Tags
Arabic names, Biblical names, celebrity baby names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, Indian names, Italian names, name popularity, name trends, nicknames, popular names, Scottish names, Spanish names, surname names, unisex names
Biggest Movers Up
- Archer (51)
- Marcus (45)
- Andrew (41)
- Mason (33)
- Jackson (28)
- Eli and Kai (26)
- Jasper and Leo (23)
- Hunter (22)
- Nathaniel (18)
- Christopher and Henry (16)
To nobody’s surprise, surely, seen-everywhere Archer was the big winner for 2012, and the similar Hunter also did well. Marcus is the name of several Australian sports stars; perhaps Canberrans were paying keen attention to the sports news this year, or maybe they are all Mumford & Sons fans? Celebrity baby name Mason continues to keep up, even as his sister Penelope failed to make the grade. Prince Harry‘s official name, Henry, made number 10 on the list, while his nickname was number 11. From reading the birth notices, I know that there is an obstetrician named Andrew in Canberra; I don’t know if he is responsible for his name’s success though.
Biggest Movers Down
- Levi (49)
- Hamish (44)
- Luca (39)
- Caleb (35)
- Elliot (31)
- Finn and Matthew (30)
- Jake (28)
- Cameron and Sebastian (23)
- Angus and Darcy (21)
- Edward and Harrison (20)
In general, Old Testament names for boys had a bit of a fall in 2012, with Levi the worst affected. Scottish favourites Hamish, Angus and Cameron also went down, and Darcy doesn’t seem to be doing well for either girls or boys. Jake, Jacob and Edward waned like an old moon, as did Isabella and her offshoots – make of that what you will!
Most Stable
- Benjamin (10)
- Ryan (17)
- Luke (33)
New to the List
- Ayden (40)
- Lewis (40)
- Louis (62)
- Braxton (70)
- Luka (70)
- Ali (76)
- Jai (76)
- Jason (76)
- Jude (76)
- Maxwell (76)
- Muhammad (76)
- Reuben (76)
- Ari (92)
- Aryan (92)
- Dante (92)
- David (92)
- Jaxon (92)
- Rafael (92)
- Rohan (92)
- Spencer (92)
- Tobias (92)
- Vincent (92)
With Ari, Aryan and Aria new to the popularity charts, and Archer the fastest-rising, names starting with a piratical AR sound seem in vogue. Jude, Reuben, Tobias and David provided some new blood for Biblical names.
Both Louis and Lewis are new to the charts – a name which seemed generally popular this year. Braxton and Spencer were two surname names I’ve seen much of, and Vincent seemed to be several name bloggers’ pick for the Name Most Likely. We were right in at least one area of the world, anyway! I wonder if the Danish prince helped in this regard?
Jai and Rohan are two Indian names new to the list, Dante and Rafael two from southern Europe, and Ali and Muhammad two Arabic ones, possibly showing some demographic changes in the Territory – although Jai has long been a standard in Australia, and Rafael on trend for ages.
Interestingly, 1970s trendsetter Jason is on the list, and last year Jennifer was on the girl’s list. Apparently if you go beyond Ava and Aiden, you get … more Jennifer and Jason!
Back on the List
- Hudson (50)
- Rhys (70)
Gone from the List
- Aidan (33)
- Aiden (50)
- Mitchell (61)
- Tyson (61)
- Jett (61)
- Jonah (61)
- Alex (75)
- Hugh (75)
- Billy (78)
- John (78)
- Tom (78)
- Austin (78)
- Felix (88)
- Jesse (88)
- Seth (88)
- Anthony (97)
- Beau (97)
Aidan and Aiden have been replaced by Ayden – Jayden went up, although Hayden went down. Luca went down, but Luka stepped in. Nicknames Alex, Tom and Billy were rejected in favour of their full names. Jonah, John, Jesse and Seth were four Biblical names to disappear altogether. Michael rose, while surname-form Mitchell was out.
Waltzing More Than Matilda 
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Archer feels like a huge one from last year, all over the English-speaking world. And what’s the story behind Aryan? Am I pronouncing it wrong? Is it not in any way controversial? It might be over here, but I’ve never seen it before, outside descriptions of supremacy groups…
Aryan seems to gaining in popularity, and I am seeing it more and more. It’s related to Arya, which has had some attention lately because of “Game of Thrones”.
I wrote about the (possible) controversy very briefly here:
https://waltzingmorethanmatilda.com/2012/12/22/names-spotted-at-home-and-abroad-spring-edition/
Maybe I’m just hyper-sensitive, but I think only of these groups when I hear it (especially since these groups use ‘aryan’ to imply they are more noble, higher-born than other races). Even though dropping the N changes everything, in my mind, and I see nothing wrong with Arya!
Mostly I’ve seen it on non-white children, and I’ve never seen it on an “Aryan Master Race” type kid. I think if you looked like me, you might not be able to get away with it so well.
Love reading these must be a true name nerd lol 🙂 thanks for taking the time to share!
Thanks! Being a name nerd, I really enjoy doing them! 🙂