Australia's Top Baby Names of 2023

Updated Sat Jun 15 2024

The most popular names in Australia for 2023 have just been released!

Every year, each Aussie state and territory releases its baby name data separately, then the analysts at McCrindle combine it into a national Top 100 report.

Top 10 Names in Australia

Isla reclaimed the number one spot, after Charlotte took it in 2022. These two names have been switching places for several years. In the Top 10 girl names, Lily, Hazel and Harper entered (or re-entered) in 2023, replacing Ella, Grace, and Willow.

For boys, Aussie parents still love Oliver: it has been Number 1 since 2013. The Top 10 boy names remain the same as the previous year, with a few shifts in ranks.

Australia shares half its Top 10 names with the US. Those not in the US Top 10 are Isla, Matilda, Harper, Lily, and Hazel for girls; and Leo, Hudson, Luca, Charlie, and Jack for boys.

Moving Up, Moving Down

The Top 100 list has remained fairly stable: only five names for each gender have changed since the previous year.

For girls, Lottie, Cleo, Riley, Kaia, and Athena entered the Top 100, replacing Charlie, Jasmine, Claire, Gracie, and Lilly. On the boys' side, Miles, Ollie, Owen, August, and Myles entered, while Ashton, Connor, Vincent, Elias, and Jaxon made their exit. Several of these entries and exits that have hovered up and down around Number 100 for the last few years.

In the Top 100, the fastest-rising girl names of the year were Cleo, Nina, Ada, and Lottie, which all rose by over 30 ranks. The fastest-rising boy names were Miles, Tommy, August, and Ollie — showing just how much Australian parents love nicknames as full names. Several of these girl and boy names dropped in the rankings last year, but have bounced back up.

The names that dropped the most places were a mixture of well-worn classics, and modern trends that have run their course. For girls, they were Eden, Claire, Gracie, and Piper. The fastest-falling boy names were Connor, Charles, Remy, and Vincent.

Top Trends for Australian Baby Names

Vowel Endings

Three quarters of the Top 20 girl names end in a vowel sound, while boy names ending in a vowel such as Leo, Luca and Ari are among the fastest-rising names of the last decade. Other vowel-ending boy names on an uptick include Koa, Kai, Ezra, and Arlo.

Nicknames (and Full Names)

No one does nicknames like the Aussies, so it’s no surprise there are plenty on the charts. Two-syllable names ending in an "ee" sound are especially popular. Some that have risen significantly in recent years include Billie, Remi, Sadie, Maggie, Sonny, and Darcy (a distinctively Australian boy name).

There are also several pairs of nickname and full name in the Top 100, including Billy and William, Theo and Theodore, Ellie and Eleanor, Rosie and Rose.

Royalty

The British royal family has a special place in many Australians’ hearts, and the most recent royal baby names, including George, Charlotte, Louis, and Archie, are all high on the list.

His'N'Hers Names

There are several other soundalike pairs — Remy and Remi, Billy and Billie — as well as close matches such as Theo and Thea, Ari and Aria, and masculine-feminine pairs like Harry and Harriet.

Australia vs USA

Australia and the States share around half the names in their Top 100 lists: 58 girl names and 50 boy names appear on both.

Many popular Aussie names that are not in the US Top 100 have a “British” feel — such as Imogen and Harry — reflecting the close cultural links between the two countries. There are also names with a uniquely Antipodean flavor: nowhere else are names like Matilda, Billie, Lachlan and Darcy (for boys) so popular.

Australian parents are ahead of the trends with some names — like Remi and Bodhi, which have not yet reached the US Top 100. Others, such as Mackenzie and Spencer, are still popular in Australia but have fallen out of the Top 100 in the States.

These are all the names in the Top 100 in Australia, but not the US:

About the Author

Clare Green

Clare Green has been writing for Nameberry since 2015, covering everything from names peaking right now to feminist baby names, and keeping up-to-date with international baby name rankings. Her work has featured in publications such as The Independent and HuffPost. Clare has a background in linguistics and librarianship, and recently completed an MA dissertation researching names in multilingual families. She lives in England with her husband and son. You can reach her at clare@nameberry.com

View all of Clare Green's articles