farmdoc's blog post number 442

As a keen observer of things I don’t understand – which means most things – I have a special interest in names. Last 25 May I wrote about first names in relation to occupations. Today I write about the relative popularity of first names in Australia. Late last week, social researcher Mark McCrindle released a wondrous report titled Baby Names Australia 2008. As well as the top names for boys (Jack, Joshua, Lachlan, William, Thomas) and girls (Ella, Emily, Mia, Isabella, Chloe), McCrindle reports on the top names of the 2000s (Jack for boys, Emily for girls); the names with most spelling variations (for a boy, Kaiden with 14 variations; for a girl, Mikayla with 18 variations); the odd facts that girls’ names are softer (90% of their top 10 end in vowels; 90% of the boys’ top 10 end in consonants) and that more girls are named Victoria in New South Wales (83) than in the state of Victoria (62); how babies are named (of those named after a specific person, 66% are named after a family member, 16% a friend, 16% a TV/film celebrity, and 2% a sports star); international comparisons (in Anglophone countries, the top boy’s name is jack; for girls Emily’s number one, and Ella’s number 10). I love this stuff. It’s such fun. And such a window into Australia’s culture. It’s a smart marketing move, too, that McCrindle’s made it available for free download. Good on him.