Even though Australian baby names are a lot like British names, they do also have their own distinctive flavor. The blend of cultures Down Under and the strong presence of several enduring indigenous languages and groups have a powerful influence on Australian baby names (the complex Aboriginal naming traditions definitely deserve a future blog of their own). Last year, for example, though Australia’s most popular list included Jack and Ella, Joshua, Ethan, Emily, Chloe and Mia, also high up on their list were Matilda, Isla, Lachlan (the name of Oz newspaper mogol Rupert Murdoch’s high-profile son), the Scottish-influenced Angus, and the nickname-name Archie.
Aussie heroes–from outlaws like Ned Kelly to poets like Banjo Paterson to politicians such as Prime Minister Geogh Whitlam–provide some interesting and adoptable namesakes.
Here are some from the world of sports:
EVONNE Goolagong
KARRIE Webb
KEL Nagle
KIEREN Perkins
LIESEL Jones
LIONEL Rose
LLEYTON Hewitt
LUC Longley
And nameworthy names from the show biz arena:
ANGUS Young
BON Scott
BAZ Luhrmann
CATE Blanchett
ELLE Macpherson
GUY Pearce
HEATH Ledger
HUGH Jackman
ISLA Fisher
JACINDA Barrett
KAHAHL
KYLIE Minogue
LOUISA Brammall
NAOMI Watts
NATALIE Imbroglia
NELLIE Melba
NICOLE Kidman
OLIVIA Newton-John
PORTIA De Rossi
ROLF Harris
RUSSELL Crowe
TONI Collette
And what names do these Aussie celebs choose for their own their kids? Austarbabies include:
ADELAIDE — Rachel Griffiths
ALEXANDER — Naomi Watts
ANGELICA — Geoffrey Rush
AVA — Hugh Jackman
BANJO — Rachel Griffiths
BINDI — Steve Irwin
CHARLOTTE — Judy Davis
CHLOE — Olivia Newton-John
CHRISTIAN — Mel Gibson
DASHIELL — Cate Blanchett
FLYNN — Elle Macpherson
IGNATIUS — Cate Blanchett
KLAUS — Eric Bana
LILLIAN — Baz Luhrmann
LOUIS — Mel Gibson
MATILDA — Bryan Brown, Heath Ledger
MILO — Mel Gibson
OLIVE — Isla Fisher
OSCAR — Hugh Jackman
ROMAN — Cate Blanchett
ROSIE — Bryan Brown
SAGE — Toni Collette
SAMUEL — Naomi Watts
SATINE — Jacinda Barrett
SOPHIA — Eric Bana
SUNDAY — Nicole Kidman
TENNYSON — Russell Crowe
And there’s a whole lot more to Australian place names than South Australia capital city Adelaide. Here’s a selection:
ALBANY
ALLORA
ARARAT
AUGUSTA
BENALLA
BENDIGO
BOTANY
BURNIE
DARWIN
ELANORA
ESPERANCE
GALLAH
GRAFTON
GRIFFITH
HOBART
ISA
JANNALI
KALLI
KARRATHA
KILLARA
LINCOLN
LOGAN
MACKAY
MACQUARIE
MAITLAND
MILDURA
ORANGE
PERTH
RYDE
VICTORIA
We’d like to thank and acknowledge the imput of our Australian correspondent Alicia Polman, who alerted us to some interesting names and their backstories, and to the fact that “there’s more to Australian-esque baby names than Matilda and Jack.”
Tags: Aboriginal baby names, Aboriginal boys' name, Aboriginal girls' names, Australian baby names, Australian boys' names, Australian girls' names, Australian names, Cate Blanchett, celebrity names, Heath Ledger, Hugh JAckman, Isla Fisher, place names, popular names in Australia
This entry was posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 1:32 am and is filed under athlete names, celebrity baby names, celebrity names, namesakes, place names . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Llonald? how cool.
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I’m a sucker for Shakesperean Portia, but did you know Portia de Rossi was born Amanda Lee Rogers? Sort of spoils Portia on her, for me! And I have to ask, what is the proper way to say the double L of Lleyton? There are a good handful of these: Lionel, Angus, Baz, Hugh, Louisa, Dashiell, Ignatius, Lillian, Louis & Matilda. But I’m just not that fond of place names, no matter where they originate from.
Great post, though! It’s always great to see naming trends & infuluences from other places (I’m a Yank, for the record).