The most popular Aussie baby names for 2016 are all class

AUSSIE parents are ditching contrived baby names for sophistication, according to a demographer, who has predicted the ‘rising star’ names for 2017.

A BACKLASH to the “Kath and Kim” style baby-naming trend of the 2000s is taking place in Australia, according to a demographer who has predicted the “rising star” names for 2017.

Aussie parents are opting for sophistication and substance over quirky spellings or compound names like the infamous “Epponnee Rae”, social researcher Mark McCrindle says.

Mums and dads were also picking names from Arabic, Eastern European and African origins more than ever, Mr McCrindle told News Corp Australia.

And gender neutral names were back in vogue, along with surnames as first names and old fashioned names that were popular at the start of the last century.

Based on these trends, Mr McCrindle predicted the top 10 “rising stars” of 2017 for girls were likely to be ‘Addison’, ‘Penelope’, ‘Ariana’, ‘Frankie’, ‘Charlie’, ‘Elsie’, ‘Aurora’, ‘Billie’, ‘Lilian’ and ‘Aisha’.

He predicted ‘Harvey’, ‘Beau’, ‘Chase’, ‘Theodore’, ‘Carter’, ‘Spencer’, ‘Ali’, ‘Harley’, ‘Darcy’ and ‘Fletcher’ would be the rising stars for boys’ names next year.

“Parents are trying to be creative,” Mr McCrindle said.

Victoria babies Charlotte Strachan and Oliver Frazer’s names are on point: Charlotte and Oliver are the most popular baby for 2016. Picture: Hamish Blair

“They’ve tried to get something more original, they don’t want three ‘Michaels’ in the class or three ‘Nicoles’, but at the same time the ... parallel trend has been moving away from the creative spelling or the contrived names that we saw a little bit probably five or six years ago,” he said.

“It was sometimes called the ‘Kath and Kim phenomena’, almost the bogan naming where ‘Epponnee Rae’ was the name in that show of the youngster — I think that contrivance was a bit much for people.”

But names from different cultures were also gaining a popularity.

“We’ve come from more places, we’re more globally connected and parents are wanting to reflect that,” he said.

“A name doesn’t just have to have that traditional Anglo ring to it.”

Charlotte and Oliver were likely to remain the most popular names for 2017, he said.

They topped the chart this year in McCrindle’s Baby Names Australia 2016 Report, which compiles data from birth, deaths and marriages registries in every state.

Gender neutrality, big in the 70s with names like Peta and Cameron, was also coming back.

“That’s probably something of this particular era as well ... parents not wanting to overly lock their children into a very clear gender stereotype,” Mr McCrindle said.

“You see that with toys children get or with careers and options for children.”

Royals, celebrities and place names remained big influences as well.

Aussie parents are opting for sophistication and substance over quirky names. Picture: Hamish Blair

MOST POPULAR BOYS NAMES FOR 2016

1) Oliver

2) William

3) Jack

4) Noah

5) Thomas

6) James

7) Jackson/ Jaxon

8) Ethan

9) Lucas

10) Lachlan

MOST POPULAR GIRLS NAMES FOR 2016

1) Charlotte

2) Olivia

3) Amelia

4) Ava

5) Mia

6) Sophia

7) Chloe

8) Emily

9) Sophie

10) Grace

‘RISING STARS’ FOR BOYS IN 2017

1) Harvey

2) Beau

3) Chase

4) Theodore

5) Carter

6) Spencer

7) Ali

8) Harley

9) Darcy

10) Fletcher

‘RISING STARS’ FOR GIRLS IN 2017

1) Addison

2) Penelope

3) Ariana

4) Frankie

5) Charlie

6) Elsie

7) Aurora

8) Billie

9) Lilian

10) Aisha

Source: Mark McCrindle, McCrindle’s Baby Names Australia 2016 Report