Ms Wattenberg added that the most popular baby names aren't as popular as in previous years. Just over 18,000 baby boys were named Noah last year, but when James was the top name in 1950, there were more than 86,000 newborns with that name.
Similarly, about 21,000 newborns were named Sophia last year, but in 1950, more than 80,000 were named Linda, the top name for girls that year.
"In the past, most parents were picking from a pretty well-defined set of names," Ms Wattenberg said.
"Literally for hundreds of years, the English royal names dominated. You had John and Mary and James and Elizabeth.
"Today we get names everywhere."
The Social Security Administration's website provides lists of the top 1,000 baby names for each year, going back to 1880. The top baby names that year were John and Mary. John is now number 27 and Mary has fallen to number 121.
Top 10 Kiwi Baby Names
Girls (previous year)
1. Charlotte (4)
2. Emily (3)
3. Ruby (5)
4. Sophie (2)
5. Olivia (1)
6. Isla (12)
7. Amelia (8)
8. Ava (10)
9. Isabella (6)
10. Ella (7)
****
Boys (previous year)
1. Oliver (2)
2. Jack (1)
3. James (11)
4. William (3)
5. Mason (5)
6. Liam (4)
7. Samuel (6)
8. Lucas (8)
9. Noah (10)
10. Thomas (25)
Source: Department of Internal Affairs
- The Independent, with additional reporting by Associated Press and APNZ
