2 January 2022

Canberrans prove sticklers for royal tradition in the top baby names for 2021

| Lottie Twyford
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A baby.

There was definitely a sense of royal tradition about 2021’s top baby names. Photo: Kim Treasure.

Despite Buckingham Palace being almost 17,000 kilometres away, it seems the royal influence over baby names has yet to wane in the nation’s capital if the top names of 2021 are anything to go by.

For the girls, Charlotte was once again the most popular name for the second year in a row, while the boys’ list was topped out by Henry and Oliver while William and Archer also made an appearance.

Charlotte – chosen by the Cambridges for their daughter, has long been a mainstay of the popular names list. It’s appeared each year for the last decade and took out the number one spot in 2012, 2015 and 2017.

Five new names were also added to the list including Ella, Mia, Sophia, Hazel and Ivy.

As for the boys, royalty was also a theme with 2020’s top name Henry once again crowned equal first place with Oliver.

Henry has long been the name of kings and is the official moniker of Prince Harry. It’s the second time it’s been the most popular baby name after taking out the top spot in 2020 for the first time since digital records were kept in 1991.

Another royal name – William – came in at third place.

Other royal names such as Alexander, James and George fell off the list, although Archer moved up swiftly as a new favourite name for Canberrans.

Archer came in at ninth place and has similarities to the new royal Archie – the son of Henry and Meghan.

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As of Thursday, 16 December 2021, 6330 babies were registered in the ACT – a slight increase on the 6205 registered in 2020.

See below for the full lists of 2021’s top baby names. You can also check out the top 10 baby names for each year since 1991 at www.act.gov.au/topbabynames.

Girls names:

  1. Charlotte
  2. Matilda
  3. Grace
  4. Ivy, Olivia
  5. Amelia
  6. Hazel, Sophia
  7. Ella, Mia

Boys names:

  1. Henry, Oliver
  2. William
  3. Theodore
  4. Thomas
  5. Leo
  6. Noah
  7. Jack
  8. Archer
  9. Charlie

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Registration of births is compulsory and must be done within the first six months of a child being born, Access Canberra says.

Registering your child’s birth ensures you will be able to obtain a birth certificate which is needed for many purposes such as enrolling your child in school, obtaining a driver’s licence, and for various forms of employment, as well as government benefits and entitlements.

The parents of a child are responsible for registering their birth and it can be done easily online.

Should you require a paper-based form to register the birth of your newborn, contact Access Canberra on 132 281.

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