Australian Names: Aussie Favorites

Acacia is an attractive, rarely used Greek flower name enhanced by its popular beginning-and-ending-with 'a'-construct, and is gradually beginning to catch on as a new member of the stylish girl names starting with A.

When Australian actress Rachel Griffiths chose this highly unusual name for her son, many assumed it was a bizarre invention, but noted Australian poet and writer of Waltzing Matilda, Banjo Patterson, is known by this name. Sprightly and musical, it could blend in with Bruno, Benjamin and Joey.

A true maverick of a girls' name — even more so with this spelling, the least common between Indie, Indy, and Indi.

Half-way between Logan and Rowan, Lowan could be an interesting pick for parents looking for an off-the-beaten-track nature name.

Pippi may be cute but isn't very practical. In addition to being forever Pippi Longstocking, there is that variant pee-pee spelling to consider. Try Pippa instead.

Although usually seen as a masculine name, Miles is sometimes seen as a feminine name in Australia, due to its literary association with female author Stella "Miles" Franklin. The s ending makes it especially trendy.

Taj is a cool-sounding name reflecting the magnificence of the seventeenth-century Indian Taj Mahal, chosen by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler for his son.

Enough parents have found naturalist Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, a worthy hero to keep Darwin relatively consistently in the Top 1000 (it dropped off in 2021 but is back in 2022)—though some might just like its trendy two-syllable sound. It has a lovely meaning too—"dear friend."

In the Noongar language of Western Australia, Bindi means butterfly. Bindi is usually seen as a girls' name, as seen in Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Steve Irwin.

This is a Scottish pet form of John, the equivalent of Jack in England. Has long been used as a generic name for a Scotsman, here it's a generic name for a--well--jock.

Saxon is unusual word name that nevertheless feels right on trend, with that sharp X in the middle and that two-syllable-ending-in-n pattern. Reminiscent of Roman but not yet so popular, Saxon is one to watch out for.

Anike is an attractive name with ties to several cultures, both African and Scandinavian. The African pronunciation emphasizes the second syllable while the Nordic one emphasizes the first. While there will be inevitable confusion over pronunciation, either form is "correct".

Pronounced like Jay, this short name is popular in South Asia and makes for a great English-South Asian crossover choice, used regularly in the UK and Australia. It can also be an alternate spelling of the English name Jay, either short for a J name or deriving from the name of the bird.

This Australian name can have other spellings such as Allira, Alirah and Aleara. We prefer this spelling which keeps confusion and mispronunciation to a minimum.

One of the few rainbow names that is masculine, Walken is a Noongar Aboriginal word.

Araluen is a beautiful Aboriginal Australian place name, used in several sites, always connected to the dainty water lily.

This Noongar girls’ name has a dainty sound that belies its fierce fire meaning and could easily cross over into the American or European context.

Voss is a German name, that is seen in Norway and Australia (in the former it is associated with a region, in the latter it is associated with the protagonist of Patrick White's novel by the same name). Voss is an interesting alternative to Fox.

Dimity is fairly common in Australia, but unheard of outside of it, which is surprising given its similarity to names like Amity, Verity, and Cassidy.

Jarrah is the name of a beautiful Australian tree famous for its richly-colored red timber and lovely scent. Jarrah may be used for both girls and boys.