Top 20 most popular baby names in Canada revealed

A list of the top 20 most popular baby names in Canada for 2023 has been released with one name appearing for the eighth year in a row.

Statistics Canada published the list of top boy and girl names for 2023 recently. Many of the names are repeats from recent years including the top girl’s name.

Olivia made the top girl’s name for the eighth year.

Since 2003, the number one spot has been held by either Emma or Olivia—with Olivia ranked first in 11 of the 13 years from 2010 to 2022, according to Statistics Canada.

Olivia means “olive tree” in Latin and is an old British name dating back to the 13th century. Previously, Emma—with Germanic roots meaning “universal” or “whole”—was the most popular name for girls, ranking first from 2003 to 2009, and again in 2012 and 2015, StatsCan notes.

Other girl names in the top 20 include Emma, Charlotte and Amelia.

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In 2021, Noah ranked as Canada’s most popular name for baby boys for the first time over the period examined, and it returns in 2023 as the top boy’s name.

Noah unseated Liam, which was the number one boy name from 2012 to 2020. Noah has biblical roots—namely Noah’s Ark—and originates from the Hebrew name “Noach,” meaning rest or peaceful.

Other top boy names include Theodore, Leo and William.

Baby name choices have changed significantly over the last 30 years. The oldest list online is from 1991 when the top names were Micheal and Jessica.

Micheal is not on the top 20 in 2023. James is the only boy’s name that appears in both 1991 and 2023.

Jessica also doesn’t appear in 2023 and none of the 1991 girl names are on the 2023 list.

For more information see the lists here.

Lead photo: Shanice McKenzie