This release was issued under a previous government.

Premier Notley announces top baby names

Premier Rachel Notley, speaking at the annual announcement of top baby names, reveals that Alberta’s Minister of Justice, Kathleen Ganley, is expecting her first child.

In 2016, Alberta welcomed 55,594 babies into the world, coming close to 2015’s record-breaking 56,529 births. Emma, Sophia and Ava top the list for girls, while Liam, Benjamin and Lucas remain popular choices for Alberta boys.

“Congratulations to all the new parents! Alberta is in the midst of a baby boom and that’s why our work is so important – work to make life better for families, creating new, affordable child-care spaces, lowering school fees and investing in education; all to give our kids the best start in life. Welcome to all our new little Albertans! A bright future awaits you in our province.”

Rachel Notley, Premier

In 2016, Service Alberta recorded 13,782 different baby names, with many reflecting names found in antiquity, mythology and religion. Some examples include Aphrodite, Aristotle, Artemis, Atlas, Daphne, Damaris, Lazarus, Lilith, Maximus, Nika, Octavian, Pandora, Persephone, Perseus, Pius, Torah and Troy.

Other original names in 2016 include hybrid monikers such as Blue-Eagle, HarleyQuinn, Heavenjot, Joearth, Justinjot, Morningstar, Notorious-Link, Riversong, Sailor-Arthur, ScarLet and Zyron-Thunder.

Inspiring and encouraging words also became names last year, including Awesome, Beautiful, Brave, Comfort, Legend, Patience, Promise, Righteousness, Victorious, Temperance, and Treasure.

Albertans can look up more than 95,000 names for free in the Alberta Baby Names App. The links to download the app for Android and Apple devices are available at Open.Alberta.ca.

The baby names statistics are recorded by the Vital Statistics branch of Service Alberta and are based on the registration and notice of birth information. A complete list of names is available at Service Alberta.ca as well as on the Open Government Portal.

Background:

  • The most notable changes in 2016 include:
    • Overall, the biggest decline in popularity was recorded for two names, Emily and Mason. Compared to 2015, 65 fewer babies were registered with the name Emily and 63 fewer babies were registered with the name Mason.
    • The biggest jumps in popularity were recorded for Amelia, Benjamin and Charlotte. Compared to 2015, 30 additional babies were registered with the name Amelia, 31 additional babies were registered with the name Benjamin and 39 additional babies were registered with the name Charlotte.
    • While Olivia reigns three years in a row, the name has yet to break the popularity record. Ethan held the top spot for nine years in a row, from 2001 to 2009.

Alberta’s top names for baby boys

(In brackets is number of children with each name)

Place

Boy Names (2016)

Boy Names

(2015)

Boy Names

(2014)

1

Liam (277)

Liam (301)

Liam (309)

2

Benjamin (252)

Noah (256)

Ethan (253)

3

Lucas (247)

Ethan (233)

Benjamin (245)

4

Oliver (230)

Benjamin (221)

William (227)

5

Noah (228)

Lucas (218)

Logan (225)

6

William (213)

William (217)

Noah (223)

7

Ethan (205)

Oliver (209)

Jacob (222)

8

Jack (197)

Mason (203)

Oliver (216)

9

Lincoln (192)

Logan (196)

Lucas (213)

10

Owen (189)

Alexander (193)

Carter (202)

Alberta’s top names for baby girls

(In brackets is number of children with each name)

Place

Girl Names

(2016)

Girl Names

(2015)

Girl Names

(2014)

1

Olivia (292)

Olivia (293)

Olivia (310)

2

Emma (249)

Emma (275)

Emma (262)

3

Sophia (215)

Emily (252)

Emily (231)

4

Ava (207)

Sophia (205)

Sophia (230)

5

Emily (187)

Ava (201)

Ava (189)

6

Charlotte (180)

Chloe (179)

Isabella (168)

7

Amelia (172)

Ella (167); Abigail (167)

Abigail (154)

8

Abigail (171)

Avery (155)

Ella (147)

9

Chloe (166)

Amelia (142)

Charlotte (146); Hannah (146)

10

Aria (137)

Charlotte (141)

Avery (143); Chloe (143)

Editor's Note: a previous version incorrectly listed Ethan as number 11.

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