49,030 babies were born in Alberta in 2020 including 25,160 boys and 23,870 girls.
When it comes to naming baby girls in Alberta, it seems no one can knock Olivia off its throne.
Olivia was the most popular name for female newborns in 2020, the seventh year in a row it has ranked No. 1.
There were 236 babies named Olivia last year. Emma came second at 184, followed by Charlotte, Ava and Sophia.
On the boy side, 239 babies were named Noah, followed by Oliver, Liam, Benjamin and William.
The list also includes baby girls named Amara, Amaya, Zahra, Zoya, Baani, Danika, Raya, Thalia, Yuna and Chimamanda.
Some of Alberta’s youngest boys are named Mateo, Ahmed, Bodhi, Yusuf, Zorawar, Arjun, Gurbaaz, Miguel, Abdul and Idris.
In a year unlike any other, positivity seemed to be a popular theme for some new parents, with names like Hope, Peace, Faith, Charity, Joy, Happy and Brave appearing on the list of registered names.
Some parents also seemed to be inspired by athletes – Kobe, Muhammad-Ali, Beckham, mythology – Artemis, Persephone, Aries, Zeus, music -Dre, Zeppelin, Bowie, video games – Zelda, Link, Eevee, literature – Guinevere, Atticus and places – Cairo, Nile, Phoenix.
Girl names also included Yoyo, Rocket and Rainbow.
And on the boys’ side, there were Skydancer and StormRyder, Karma and Knowledge.
For Hollywood fans, there were 56 Rhetts to 101 Scarletts, 14 Brads to seven Angelinas, 92 Lukes to eight Leias (no Darths), six Emmys, 36 Oscars and one gal named Friday.
And in the province where hockey superstar Connor McDavid plays for the Edmonton Oilers, 54 boys born last year share his first name.
The highest birth count recorded in recent history for Alberta was 56,744, recorded in 2015.
Alberta’s top baby boy names
(In brackets is the number of children with each name)
Place | Boy names (2020) | Boy names (2019) | Boy names (2018) | Boy names (2017) | Boy names (2016) |
1 | Noah (239) | Noah (275) | Liam (225) | Noah (250) | Liam (277) |
2 | Oliver (229) | Liam (234) | Oliver (212) | Liam (244) | Benjamin (252) |
3 | Liam (206) | Oliver (225) | Noah (199) | Benjamin (229) | Lucas (247) |
4 | Benjamin (182) | Ethan (213) | Ethan (188) | Logan (226) | Oliver (230) |
5 | William (178) | Jack (198) | Logan (182) Lucas (182) | Lucas (216) | Noah (228) |
6 | Jack (169) | William (185) | Jacob (181) | William (213) | William (213) |
7 | Lucas (163) | Lucas (174) | William (178) | Ethan (192) | Ethan (205) |
8 | Theodore (159) | Owen (167) | Benjamin (176) | Oliver (190) | Jack (197) |
9 | Levi (153) | Benjamin (163) | Jack (167) | Jack (189) | Lincoln (192) |
10 | Owen (152) | Jacob (162) | Alexander (158) James (158) | Jacob (178) | Owen (189) |
List of all Baby Boy Names Registered in Alberta
Alberta’s top baby girl names
(In brackets is the number of children with each name)
Place | Girl names (2020) | Girl names (2019) | Girl names (2018) | Girl names (2017) | Girl names (2016) |
1 | Olivia (236) | Olivia (229) | Olivia (235) | Olivia (236) | Olivia (292) |
2 | Emma (184) | Charlotte (188) | Emma (230) | Emma (215) | Emma (249) |
3 | Charlotte (161) | Sophia (181) | Charlotte (175) | Charlotte (187) | Sophia (215) |
4 | Ava (159) | Emma (178) | Emily (164) | Ava (184) Sophia (184) | Ava (207) |
5 | Sophia (151) | Ava (161) | Ava (161) | Emily (159) | Emily (187) |
6 | Amelia (145) | Amelia (159) | Abigail (153) | Abigail (154) | Charlotte (180) |
7 | Isla (133) | Emily (150) | Harper (150) | Amelia (149) | Amelia (172) |
8 | Emily (127) | Abigail (141) | Sophia (146) | Isabella (141) | Abigail (171) |
9 | Lily (123) | Hannah (137) | Amelia (145) | Aria (129) Chloe (129) | Chloe (166) |
10 | Abigail (114) | Elizabeth (124) | Elizabeth (130) | Lily (127) | Aria (137) |
List of all Baby Girl Names Registered in Alberta
You can look up more than 95,000 names dating back to 1980 through the Alberta Baby Names App, available for free download on iPhone, iPad and Android devices.
— With Files From The Canadian Press