It’s not big surprise, but according to the Government of Alberta, Liam and Olivia are again the most popular names for new Albertans being born in the province in 2014.
Last week, the province released its annual baby names report. In 2014, Alberta parents welcomed 55,587 babies, keeping the five-year baby boom going – 27,147 were girls and 28,440 were boys.
In St. Paul, there were 230 total births in 2014, with 101 being boys and 129 being girls, according to Shannon Geer, press secretary with Municipal Affairs and Service Alberta.
But more interesting than the number of babies being born, it’s the names chosen for the newest Albertans that gets people talking each year. In 2014, it appeared that parents were using pop-culture to influence the names chosen for their children.
Danika Poulin says that when she and her husband were picking names for their daughter, they knew they wanted something uncommon. And when searching up the name “Ryla” on the Alberta baby names app, Poulin realizes that they found success, with only one baby girl born in Alberta being given the name.
“We liked the name Rya, but we wanted to add something for it to be a little more complete, I guess, and personalized,” says Poulin. So the couple added an extra letter and felt it worked.
“There are so many names it really does take time to find the perfect one,” says Poulin.
Also born in 2014 were 28 baby girls named Blakely. When choosing her daughter’s name, Lesley Levasseur says she wanted a name that wasn’t too common, “but also wasn’t super strange.” She also liked the idea of giving her daughter a more boyish name.
Welcoming her fourth child in 2014, Melissa Martin says she kept thinking about girls’ names when going through the process of choosing a name.
“But, about a month before baby was born, I figured I should try to find a boys’ name,” she says. “My process for each kid has been to find a name that hasn’t been taken by any family members or other kids close to us. Then I would play the ‘alphabet rhyme’ game to see if anything could be rhymed to the name that could possibly be a point to tease with,” she adds.
For her fourth child, who did end up being a boy, Martin chose the name Jace.
Boy names such as Tyrion, Aragon, Olivander all appear to have been inspired by popular movies or TV shows. While on the girl’s end, names such as Primm, Sookie, and Khaleesi were used.
Other unique names for boys in 2014 include Thunderboy, Goodness, Huckleberry, and Innocent. For girls, names like Disney, Meadow, Valkyrie, and Bandit were added to the list.
“The Vital Statistics branch of Service Alberta recorded 6,110 distinct boy names and 7,409 distinct girl names in 2014. The figures are based on reports to date from hospitals and birthing centres,” says a media release from the government.
And along with a list of unique and rare names, there is a list of the most-used baby names. For the boys, coming in first for the third year in a row was Liam, and for the second year in a row, Olivia was the most used girl name.
The other top boys’ names include Ethan, Benjamin, William, Logan, Noah, Jacob, Oliver, Lucas, and Carter. And the top 10 girls names, after Olivia include Emma, Emily, Sophia, Ava, Isabelle, Abigail, Ella, Charlotte, and Hannah.
Welcoming her third daughter this year, Jenny Bespalko says picking her daughter’s name was different than in the past.
“This time was different because we have a blended family now, so we wanted everyone, including our kids involved with her name,” she says. The older kids would offer ideas, and all the names that the family agreed on were put on a list. Then, that list was narrowed down to two.
“When we had her, we had a vote and Mackenzie won out over Ashley,” says Bespalko. In the end, it was good that everyone felt involved in the process, she says.
For Jerrica Hall, it was important to pick a name that wasn’t trending. And even after choosing names before their second daughter was born just a few months ago, the parent ended up picking a completely different name at the hospital.
“We made the name Vaya up from a similar name my husband liked,” says Hall, which means baby Vaya’s name may very well be one of the more unique names seen in 2015, when those statistics are released next year.
“The name we thought we would use for a girl really didn't suit her after we saw her beautiful little face,” says Hall, adding, “It really is her identity and the name suits her perfectly. I hope as she grows up she loves her name as much as we do.”
