Top NZ Baby Names of the 1980s

Registrations added up across 1980-1989. Sarah and Michael were the decade's most registered names. Click any name to see its full trend.

Top 50 girls' names

  1. 1Sarah6,788
  2. 2Rebecca3,911
  3. 3Jessica3,793
  4. 4Emma3,678
  5. 5Amy2,925
  6. 6Lisa2,852
  7. 7Anna2,834
  8. 8Amanda2,695
  9. 9Melissa2,692
  10. 10Rachel2,650
  11. 11Kelly2,546
  12. 12Nicola2,345
  13. 13Michelle2,336
  14. 14Kylie1,985
  15. 15Nicole1,928
  16. 16Natasha1,837
  17. 17Elizabeth1,834
  18. 18Samantha1,789
  19. 19Laura1,788
  20. 20Hannah1,735
  21. 21Kate1,734
  22. 22Stacey1,705
  23. 23Angela1,680
  24. 24Renee1,636
  25. 25Hayley1,630
  26. 26Jennifer1,619
  27. 27Natalie1,497
  28. 28Stephanie1,447
  29. 29Megan1,374
  30. 30Melanie1,269
  31. 31Danielle1,247
  32. 32Claire1,221
  33. 33Katie1,177
  34. 34Victoria1,172
  35. 35Catherine1,158
  36. 36Tracey1,156
  37. 37Gemma1,149
  38. 38Tania1,125
  39. 39Charlotte1,105
  40. 40Katherine1,088
  41. 41Lauren1,032
  42. 42Vanessa1,027
  43. 43Rachael1,017
  44. 44Jenna1,002
  45. 45Aimee1,001
  46. 46Louise982
  47. 47Erin971
  48. 48Emily964
  49. 49Amber962
  50. 50Olivia924

Top 50 boys' names

  1. 1Michael7,451
  2. 2Daniel7,391
  3. 3Matthew6,363
  4. 4James6,064
  5. 5David5,438
  6. 6Andrew5,316
  7. 7Christopher5,237
  8. 8Nicholas4,196
  9. 9Benjamin4,152
  10. 10Samuel4,020
  11. 11Joshua4,015
  12. 12Jason3,721
  13. 13Mark3,305
  14. 14Timothy3,303
  15. 15Richard3,203
  16. 16Scott2,939
  17. 17Thomas2,876
  18. 18Robert2,841
  19. 19Adam2,838
  20. 20John2,809
  21. 21Paul2,753
  22. 22Aaron2,584
  23. 23Jonathan2,540
  24. 24William2,528
  25. 25Simon2,508
  26. 26Luke2,253
  27. 27Joseph2,179
  28. 28Ryan2,156
  29. 29Nathan2,123
  30. 30Steven2,070
  31. 31Shane2,018
  32. 32Peter1,999
  33. 33Jeremy1,890
  34. 34Hayden1,874
  35. 35Stephen1,778
  36. 36Anthony1,686
  37. 37Craig1,675
  38. 38Cameron1,593
  39. 39Jamie1,573
  40. 40Shaun1,552
  41. 41Bradley1,415
  42. 42Hamish1,367
  43. 43Mathew1,279
  44. 44Alexander1,240
  45. 45Phillip1,215
  46. 46Karl1,192
  47. 47Jared1,157
  48. 48Gareth1,144
  49. 49Blair1,021
  50. 50Jacob1,014
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About this data: figures come from Department of Internal Affairs birth registrations for 1954-2025. The DIA only publishes a name for a given year when at least 10 babies were registered with it, so rarer names - and rarer spellings - are missing entirely, and a name can drop out of the record in quieter years. Spelling variants are counted separately, and counts reflect first names as registered.