Zoey is the NWT’s most popular baby name of 2019

New parents in the Northwest Territories reached deep into the baby names book for their top choice in 2019. The most popular name of the year in the NWT? Zoey.

Four babies gendered as girls at birth were named Zoey in 2019. The spelling Zoey has overtaken Zoe in North American popularity in recent years, and has made the top 30 in the United States each year since 2012.

Meanwhile, there was a four-way tie for the top NWT boys’ name: three 2019 babies were each named Elias, John, Joseph, and Michael.

On BabyCenter’s list of the top 100 Canadian girls’ names in 2019, Zoe – including Zoey and other, similar spellings – places 12th. On the boys’ name list, Elias places 79th and Michael is number 76. John and Joseph don’t make the nationwide list at all.

Tied for second among girls’ names in the territory were Emily, Hazel, Kinsley, and Lily. Three babies in 2019 were given each name.

Across Canada, the top baby boy names of 2019 were Jackson, Noah, Liam, Lucas, Benjamin, Oliver, Ethan, Jacob, Leo, and Logan.

Top girl names in 2019 were Sophia, Olivia, Emma, Amelia, Aria, Charlotte, Ava, Mia, Mila, and Chloe.

Axel, the NWT’s 2020 new year’s baby, will not find his name on the territory’s 2019 list. However, his name was a new addition to Canada’s list last year – it’s currently sitting at number 95 – so he may be part of a new trend.

As of Wednesday, there were 558 registered births in the NWT in 2019, although a health department spokesperson cautioned the final tally for December has yet to come in, as parents have 30 days after a birth to notify the government.

At the moment, the figure is down from 651 babies registered for 2018 by the same time last year.

Here is the complete list of top baby names in the NWT in 2019: