McCrindle’s 2024 Australian Baby Names report reveals new trend

Modern parents are ditching “traditional” names, with new data revealing one popular moniker almost falling out of favour entirely.

Australian parents are shunning long names in favour of shorter variations – with one royal moniker almost falling out of favour entirely.

McCrindle’s 2024 Australian Baby Names report has revealed parents are turning their backs on “traditional” names that were once popular for previous generations, instead choosing shorter versions, and names featuring fewer syllables.

Charles, a boys name that was particularly popular in the 90s and early 2000, has dropped to spot 99 in the top 100 list, while the abbreviated version Charlie has claimed position nine.

Boys names that have exited altogether include Vincent, Elias, Ashton, Connor and Jaxon.

Meanwhile classic names are still proving popular for girls, but parents of Gen Alpha – babies born between 2010 and 2025 – are opting for names that contain just two syllables, often including “i” and “y”.

Parents are shunning long names in favour of shorter variations – with one royal moniker almost falling out of favour entirely. Picture: iStock

There are also female names that have disappeared from the list altogether according to the report, which analyses state data from the registries of births deaths and marriages, with Jasmine, Claire, Charlie and Gracie all being given the boot by parents naming baby girls.

Social researcher and McCrindle’s director of advisory Ashley Fell said there has been so much change in naming trends in recent years, the organisation decided to review names that have decreased the most in popularity over more than a decade.

“In the last year, we’ve seen names like Connor and Charles, for the boys, lose their popularity with significant rank decreases in the top 100 list, and Eden and Claire for the girls,” she told news.com.au.

“When looking at names which have decreased their popularity over the last decade however, we found some names which were in the top 20 are now closer to 100 or almost falling off the list.

“Names such as Joshua, Matthew and Luke for the boys – names which were particularly popular in the ’90s and early 2000s, are losing their popularity for parents to Gen Alpha.

“And names like Emily and Claire, which were also popular among parents to Gen Z and Gen Y babies, are losing their popularity with today’s parents.”

Charles has dropped to spot 99 while its shorter alternative Charlie has ranked at position 9. Picture: iStock

Ten new names have entered the top 100 baby names this year, further highlighting shifting naming trends among new parents.

While this year there are fewer first-time entrants into the top 100 baby name list compared to last year, (there were 12 entrants in 2022), the new names that did make it reflect how naming inspiration can change in just one year, the report states.

Miles has made the strongest entrance for the boys at 48, jumping up from rank 101 in 2022, while for the girls Cleo jumped to spot 91, up 44 positions from 135 the year before.

Ten new names have entered the top 100 baby names this year. Picture: iStock

So with tastes changing, what names took out the top spots in 2024?

For the boys, Oliver has retained its crown for the eleventh year in a row, earning number one position once again.

Interestingly, Ollie – its shortened nickname – has also entered the top 100, debuting at number 84.

Many of the top 10 baby boy names include the names that also ranked highly last year, though positions have shifted slightly.

Henry has climbed to number three from five last year while Leo, William, Jack and Luca have moved down the ranks, making way for Theodore, Hudson and Luca.

Noah, which has placed second, and Charlie, ranked ninth, remain unchanged in position.

Charlotte has dropped to number three in the girls list, losing out to the name Isla. Picture: iStock

Over in the girls list, the battle between Charlotte and Isla for the number one spot has continued. Isla has regained the crown after being knocked to position three from the top spot last year.

Charlotte has shifted down to position three with Amelia retaining spot two.

Harper has re-entered the top 10, having last featured in 2017, 2018 and 2019, while Hazel makes her debut to the top 10.

Willow, Ella and Grace have dropped out of top 10 positions for Harper, Lily and Hazel, which took out positions eight, nine and 10 respectively.

Top 10 Australian baby names for boys

1: Oliver

2: Noah

3: Henry

4: Leo

5: Theodore

6: Hudson

7: Luca

8: William

9: Charlie

10: Jack

Top 10 Australian baby names for girls

1: Isla

2: Amelia

3: Charlotte

4: Olivia

5: Mia

6: Ava

7: Matilda

8: Harper

9: Lily

10: Hazel