Canadian Names Unite the Nation
Great news for Canadian name lovers: the most popular names in Canada are available this year for the first time!
Until now, 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 how to tally up the names, like whether to group spelling variations together, and how much of the list (if any) to release each year.
Statistics Canada published national baby name records from 1991-2021 earlier this year, and has just released the 2022 stats — just in time for Canadian Thanksgiving. Read the top baby names and fastest climbers below, and the full Top 200 most popular names in Canada here.
Don’t worry, we’ve also included the statistics from each province, to show just how much regional variation there is — especially in Quebec, where French-language names dominate. For example, Edouard is in the Top 10 in Quebec, but nowhere to be seen in other provinces’ charts. Nationwide, it averages out at Number 49.
It’s also worth remembering 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 2022
Canada and the USA share seven of their Top 10 girl names: in fact, the top five names are in exactly the same order. Chloe, Lily, and Mila make the Top 10 in Canada, but rank lower (though all in the Top 30) in the States.
In the boys’ Top 10, Canada and the US also share seven names. Leo, Thomas, and Jack are in the Canadian Top 10, but are less popular in the States — especially Thomas, which is Number 45.
Fastest Rising Names in Canada
The fastest-rising girl name in Canada's Top 200 is Millie, which climbed 66 places last year to 119th place — surely on track to enter the Top 100 next year.
It is followed by other elegant and breezy girl names with liquid L and R sounds. The fastest climbing girl names in Canada are:
All the girl names new to the Top 200 in 2022 were:
The fastest-rising boy name in Canada's Top 200 is Parker, which rose 69 spaces to Number 98.
As well as Parker, all the other fastest-climbing boy names also have two syllables. Several are of Arabic origin, or have multi-national appeal. They are:
All the new 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 each year. In 2022 they were:
Quebec 2022
Québécois names are a real treat for name lovers. Not only do they include French choices that are less-used elsewhere, but the province publishes every name registered, including double-barrel names, right down to Zyra-Gylle and Zyon Oswald. Quebec’s Top 10 baby names in 2022 were:
Alberta 2022
Alberta’s baby name data also cover every name registered, from Aabish to Zyris, so they’re well worth a browse. In 2022, 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.
- 1Olivia
- 2Emma
- 3Sophia
- 4Charlotte
- 5Ivy
- 6Ava
- 7Ella
- 8Isla
- 9Aurora
- 10Sophie
- 11Amelia
- 12Violet
- 13Isabella
- 14Nora
- 15Harper
- 16Lily
- 17Evelyn
- 18Brielle
- 19Ellie
- 20Hazel
- 1Noah
- 2Liam
- 3Leo
- 4Jack
- 5Theodore
- 6Levi
- 7Hudson
- 8Lincoln
- 9Ethan
- 10Bennett
- 11Emmett
- 12William
- 13Owen
- 14Lucas
- 15Henry
- 16Beau
- 17Jackson
- 18Muhammad
- 19Alexander
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.
- 1Henry
- 2Theodore
- 3Oliver
- 4Jack
- 5Noah
- 6William
- 7Owen
- 8Liam
- 9Jackson
- 10Olivia
- 11Benjamin
- 12Violet
- 13James
- 14Charlotte
- 15Ethan
- 16Lucas
- 17Thomas
- 18Bennett
- 19Theo
- 20Ella
- 21Sophia
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 latest 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.
Jack (9)
Oliver (8)
Beau, Theo, Thomas, Sadie, Sophie, William (7)
Hudson, Lincoln, Wesley, Wyatt (6)
Charlotte, Ellie, Hazel, Lily, Lucy, Olivia (5)
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 latest data we have for NWT is from 2019.
Girls:
Zoey (4)
Emily, Hazel, Kinsley, Lily (3)
Boys:
Elias, John, Joseph, Michael (3)
Yukon 2019
Girls:
Ava, Isla, Livia, Quinn (3)
Boys:
Henry (4)
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