NSW’s top baby names revealed with Oliver reigning supreme again

The baby name juggernaut Oliver has reigned supreme again while the most popular name for girls was a hard fought affair.

NSW’s most popular baby names for 2021 have been revealed with Oliver and Olivia clinching the top spots.

Both names descend from the Latin name for olive or olive tree. Oliver has had a stranglehold on the top spot since 2014 while Olivia moved into first place from being second in 2020.

For boys, the names Noah, Jack, William and Henry round out the top five. While for girls, Amelia, Charlotte, Isla and Ava make up the most selected.

Oliver and Oliva are both derived from the Latin word for Olive. Picture: Supplied

Controversially, Olivia had made a late charge to clinch the top spot from Amelia. A surge in registrations meant that Olivia pipped Amelia by four babies.

In the top 100 list, published by the NSW Births, Deaths & Marriages, new additions included Pippa and Valentina for girls and River, Roman and Zayn for lads.

According to Nine Newspapers, there were 90,059 babies born in NSW in 2020, which is 14 more than in 2019.

The publication wrote parents were more likely to choose a popular name for a boy, with the top 100 boys’ names accounting for 42 per cent of all boys born last year. While for girls it was 38 per cent.

Meanwhile, Digital Government Minister Victor Dominello told The Daily Telegraph the government was developing technology to launch a digital birth certificate.

“We know parents are keen to go digital, with 99 per cent of births in NSW being registered online,” Mr Dominello said.

In the top 100 list, published by the NSW Births, Deaths & Marriages, new additions included Pippa and Valentina for girls and River, Roman and Zayn for lads. Picture Matt Turner.

NSW’s most popular name list comes just weeks after Mumsnet announced its own list of the 10 worst baby names.

The UK parenting website did not hold back in its analysis of the names.

1. Mia – Because it means “missing in action”.

2. Lana – As spelt backwards, it looks rather rude.

3. Fanny – “For obvious reasons”.

4. Grace – Because “there are very few accents that say it gracefully”.

5. Amelia – As one mum “find(s) the ‘me’ so whiny”.

6. Graham – As “it sounds like ”Grey Ham‘”.

7. Flora – One mum admitted: “(it) makes me think of bacteria”.

8. Alexa – Because it sounds too much like the virtual assistant.

9. Mercedes – A parent said: “She’s a child not a car”.

10. Luna – Because “it‘s a pet name”.