This follows on from Top Baby Names from Regional Victoria for 2011 – read that and you’ll understand how this one works.
In the Hunter Valley around the city of Newcastle, the #1 name in the state, William, does not make the Top 4, being used less often than Hamish and Lincoln, who aren’t even Top 50 in the state. In the Hunter, William is actually quite a rare name, being used only a few times per year. On the girls’ list, #6 Charlotte doesn’t get a look in either.
Girls
- Mia (5), Olivia (3)
- Chloe (1)
- Ava (9), Ruby (2)
- Sophie (7)
- Amelia (10), Emily (12), Isabella (4), Ivy (33), Matilda (18)
- Evie (28), Zoe (16), Sienna (8)
Boys
- Lucas (2)
- Samuel (14), Lachlan (3)
- Jack (6), Liam (15), Oliver (5), Thomas (8)
- Eli (45), Ethan (4), Flynn (51), Hamish (67), Harrison (26), Noah (7), Riley (20), Xavier (22), Lincoln (82)
Albury and Wodonga are on the New South Wales-Victoria border, with a foot in either camp. For convenience, I have placed them under New South Wales. The Border Mail recorded birth notices for 321 boys and 340 girls; there were 15 sets of twins.
Girls
- Grace (13)
- Amelia (1), Charlotte (6), Chloe (2)
- Lily (14), Ruby (2)
- Ella (11), Georgia (23), Lucy (25), Millie (-), Olivia (3)
- Charli (87), Isla (22), Sophie (7)
- Addison (51), Ava (9), Hannah (19), Isabel (100), Mia (5), Molly (53), Scarlett (24), Zara (26)
Boys
- Charlie (18)
- Jack (6)
- Benjamin (11)
- Jake (28), Lachlan (3), Noah (7)
- Jacob (13), Thomas (8), William (1)
- Hunter (48), Jackson (40), Joshua (9), Liam (15), Max (17), Patrick (54), Xavier (22)
- Campbell (-), Cooper (10), Darcy (-), James (12), Levi (29), Logan (34), Oliver (5), Riley (20)
In the city of Cessnock, within the Hunter Valley, the most popular name for boys is Koby (96), and its variant spellings. Ashton (55) and Noah (7) tied for second place. The most popular girl’s name was Evie (28), and Hannah (19) was the runner-up. The Advertiser recorded 70 birth notices, 35 from each gender.
Wagga Wagga (pictured)
In the city of Wagga Wagga, the state’s central west, Oliver (5) is the most popular boy’s name, and for girls it is Ruby (2).
Popular names for girls include Charlotte (6), Sophie (7) and Zoe (16), and for boys it is Toby (62), Max (17) and Judd (-).
Waltzing More Than Matilda 
Koby, Lincoln and Judd are surprising, as is Darcy on a boy. Oddly, less surprises with the girls lists.
Yes an overall trend I’m noticing is that boy name choices are generally more daring and unpredictable – the exact opposite of what name experts tell us.
Darcy was Top 100 for boys up until this year, so it’s not really surprising. I expect in the country they’re slower to relinquish it as a male name.