KEY POINTS:
Those who have named their children Jack or Charlotte should not be surprised if several children answer when they call because those names topped the list of most popular baby names last year.
In the list of most popular names released by the office of Births, Deaths and Marriages of the Department of Internal Affairs, two new names made the top 30 for boys and girls.
Ava and Hayley enter the top 30 for girls, bumping Jade and Amy off the list.
Charlie and Tyler make the top 30 most popular names for boys with Cameron and Jordan dropping off.
There were also changes in the ranking for individual names.
Jayden gained five places from 24 in 2005 to 19 in 2006, and William, Noah, Blake and Riley all made gains.
For the girls, Madison and Zoe were the big movers, jumping seven places, Chloe is up six places and Lily, Amelia, Mia and Jasmine all made gains. Caitlin, Holly, Paige and Brooke fell a few places.
The most popular names worldwide are similar but with some interesting individual variations.
Ireland includes local names such as Ciara and Aoife for girls and Daragh and Ciaran for boys.
Australian newborns have names much the same as ours, though Lachlan is ranked second there and doesn't feature in New Zealand lists.
THE TOP TEN GIRLS
1. Charlotte (in 2005 - Emma).
2. Ella.
3. Sophie.
4. Emma.
5. Olivia.
6. Emily.
7. Grace.
8. Jessica.
9. Hannah.
10. Lily.
BOYS
1. Jack (same as in 2005).
2. Joshua.
3. Daniel.
4. William.
5. Samuel.
6. Jacob.
7. Thomas.
8. Benjamin.
9. Ryan.
10. Liam.
- NZPA
