Aussie baby names: What's your call?

WHAT are the most popular Australian baby names of all time, which old favourites are hanging in there and which new names - and spellings - are on the rise?

WHAT are the most popular Australian baby names of all time, which favourites are hanging in and which new names are on the rise?

John and Margaret are the most popular male and female names in the history of the nation, according to a News Ltd analysis of Australian baby names going back to 1790, holding steady with generations of parents through gold rushes, war, depression, boom and bust, and even the rise of the internet.

More: Kidspot's baby name finder tool

Nearly 262,000 babies have been called John in the past 220 years, more than 65,000 ahead of its nearest male challenger, David, and more than 150,000 ahead of girls favourite Margaret.

The name peaked in popularity in 1946 and didn't even make the top 100 last year, but its long-term status as a safe, solid option sees it comfortably ahead of others such as Michael, Peter and Robert.

Only William and James make both the top 10 of all time and last year.

BabyCenter Australia editor Danielle Townsend said: "John is just one of those mainstays. It's actually very popular now as a middle name and of course Jack, which derived from John, is extremely popular."

When it comes to the girls, Margaret (96,458), although top of the pile, is not the standout that John is for the boys.

A far greater spread of names means Sarah (81,195), Elizabeth (77,239) and Mary (75,006) are not too far behind in a tightly-packed top 10. None of the all-time top 10 make the 2011 most popular list however - overlooked for more fashionable Mias and Siennas.

KPMG demographer Bernard Salt said the weight of Australia's cultural heritage had determined the bulk of the most popular names.

"These are Anglo names, derived from the British Isles. They reflect our dominant culture," he said.

Social analyst Mark McCrindle said Australia was seeing a return to more traditional names.

"I think it will go in waves," he said. "There is a real traditional feel to the current list ... and it's not going to be a one-way street of ever more radical names. You will see more of a pendulum effect."

According to Government figures, there have been 112,689 different names chosen by Australians between 1790 and 2011 - 76,459 are female and 46,230 are male. Of these, 51,293 females and 31,042 males were given a unique name, ranging from Aab to Zyrkia-Lee for girls and A. to Zzak for boys.

Mr Salt had a simple reason for why female names were far more varied than the males. The father generally has greater say in picking their sons' names and goes for simple, strong, "no mucking around" ones.

Women, on the other hand, exert more influence on their daughters' names, going for something more creative.

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Although the figures paint a national picture, they also show the quirks between the states.

South Australia stands out for appearing intent on breaking down sexual stereotypes, with 50 boys called Sharon between 1952-1986, and girls named George, David, John, Stephen and Trevor.

It's a case of the vanishing names in Victoria, with a number of traditional names simply disappearing from birth certificates.

Spare a thought for poor old Basil (not used since 1929), Cecil (1930), Agnes (1932) and Eunice (1933).

Queensland, meanwhile, is clearly the punctuation state, with thousands of kids born in the last 35 years given a hyphen or apostrophe to deal with when they learn to spell their own name. How does Lospipeli-Fakamanatu-He-Lotu-Ka, Onyx-Z'Xyon, Zche-Ztev'n and Bendeicta-malia-Eva-I-Loto-Mua grab you?

And down in Tasmania, they are clearly fans of the alternate spelling. Take your pick from Tameeka, Tameika, Tameka, Tamieka or Tamika.

As for the future, Ms Townsend said new parents were turning to Biblical names, traditional surnames being used as first names, ethnic names, meaningful place names, celebrity-inspired names and creative spellings. "We've counted nine different spellings for Ryley," she said.

"People want their kids to stand out from the crowd".

Social analyst Mark McCrindle welcomed parents putting time and effort into choosing names but cautioned against twisting a name simply for difference's sake.

"That's when it can become a burden for the child," he said.

"Be a little bit creative but think long term."

First-time parents Lisa and Patrick Ansell, from Maslins Beach in South Australia, named their seven-week-old son Thijs.

While it might look tricky to pronounce, Mrs Ansell said it's as easy as "ice with a T in front" or like "Tyson without the 'on' ".

"We came to name him Thijs because Patrick was born in Holland and his family are Dutch," Mrs Ansell said.

She said a family friend had  the same name, which was the Dutch version of Matthew.

"It means 'gift of God'," Mrs Ansell said.

"It's different without being too odd when you pronounce it.

"I never actually expected I would use something unique like Thijs but it seemed to fit."

The couple decided on the name when Mrs Ansell was about 15 weeks pregnant and discovered she was having a boy.

"Before we had him we were tossing around different names but we both liked Thijs and that was it," she  said.

 More: Kidspot's due date calculator