The 65 Baby Names that Defined the Decade

My oh my, what a decade of baby names it’s been!

Over the past 10 years, we’ve seen a whole slew of baby name trends take shape. Good names have fallen; weird names have risen; old school names have returned to the spotlight and words that we’ve never even heard of have suddenly become names.

We’ve seen Jayden/ Brayden/Aiden/Hayden/Kayden trend rise, then slowly fall, not to mention the Madison, Jackson, Addison, Harrison, Emerson phenomena.

Through it all, data analyst and baby name expert, Mark McCrindle has been sharing his insights with us about it. So it seemed fitting to have a look back at the names that defined the previous decade and speak to Mark about what names really made an impact over the past decade. 

Behold, the 65 baby names that will forever have a place in the 2010s decade.

The decade of nature

Flowers, spices, gems, animals even. We’ve seen hundreds of nature-inspired names make waves.

As Mark tells Mum Central, the botanical theme could have something to do with our own generation’s values – the  “environmentally focused and over-the-technology generation of parents.” The names are organic, back to nature, pretty and pure.

1. River
2. Fox
3. Willow
4. Violet
5. Ruby
6. Hunter 

Old is new

“The names of our grandparents and great grandparents are influencing names far more than the names parents grow up with,” Mark tells us.

In fact, names of the 1990s and 2000s are rarely used anymore. But vintage names, that’s where it’s at! And most likely will be more at least another decade or so.

7. Theodore
8. Arthur
9. Daisy
10. Florence
11. Olive 

A lesson in geography

Place theme names are another top trend for the past decade, both overseas and Australian-based.

12. Bronte
13. Avalon
14. Eden
15. Georgia
16. Madison
17. Indiana

Gender-neutral

This decade has brought quite a few drastic changes to the way we view gender and baby names certainly followed this genderless trend. Unisex baby names made a massive leap without countless ‘typically-male’ names being selected for little girls, and vice versa.

“This is quite different to the lists of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s,” Mark observes.

18. Riley
19. Charlie
20. Frankie
21. Billy/Billie
22. Harper
23. Bailey
24. Jesse
25. Dylan

The name-stayers

The 80s had Daniel, Michael, Sarah, and Jessica. The 90s had Rebecca, Emily, Matthew and James. Below are the names that will always have a home in the ’10-’19’s. All of them kept their place in the top ten for the entire decade.

26. Olivia – #3 in 2010; #2 in 2019. 
27. Oliver – #5 in 2010; #1 in 2019. 
28. Noah – #7 in 2010; #4 in 2019. 
29. James – #10 in 2010; #9 in 2019.
30. Amelia – #10 in 2010; #3 in 2019. 
31. Jack – #1 in 2010: #2 in 2019. 
32. Chloe – #4 in 2010; #9 in 2019.
33. Thomas – #3 in 2010; #6 in 2019.

Other names that held their own near the top include:

34. Isabella
35. Lachlan
36. Lucas
37. Ella
38. Ethan
39. Emily

All names Royal

Another major trend that shaped this decade was royal baby names. Elegant, charming, regal and cute, we have the royal baby fever to thank for this. Prince George’s birth started it all and we are sure the name Archie will be a big trendsetter for the next decade.

40. Charlotte  – She’s reigned the #1 name for several years now (since 2015 to be exact).
41. Elizabeth – Another name-stayer, the name Elizabeth has actually been on top (or in the top 20) for over a century. 
42. William
43. George
44. Sophia/Sofia – FUN FACT: Sophia is actually considered the most popular baby name in the world over the past decade.

Short and sweet

Three-letter names was another common theme over the past 10 years. Easy to spell and learn, these monikers all skyrocketed from 2010-2019.

45. Kai 
46. Mia
47. Ava
48. Leo
49. Ivy 

Pop Culture inspired

Books, movies, TV shows, artists, heroes from our childhoods…yep, they all made an appearance on birth certificates around Australia too. Below are just a few that stood out to us.

50. Khaleesi
51. Atticus
52. Briar
53. Lennon 
54. Hendrix
55. Jax 

New Religion cool

At the start of the decade, some of the most popular baby names were biblical. I named my son Jacob (now 10) and others that took the top include Noah, Matthew, and Isaac.

Biblical baby names continue to be popular but there is a whole new class of them.

“The religious influences are still there, but from more than just Christianity,” Mark tells us.

56. Ezra
57. Eli
58. Levi
59. Asher
60. Bodhi 

Strong and elegant

Pretty, elegant names for little ladies and strong, masculine names for little dudes – this is another common trend for the past decade.

“The girls’ names are prettier and the boys’ names are stronger,” Mark explains. “There’s the short, hard consonant names for boys while the girls’ names are the longer, flowy ones.”

61. Hugo 
62. Mason
63. Audrey
64. Grace
65. Titan 

What’s to come?

Strong, pretty, traditional names are in; bogan names are out, according to Mark.

“We will see more ethnic influence – names that call from the broad array of culture. 29% of Aussies are born overseas so I would expect to see more of in the next decade.”

Looking for more names we predict will be big in the next decade? We’ve got 30 more names we think will skyrocket in popularity in 2020.