Looking at the girls’ Top 20, Chloe rose two places to take the #1 position, which she last held in 2006. Meanwhile, Isabella slipped from first place to #4.
The biggest gainer was Ava, who went up five places from #14 to #9; Sophie wasn’t far behind, upping herself four places from #11 to #7.
The biggest loser was Lily, who slid seven places down to #14. It seems that across the states, the name Lily is falling in popularity without ever reaching the top spot. Similar-sounding Emily went down four places, from #8 to #12.
Other than that, the list is about as lively as molasses, with Olivia, Mia, Charlotte, Sienna, Amelia, Ella, Sophia, Zoe and Emma stable, and Ruby, Grace, Matilda, Hannah and Jessica not changing position at all.
All the girls’ lists have been extremely conservative, and New South Wales seems the most conservative of all, with no new names in the Top 20 and the #1 name a retread. It does feel as if everyone has decided what their favourite girls’ names are, and they’re sticking with them.
On the boys’ Top 20, royal William maintains the #1 position which he has held since 2009.
The big mover and shaker was Lucas, who ascended eight places from #10 to reach the #2 spot. Maybe Lucas is gunning for first position. Other names which grew in popularity were Ethan, Benjamin and Lachlan. Yep Lachlan – still going strong.
Joshua fell the most, five places from #4 down to #9. While Jack was #1 in Victoria, in New South Wales it dropped four places, from #2 to #6. It seems that Jack the Lad is beginning to lose ground. Thomas and Cooper also decreased in popularity – names which were #1 in the ACT and Queensland.
Oliver, Noah, James, Samuel, Liam, Alexander and Isaac remained stable, and Jacob, Max and Riley didn’t move a muscle. I think New South Wales is the only state where Riley didn’t suffer a loss.
Charlie is new to the Top 20 at #18, while Daniel left the list.
Slightly more movement than the girls’ Top 20, but overall New South Wales didn’t change too much when it came to names at the top.
Further down the list, there have been some new developments though. Celebrity baby name Harper made her way onto the Top 100 at #57, indicating a very rapid rise.
Mila and Milla are both new on the list at #72 and #84. I was a little surprised to see that Mila is higher than Milla, but both these names have been fashionable for a while now.
Aaliyah is new on the list at #77. I predicted we’d see a greater proliferation in spellings of this name, but the original spelling is popular enough to make it to the Top 100. If spellings were combined, this name would be much, much higher.
As in Victoria and the ACT, Charlie is now Top 100 for girls as well as boys, since she joined the list at #93.
In other news, Taylor has gone from the Top 100, Ashley is still hanging on, and Tahlia has had a big slide from #47 to #81.
Over on the boy’s list, another celebrity baby name, Flynn, has made his mark, joining the Top 100 at #51. It’s an impressive start, and Flynn will probably be Top 50 in 2012.
Darcy has left the Top 100. Although it fell everywhere, I think New South Wales is the first state to abandon Darcy, and the reason is probably that it is starting to seem too feminine in usage.
Phoenix has gone from the Top 100 after just one year – was it a flash in the pan, or is it still gathering momentum? Felix is new to the list, and seems like the perfect replacement. Braxton is another new-name-with-an-X for boys.
Ali has done well, climbing from #93 to #71. It’s a sign of Arabic names doing well in general, and it’s also a good cultural cross-over name.
A surprise success is John, who has risen from barely-there #99 to #77 – quite a jump up for a name that many pegged as being in decline.
Waltzing More Than Matilda 