Top names for Mornington Peninsula newborns in 2019 revealed
Olivia topped the state as the most popular name for baby girls, but that wasn’t Mornington Peninsula parents’ top choice for their bundles of joy, preferring a quirky mix of vintage and classic monikers.
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Peninsula parents are bucking the trend when it comes to naming their daughters.
Only one of the top five girls’ names chosen in 2019 for babies born at The Bays Hospital appeared in Victoria’s top ten baby names.
The timeless Sophie took out number one spot at The Bays followed by vintage names Hazel and Florence.
American classic Harper appeared at number four on the list at The Bays and rounded out the top ten across Victoria.
Sienna was also popular on the peninsula, landing at number five on the list of top girls names in the region.
The top Victorian girl’s name, Olivia, was conspicuously absent.
Mother of three Christina Feeney said she fell in love with name Florence years ago while visiting Italy.
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“We went to Florence and Sienna and I thought both were beautiful names,” Ms Feeney said,
She went onto name her first daughter Penelope and her second Isabella.
“When number three came along I remembered Florence and realised I still loved it.”
Ms Feeney said she had met one other Florence since the arrival of her six month old baby girl.
“Funnily enough it was in a park in Mt Eliza,” she said.
Parents of boys born at The Bays were more inclined to go with the flow when it came to choosing a moniker for their little men.
All but one of the names on the top five boys names for babies born at the Mornington hospital also featured in the Victorian top ten.
The number one name for boys born at The Bays was Jack, followed by William, Charlie, Leo and the more unusual Maori name Kai.
The number one Victorian boys name Oliver didn’t make the list.
Somerville Mum Kelly Daley turned to Instagram when she and husband Michael struggled to find a name for their second child.
“It was the day before I was scheduled to be induced and we still didn’t have a boy’s name,” she said.
“I follow a lady on Instagram who embroiders names onto backpacks. She posted a photo of a whole pile of finished bags and I zoomed it to see the names, just for fun.
“Hendrix jumped out at me.
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“Every time Michael and I talked about names after that it kept coming back to me.”
Ms Feeney said she chose a more traditional name – Ruby – for her three-year-old daughter.
The Bays marketing manager Jacqui Bennetto said of the 482 babies born at the hospital 260 had been registered and their names revealed.
“There was a lot of diversity among the names,” Ms Bennetto said.
“Of the 138 girls registered with us there were 94 different names chosen. And parents picked 99 different names for the 122 boys born,”
Ms Bennetto said there were some unusual choices including Barrie and Ford for boys and August, Vida and Posey for girls.