Canada's New Top Baby Names

Canada's New Top Baby Names

Great news for Canadian name lovers! The most popular names in Canada are here, with some gorgeous new additions to the Top 200.

This is only the third year that the country's top names have been published, in time for Canada's Thanksgiving. Before that, each province and territory published its own baby name data, which — while fascinating — were hard to pull together. Each place had its own rules about which names were counted.

Now you can find national baby name records from 1991-2024 on Statistics Canada.

Read the top baby names and fastest climbers below, as well as the top names in each province. They show just how much regional variation there is — especially in Quebec, where French names dominate.

It’s also worth noting that many parents use names from indigenous and other minority languages, which never make the top of the charts, but are an important part of Canada’s unique baby name profile.

With gratitude, here are the top names and trends in Canada, nationwide and locally.

Top Baby Names in Canada 2024

Canada's Top 10 girl names have only changed slightly since the previous year, with a few swaps in rank, and Ava and Lily re-entering the Top 10, replacing Mila and Alice.

Canada and the USA share eight of their Top 10 girl names. Chloe and Lily make the Top 10 in Canada, but rank lower in the States, while Isabella and Evelyn are a little less popular in Canada.

In the boys' Top 10, the first seven names have not changed at all since 2023. James entered the Top 10, pushing Jack down to Number 11. Canada and the US share seven of their Top 10 boy names. Leo, Thomas, and Benjamin are in the Canadian Top 10, but are less popular in the States — while Henry, Mateo, and Elijah rank lower in Canada. The popularity Thomas and Leo (or Léo) is fueled by Quebec, where they are used more than in the rest of the country.

Fastest Rising Names in Canada

The fastest-rising girl name in Canada's Top 200 is Arzoi, a Punjabi name meaning "request, prayer", which more than doubled in use since 2023, leaping up 219 spaces to Number 200. The spellings Arzoyi, Arzoe, and Arjoi also rose in popularity.

Other girl names rising steeply come from a variety of cultures and styles, including more Indian names — Mehar, Jind, and Asees — plus nicknames Scottie and Hallie, and lilting Lara and Elora. The ten fastest climbing girl names in Canada are:

All the girl names new (or returning) to the Top 200 in 2024 were:

The fastest-rising boy name in Canada's Top 200 is Arjan — a Punjabi form of the iconic Indian name Arjun — which rose by over 100 places since the previous year to Number 102. The other boy names that have leapt up the most ranks include surname-style Beckett and Hayes, cool Kian, staid Paul, and two spellings of Mohammed. The ten fastest-rising boy names in Canada are:

All the new (or re-entering) boy names in Canada’s Top 200 are:

Top Baby Names by Province and Territory

Ontario 2022

Canada’s most populous province now only releases its Top 10 names at the end of the following year. In 2022 they were:

Quebec 2024

Québécois names are a real treat for name lovers. They include French choices that are less-used elsewhere, and the province now publishes every name given to 5 or more girls or boys, including double-barrel names such as Mame Diarra (after French artist Mame-Diarra Niang), and traditional Léo-Paul. Quebec’s Top 10 baby names in 2024 were:

Alberta 2023

Alberta’s baby name data also cover every name registered, from Aabhay to Zyrile, so they’re well worth a browse. In 2023, the Top 10 names in the Sunshine Province were:

British Columbia 2023

BC’s baby name statistics cover every name given to 5 or more babies. The Top 10 girl and boy names in 2023 were:

Manitoba 2023

These were the Top 10 girl and boy names in the Keystone Province last year.

Saskatchewan 2023

Saskatchewan’s much smaller population means that to make the province’s Top 20, a name had to be given to just 26 boys, or 23 girls.

Nova Scotia 2023

Could this be the only place where Violet outranks Olivia, and Owen is more popular than Noah? Nova Scotia’s top baby names group all genders together (with a 3-way tie for 19th place), and to make the Top 10 a name had to be given to just 19 children.

New Brunswick 2023

This smaller Atlantic province releases only the top few names each year. New Brunswick’s most popular names of 2023 were:

Newfoundland and Labrador 2020

The most recent baby name statistics for this province are from 2020. The list combines spellings, so names with several popular spellings, like Amelia/Emilia, rank highly.

Prince Edward Island 2023

It doesn't take many babies to make a top-ranking name in this tiny province. Here are PEI's most popular names, with raw numbers.

  1. Jack (9)

  2. Oliver (8)

  3. Beau, Theo, Thomas, Sadie, Sophie, William (7)

  4. Hudson, Lincoln, Wesley, Wyatt (6)

  5. Charlotte, Ellie, Hazel, Lily, Lucy, Olivia (5)

  6. Ava, Emma, Lydia (4)

Northwest Territories 2019

In the sparsely-populated territories, we really get into the low name figures, and less frequent updates. The most recent data available for NWT is from 2019.

Girls:

  1. Zoey (4)

  2. Emily, Hazel, Kinsley, Lily (3)

Boys:

  1. Elias, John, Joseph, Michael (3)

Yukon 2019

Girls:

  1. Ava, Isla, Livia, Quinn (3)

Boys:

  1. Henry (4)

  2. Charles, Jason, Leo, Noah, Oliver (3)

Nunavut 2015

The last we heard from Nunavut was in 2015, when there was a three-way tie for the top spot for both sexes.

Girls:

Anna, Samantha, Sarah

Boys:

Liam, Mason, Sandy

About the Author

Clare Green

Clare Green

Clare Green has been writing for Nameberry since 2015, covering everything from names peaking right now to feminist baby names, and keeping up-to-date with international baby name rankings. Her work has featured in publications such as The Independent and HuffPost. Clare has a background in linguistics and librarianship, and recently completed an MA dissertation researching names in multilingual families. She lives in England with her husband and son. You can reach her at clare@nameberry.com