Oliver tops Qld’s most popular boy’s baby name list for eleventh time, while Isla reclaims the crown for girls

A perennial favourite has claimed the crown for the most popular boy’s baby name in Queensland, while another has returned to the top of the girls’ list for the first time since 2021. SEE HOW POPULAR YOUR NAME IS

Toowoomba has been crowned the baby capital of Queensland with the town welcoming the most newborns last year, with Oliver and Isla emerging as the most popular names across the state.

In 2023, 58,959 births were registered in Queensland – the third highest of Australian state and states and territories – but a drop from 62,740 in 2022.

Toowoomba accounted for the most births last year with 1442 followed by Coomera on the Gold Coast, with 1290 births, 1139 in Beenleigh, 1095 in Ipswich’s Springfield, and 1028 in Mackay.

Oliver once again emerged as the most popular name for newborn boys in Queensland, retaining the top position for the eleventh consecutive year in 2023.

The top 10 most popular boys names has stayed the same to those registered with Queensland’s Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in 2022, with Noah, Henry, Theodore and Hudson rounding out the top five.

But Isla reclaimed the top spot for girls for the first time since 2021, followed by Charlotte, Amelia, Harper and Olivia.

Twelve-month-old Oliver Swann and nine-month-old Isla Masson. Picture: Richard Walker

Despite the continuation of the most popular names, there were nearly 7000 distinct girls names and slightly more than 6000 distinct boys names, which Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said reflected the state’s growing population and cultural diversity.

“It is particularly incredible that Oliver, a name common in medieval times, continues to see such popularity this many years in a row – and is the most frequently chosen name in general by a large margin,” she said.

Ms D’Ath noted that Yvette was a “long way” off the top 100, with less than five registered in 2023.

Hannah Masson, whose nine-month-old daughter is named Isla, said she had planned to name her baby Navy but her and her partner, former champion boxer Floyd Masson, needed a second name when they discovered they were expecting twins.

Given the father’s passion, Ms Masson said he would typically link names with the sport of boxing.

So he took an instant liking to the name Isla because it sounded like Ali backwards — the legendary world champion Muhammad Ali.

“He didn’t know how it was spelt,” she said jokingly.

“I thought it was a beautiful name so I was like ‘yeah babe that’s Ali spelt backwards for sure!’

“We can laugh about it now but we both love it — it sounds super feminine and, for me, that’s why I love the name.”

Sinead Hastie said she found picking a boy’s name difficult but settled on Oliver, which her and her partner love.

“We wanted a name that we could give him a nickname so he’s actually referred to as ‘Ollie’,” she said.

“But we wanted a name on the birth certificate that then gave him the option of having a more classic name.”