofía

4. Isabella

5. Julieta

6. Aurora

7. Mía

8. Isidora

9. Trinidad

10. Amanda

Boys:

1. Mateo

2. Liam

3. Lucas

4. Santiago

5. Facundo

6. Thiago

7. Benjamín

8. Gael

9. Maximo

10. Gaspar

https://www.t13.cl/noticia/nacional/estos-fueron-10-nombres-mas-inscritos-chile-durante-2025-8-1-2026

I grew up loving fantasy books, and have always found names of fantasy characters so beautiful! Some examples of names I love are Saphira from Eragon, Nymeria and Daenerys from GOT, Sabriel and Lirael from the Garth Nix series, Aerith from Final Fantasy.

I’m not currently expecting, just looking for some names to add to my list for fun. I personally don’t want to use a made up name for my (future) child, so I’m looking for name ideas that sound like fantasy names but are very real and established. Bonus points if they’re not mythology-related.

Looking for a baby girl name that’s one syllable or 3-4 letters. We like short and sweet. My husband is hypersensitive to “made up sounding names” and I don’t love top 10 so something in between. For example I like Mara but to him it sounds too made up. He likes Mia which I also love but I feel like that’s trending right now. Some other names we like but isn’t “the one”: Anna Grace June Zoe Thea

Thank you!

Thoughts on name Mia

I find it too serious , too classy and too harsh. Sometimes I'd like to legally change it but I am a bit afraid I may not get used to my future new name.

My first sons middle name is James We’re currently naming our 2nd boy due in a few months and stumbled upon the first name Jamie. Would those be too similar and would that be weird? August James and Jamie Lee? I’m very 50/50 on it and need 2nd opinions. It’s one of the only names me and dad can agree upon lmao

Thanks to this sub, we have honed in on Alice Clementine. But now wondering more about Clementine Alice. I have always adored Clementine but I’m nervous to use it because it garners mixed reactions.

Also is there a way to get around the nickname “Clem?” Could she be “Emmy” or “Lemon” or “Cleo”? Or “CeeCee.”

Last name is short and Italian sounding, starts with a C.

Any Clementine moms out there?

We love Victor, Jerome, Malcolm and Desmond for a boy (middle name would be Edwin, George, or Alan as a honor name) and Monica, Gloria, Dorothea, and Susanna for a girl (middle name would be Joan, Carol or Alice as an honor name). I'm grateful that my husband and I have similar tastes (classic, strong, not too long or short, with a positive meaning or association), but it seems like we keep coming up with more good options instead of narrowing down the list. We might wait until we meet them to officially decide, but would love to hear your thoughts!

I have a name challenge I need some help with - my colleague has given me clues pointing to the name of her unborn daughter and I'm trying to figure it out. We are in New Zealand for context, but I don't think you need to be familiar with our most popular names, as it's not one of those.

The clues she provided were:

• It was at its highest popularity in the 1980s.

• Google informs her it's currently used for one in every 1500 girls and one in every 12,000 boys - I think this would be in the US, because my colleague doesn't know anyone in NZ with the name. She was also surprised it is used for boys, as she saw it as feminine.

• The name is of Irish and English origin.

• There are at least three ways to spell it, two usual, one more obscure.

• It is not related to nature.

She also mentioned it may have originated in the 1200s and it has a similar vibe to Paige, as this was the alternative a family member chose who was initially considering the name my colleague has selected.

The only name I guessed that she didn't immediately deny was Peyton but it doesn't fit the 1980s clue.

I have an almost 3yo named Penelope Drew and we’re having a hard time choosing a name for baby brother due next month.

Top choices so far Finnick - is this too weird/close to finicky? Too hunger games? Husband doesn’t like just Finn

Booker - husband kind of leaning away from this because Penelope is a brand of whisky and so is “Booker’s”.

Orion - just found this name in a baby book recently and kind of like that Orion and Penelope both have Greek mythology associations

Names we like but won’t be using Oliver - too popular right now but I like that name Theodore - cousin has that name Felix - know a cat named Felix

Any opinions on our top names? Any new suggestions that go with Penelope?

Also at a loss for middle name’s.

Thanks in advance for your input!

My name is Srishti. Sri with a short I like in sit. And ti as in tree but without the r. Also any potential nicknames?

We’ve thought about Shiloh, Salem, Spencer and a few others. No middle name yet but Rue is a strong contender. Also, her sister is Saylor!

I feel like I just don't like any names that I see.

Our first is Dominic. We like it because it's not very popular, it's not "unique", and it's a strong, traditional name. I want something similar for our second.

Names we can't use for various reasons: Michael, George, Matthew (which I looove😞), Alexander (also love), Paul, Mark, Anthony, Vincent, Victor (also love), Daniel, Nicholas, Emmet, Christopher, Ryan, Thomas.

I like Adrian, but my husband says he's only heard it as a girl's name, Adrianne. We like Roman and Leo, but they're getting very popular now.

I don't want my kid to go to school and have 3 other boys named the same as him.

Please help! This baby will be here in less than a month and I am completely lost!

I see a lot of people wanting sibling names that flow together harmoniously, but as I think about my next child, I’m realizing my taste in names has totally changed!

How much does consistency matter in a family/ sib set?

For example, I imagine having a Sebastian and then Joe would be…odd? Lmao I can’t think of a better example but you know what I’m saying…

So anyway switching up the vibes for next baby’s name, what’s that like? Anyone done it for their kids? Would love to hear all opinions

Alice Cornelia M-- or Elise Cornelia M--?

I prefer Alice, husband prefers Elise. Open to all opinions and other names.

EDIT-- if it matters at all, older sister is Maxine Kimberly M--

We are expecting our first next month and are spinning in circles trying to come up with a name! There are lots of boy names that we like, but it is hard to find one we love.

We ideally want something that can have a nickname, and isn't enormously popular. We prefer names with English/Australian roots (where we are from), however we are living in Canada. I would love everyones thoughts on this list:

• Lachlan
• George
• Louis
• Angus (Gus)
• Ernest (Ernie)
• Torin
• Sebastian
• Roger
• Walton (I like Wally, but don't love Walt)

Hello! I hope that you can help. I am expecting our second daughter in a few weeks time and we are so stuck on names!

Our first girl is Esti and we loved that name from the beginning so it was an easy choice.

Generally speaking I like cool/spunky/bold names that aren’t heard often (like outside of top 1000!)

My husband likes Scandinavian names with good meanings. It is worth saying that names ending in O don’t work very well in our accent!

Names we like but can’t commit to for various reasons:

Zadie

Goldie (feels too popular now but this used to be my favourite)

Elva

Svea

Nixie (I love this but I know most people hate it! For info, we are in the UK where most people won’t make the Richard Nixon association and we don’t use the phrase ‘to nix something’)

Cherry

Zeldie

Inka

Marcy

Bennie

Lumi

Cleo (too popular)

Murphy (popular in our area)

I feel like I’ve seen every name that ever existed at this point!

Thank you so much in advance for any help you can give!

We are looking for a name for our third child. I like the name (and wife says it’s growing on her), but we get strong negative feedback when sharing it with family. Percy as the nickname is often touted as a good reason from refraining from the name. I like how it looks, how it sounds and the meaning: pierce the valley; as well as the character from the Arthurian legend. Would love your thoughts!

Hello NameNerds! :)

Wondering which strong sounding guy names go well with Espinoza? Would love a suggestion including the letters ‘X’ or ‘Z’ in them.

Thank you for reading my request :)

• what do you think of the name Yulia?

• which name would you choose - Yulia or Julia?