Picking a name for a baby is one of the toughest decisions, and sometimes the most guarded secret a parent can make.

Choosing a great name can also be a fun game even if there are no babies on the way.

Just in time for Fathers Day, the Alberta Government has released the top baby names for 2016.

Olivia reigns as Alberta’s top baby name for the third year in a row.

In 2016, Alberta welcomed 55,594 babies into the world, coming close to 2015’s record-breaking 56,529 births. Emma, Sophia and Ava top the list for girls, while Liam, Benjamin and Lucas remain popular choices for Alberta boys.

In 2016, Service Alberta recorded 13,782 different baby names, with many reflecting names found in antiquity, mythology and religion.

Some examples include: Aphrodite, Aristotle, Artemis, Atlas, Daphne, Damaris, Lazarus, Lilith, Maximus, Nika, Octavian, Pandora, Persephone, Perseus, Pius, Torah and Troy.

Other original names in 2016 include hybrid monikers such as: Blue-Eagle, HarleyQuinn, Heavenjot, Joearth, Justinjot, Morningstar, Notorious-Link, Riversong, Sailor-Arthur, ScarLet and Zyron-Thunder.

Inspiring and encouraging words also became names last year, including Awesome, Beautiful, Brave, Comfort, Legend, Patience, Promise, Righteousness, Victorious, Temperance, and Treasure.

Albertans can look up more than 95,000 names for free in the Alberta Baby Names App. 

The baby names statistics are recorded by the Vital Statistics branch of Service Alberta and are based on the registration and notice of birth information. A complete list of names is available at Service Alberta as well as on the Open Government Portal.

Background:


The most notable changes in 2016 include:
Overall, the biggest decline in popularity was recorded for two names, Emily and Mason. Compared to 2015, 65 fewer babies were registered with the name Emily and 63 fewer babies were registered with the name Mason.

The biggest jumps in popularity were recorded for Amelia, Benjamin and Charlotte. Compared to 2015, 30 additional babies were registered with the name Amelia, 31 additional babies were registered with the name Benjamin and 39 additional babies were registered with the name Charlotte.
 
While Olivia reigns three years in a row, the name has yet to break the popularity record. Ethan held the top spot for nine years in a row, from 2001 to 2009.

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