If You Had an Olivia or Noah in 2023, You Were in Good Company

Father and mother with their newborn baby at home in a file photo. Olivia and Noah keep topping baby name lists in Canada. Shutterstock/NDAB Creativity

If you welcomed a bouncing bundle of joy in Alberta in 2023, chances are you might have named her Olivia if it was a girl—and Noah if it was a boy.

“Olivia has set a record-setting streak as the most popular girls name in our province for the 11th year in a row, having first taken the crown in 2013,” said Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta.

And he told a news conference on April 24 that Noah is the most popular boy’s name for the fifth year in a row.

“Last year Alberta families welcomed more than 47,000 babies and chose more than 13,000 names,” Mr. Nally told reporters.  “Congratulations to all the Alberta parents who welcomed babies last year as well as those who are expecting.”

Ontarians are also big on Olivia and Noah, which were the top baby names in that province last year as well.

In fact, Statistics Canada has a site called “Baby Names Observatory.” And according to the site’s 2022 data—the latest year that data is available—Noah and Olivia were the top names for babies in Canada.

There are even charts. You can see how the name Noah started rising way back in 2007—and has stayed quite popular ever since.

“In 2021, Noah ranked as Canada’s most popular name for baby boys for the first time,” said Statistics Canada. “Noah unseated Liam, which was the number one boy’s name from 2012 to 2020.”

Olivia has reigned nationally even longer.

“Among girls, Olivia kept the top spot, undefeated for seven consecutive years,” said StatsCan. “Since 2003, the number one spot has been held by either Emma or Olivia—with Olivia ranked first in 11 of the 13 years from 2010 to 2022.”

In Alberta, the top five girl names are Olivia, Amelia, Sophia, Charlotte, and Emma.

For boys, the list is Noah, Liam, Oliver, Theodore, and Jack.

A news release says some of the names appear to have been inspired by flora, such as Ivy, Rose, Juniper, Poppy, and Azalea. Turns out Alberta had 12 baby girls named Azalea in 2023.

Others may have been inspired by famous musicians, such as Lennon, Presley, and Hendrix—there were 23 boys named Hendrix.

One journalist asked Mr. Nally if Taylor Swift’s rise to stardom appeared to have any effect on girls’ names.

Mr. Nally admitted he did not know, but added, “I have no doubt we’ll see lots more from the name Taylor for sure.”

However, the data shows there were 13 girls named Taylor—lower than Hendrix and quite a bit lower than the 210 baby girls named Olivia.

StatsCan adds that “Olivia means ‘olive tree’ in Latin and is an old British name dating back to the 13^th century. Previously Emma—with Germanic roots meaning ‘universal’ or ‘whole’—was the most popular name for girls, ranking first from 2003 to 2009, and again in 2012 and 2015.”

Noah, it says, is Hebrew in origin, and originates from “Noach,” which means rest.

“Liam,” it says, “is derived from William, a name with Irish roots, meaning ‘strong-willed warrior’ or ‘protector.’”

Alberta’s long lists of baby names—there are some 13,000 in all—also include some names you may not see every day.

For example, there are two baby boys named “God.”

And another named “Hendrixxavier.”

And on the girl’s side, one little girl was named “Ambition.” Another, “Hailstorm-Leone,” and a third “Leviathan.”

“If you’re curious, I encourage you to check out the full list online through our open government portal,” said Mr. Nally. “Bringing a child into the world and raising them is probably one of the greatest experiences you can have.”