Oliver (Ollie) David Kershaw was born in Hawke's Bay on September 8, 2023. He shares his name with seven other baby boys born in Hawke's Bay during 2023. Photo / Kate Phillips
Oliver (Ollie) David Kershaw was born in Hawke's Bay on September 8, 2023. He shares his name with seven other baby boys born in Hawke's Bay during 2023. Photo / Kate Phillips
It’s a very tight race at the top for Hawke’s Bay’s most popular baby names in 2023, with a six-way tie for first place among boys and two girls’ names sharing the top spot.
Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs recently released nationwide and regional data for the href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/top-baby-names-for-2023-unveiled-what-kiwis-are-naming-the-next-generation/GOHMHZSLGFCIRCDCLS6SAAONXI/" target="_blank">most popular names of children born last year.
George, Hudson, Leo, Levi, Mason and Oliver were all equally the most popular boys’ names with eight babies for each born in Hawke’s Bay in 2023.
Havelock North woman Kate Phillips said her son Oliver (Ollie) David Kershaw was born in Hawke’s Bay on September 8, weighing 3.75 kilograms.
She said they already knew his middle name would be her partner’s first name, David, but they used the help of an app for picking baby names to decide on a first name.
“It was handy, stopped any arguments over naming stuff,” Phillips laughed.
Oliver is Phillips’ first baby and she said he is a “happy little man” who has grown very fast.
“A mother of a girl in my antenatal class, her daughter is a Matilda, so we were joking about us being a bit basic and going with the most common name.”
Names starting with ‘M’ are still in vogue for baby girls born in Hawke’s Bay, with Matilda and Mila sharing the number one spot with eight babies each.
Anna Harvey said her daughter Matilda Elsie Stoyanoff was born at Hawkes Bay Hospital on August 8.
“We picked this name thinking it wasn’t very common or popular. Myself and her Dad, Ben, are both primary school teachers and have never taught a Matilda,” Harvey said.
Below in equal third place are Florence, Georgia, Isla and Lucy with six babies born with each name.
The lists reveal a big shake-up in the most popular baby names in the region, with the most popular baby names from two years earlier completely falling out of the top 10.
George and Oliver were the only boys’ names that stayed in the top 10 baby names for Hawke’s Bay over that period, while Isla and Lucy were the only two girls’ names to stay in the top 10, retaining their third-place equal spot.
Top 10 names for boys in Hawke’s Bay
George 8
Hudson 8
Leo 8
Levi 8
Mason 8
Oliver 8
Henry 7
Hugo 7
Arthur 6
Carter 6
Top 10 names for girls in Hawke’s Bay
Matilda 8
Mila 8
Florence 6
Georgia 6
Isla 6
Lucy 6
Aurora 5
Frankie 5
Harper 5
Lily 5
Matilda Elsie Stoyanoff, born August 8, 2023, at Hawkes Bay Hospital. Mum Anna said she and father Ben both picked the name thinking it wasn't common. Photo / Anna Harvey
Top 10 last names
Singh 14
Taylor 10
Walker 10
Smith 9
Johnson 8
Wilson 8
Williams 7
Anderson 6
Edwards 6
Harrison 6
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
