What was the most common surname last year in Bay?

The most popular surname in the Bay of Plenty last year has been revealed. Photo / Getty Images

The most common surname in the Bay of Plenty last year has been revealed.

According to the the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages it was Singh.

It was also the most common family name registered in New Zealand followed by Smith, Kaur, Patel and Williams.

Executive Director of the Office of Ethnic Communities, Anusha Guler said the list of the most common surnames for 2020 is yet another indication of Aotearoa New Zealand's thriving diversity.

"This is good news, as diversity in our communities helps make New Zealand a more culturally rich, innovative and connected place."

The most common family names registered in 2019 were Singh, Smith, Kaur, Wilson and Williams. Patel now makes it into the top five instead of Wilson.

There was some regional variation with Patel being the most common family name in Wellington, and Singh in Auckland and Bay of Plenty, while Smith took out top spot in Canterbury, Otago, West Coast and Southland.

Registrar-General Jeff Montgomery said the emergence of names such as Singh, Kaur, and Patel reflected both immigration and religious affiliation trends.

"Most new citizens come from the United Kingdom and India, with a significant number from Sikh backgrounds where Singh is the chosen family name for boys and Kaur for girls.

"Parents are also being more creative with first names. There were more than 18,000 different first names for the 58,000 babies registered last year through SmartStart. Some parents are also getting creative with family names and choosing to hyphenate names or create completely new names."

This is the second year the Registrar-General has produced the list of family names.

For the full list of most popular baby names and to find out more about registering your baby, head to www.SmartStart.services.govt.nz