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This release was issued under a previous government.
In 2015, the province welcomed 56,529 little Albertans to the world – 27,712 girls and 28,816 boys. With 2015 being another record breaking year for births in the province, Alberta’s future is exceptionally bright. The top name for boys was Liam at 301 and the top name for girls was Olivia with 293.
“As I experienced with my recent pregnancy, naming a baby is a very exciting venture for parents. Alberta is truly one of the best places to raise a family, and our government is making it even better by supporting parents through the Alberta Child Benefit and enhanced Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit, which will provide more than $340 million in benefits to hard working families throughout the province.”
From Abigail and Ella to Sophia, Emily and Emma, time-honoured names again top this year’s list for girls, while Noah, Benjamin, William, Oliver, and Ethan remain popular choices for Alberta boys.
Today’s popular culture seems to have inspired some parents when choosing names. Creative names include Tyrion from the Game of Thrones, Katniss from the popular Hunger Games trilogy, and Elsa from Disney’s Frozen.
Many of the names chosen this year also appear to be inspired by nature, places, and traits. Unique girl names include Winter, Arizona, Unity, Justice and … Unique. For boys, original names included Sky-light, West, Wisdom, and Jet.
Other stand-out names for boys this year include Wealth, Crew, Chevy, Hero, and True. For girls, parents chose creative monikers such as Patience, Mercy, Karma, Journey, and Symphony.
Albertans trying to choose the perfect name can download the free Alberta Baby Names app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The app has more than 95,000 Alberta baby names dating back to 1980.
The Vital Statistics branch of Service Alberta recorded 6,374 distinct boy names and 7,590 distinct girl names in 2015. The figures are based on reports to date from hospitals and birthing centres.
Final numbers and a complete list of names are also available on the Open Government Portal.
Alberta’s top names for baby boys
(In bracket is number of children with each name)
Place |
Boy Names (2015) |
Boy Names (2014) |
Boy Names (2013) |
|
1 |
Liam (301) |
Liam |
Liam |
|
2 |
Noah (256) |
Ethan |
Lucas |
|
3 |
Ethan (233) |
Benjamin |
Ethan |
|
4 |
Benjamin (221) |
William |
Noah |
|
5 |
Lucas (218) |
Logan |
Logan |
|
6 |
William |
Noah |
Benjamin |
|
7 |
Oliver |
Jacob |
William |
|
8 |
Mason |
Oliver |
Jacob |
|
9 |
Logan |
Lucas |
Mason |
|
10 |
Alexander |
Carter |
Carter |
Alberta’s top names for baby girls
(In bracket is number of children with each name)
Place |
Girl Names (2015) |
Girl Names (2014) |
Girl Names (2013) |
|
1 |
Olivia (293) |
Olivia |
Olivia |
|
2 |
Emma (275) |
Emma |
Emma |
|
3 |
Emily (252) |
Emily |
Emily |
|
4 |
Sophia (205) |
Sophia |
Sophia |
|
5 |
Ava (201) |
Ava |
Ava |
|
6 |
Chloe |
Isabella |
Avery |
|
7 |
Ella |
Abigail |
Abigail |
|
8 |
Abigail |
Ella |
Charlotte |
|
9 |
Avery |
Charlotte |
Chloe |
|
10 |
Amelia |
Hannah |
Lily |
Number of children born in Alberta, by year
|
2015 |
56,529 |
|
2014 |
55,574 |
|
2013 |
53,175 |
|
2012 |
52,428 |
|
2011 |
50,840 |
|
2010 |
50,622 |