Canada’s 20 Most Popular Baby Names: Charlotte Takes Top Baby Girl Name as Muhammad Enters the Top 20

Statistics Canada’s latest baby-name data, released September 23, shows Charlotte was the most popular name for girls born in 2025, while Noah remained the leading name for boys for a fifth consecutive year.

Charlotte’s rise is not exactly sudden. It has ranked among Canada’s top three girl names every year since 2015. Olivia has had an even longer run near the top, remaining in the top three since 2007.

There was one newcomer to the girls’ top 10 – Nora, which entered the list for the first time and pushed out Ava. With the exception of 2023, Ava had been among Canada’s 10 most popular girl names since 2005.

Among boys, Theodore and Thomas moved higher in 2025, while James dropped out of the top 10. Jack returned after a one-year absence, taking seventh place. Noah, meanwhile, has been a top-10 boys’ name continuously since 2005.

Charlotte was given to 1,502 girls in 2025, narrowly ahead of Olivia at 1,445. Noah had a wider lead among boys, with 2,190 babies receiving the name, compared with 1,629 named Theodore and 1,568 named Liam.

The girls’ ranking technically contains 21 names because Clara and Maya tied for 20th place, with 652 babies given each name.

Among boys, Muhammad entered the national top 20 for the first time, ranking 20th after the name was given to 807 babies in 2025.

The baby-name numbers were released alongside new fertility data showing Canada’s total fertility rate remained at 1.26 children per woman in 2025, unchanged from the record low reached in 2024.

The average age of mothers at childbirth also reached a new high of 31.9 years, compared with 26.7 years in 1976.

Statistics Canada bases its baby-name figures on the Canadian Vital Statistics Birth Database and Retraite Québec’s List of Baby Names.