Sorry to all the Olivias out there, but the name has been officially dethroned as the most popular girls name in Canada. After nine years at the top of the baby name list, a new report by Statistics Canada revealed that Charlotte now reigns supreme across the country.
According to Stats Canada, Charlotte topped the list of most popular baby names for girls in 2025 for the first time. The name bumped Olivia down to number two spot, while Emma held steady at number three.
The list was almost identical to 2024, however Nora replaced Ava for the final spot in the country’s top 10.
Top 10 baby girl names in Canada in 2025
For the fifth consecutive year, Noah remains the most popular name for boys in Canada, with Theodore and Liam followed closely behind.
Top 10 baby names for boys in Canada in 2025
Although Olivia is no longer the most popular name in the country, it’s been the most popular name in Ontario for the last 16 years, as well as the most popular go-to for girls in the United States and the United Kingdom top baby name for girls in the United Kingdom since 2016.
“Every generation needs to reinvent baby names,” author Pamela Redmond, the co-creator and CEO of Nameberry, previously told Yahoo Canada. While some expectant parents may look at popularity as a factor in choosing a name for their baby, Redmond explained that many focus on their lived experience. “They’ll say, ‘Well, I didn’t grow up with an Olivia,’ especially if they’re first-time parents and they haven’t been around other babies or other baby names.”
The surge in popularity of the name Charlotte is mostly attributed to Princess Charlotte. (Getty Images)
Redmond said that the resurgence of names like Charlotte and Liam is similar to what happened in the 1980s: For instance, the Royal Family — specifically, Princess Diana‚ influenced many baby names back then. The birth of Princes William and Harry (whose formal name is Henry) brought a “kind of combination of freshness and style to history and conservatism.”
“Suddenly, it was cool again to be royal. Parents who may have grown up in the ’60s and ’70s, there was a kind of hippie and ethnic naming. Now, it was suddenly like those names William, Henry, Elizabeth, Sarah — those time-honoured names — were fashionable again,” Redmond said. “Olivia and Charlotte and Liam — a form of William — are a continuation of that. Same, but different. It captures that historic royal classic name without being the same names that the parents grew up with or that their parents grew up with.”
Actor Noah Wyle’s starring role in ER in the ’90s helped make the name popular. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Noah, which means “rest” in Hebrew, is predominantly known for the religious narrative of Noah’s Ark, which appears in the Torah, the Bible and the Quran.
Noah’s popularity can likely be attributed to pop culture moments, like actor Noah Wyle’s breakout role on ER, which premiered in 1994. The following year, the name jumped from 255 to 130 on Canada’s list of most popular names. It climbed even higher in 1996 to number 82 and by 1998 was one of the top 30 boys’ names in the country.
The name saw an increase in popularity again 2005, a year after the film adaptation of The Notebook, starring Ryan Gosling as Noah, was released. In recent years, singer Noah Kahan and Noah Centineo have also raised the name’s profile.
Prior to Noah taking the top spot for boys’ names, Liam was the most popular baby name for boys in Canada from 2012 to 2020. The name is a modernization of the classic name William, and entered the top 10 for boy names in Canada in 2008.
Actors Liam Neeson and Liam Hemsworth, as well as Liam Gallagher from Oasis and Liam Payne from One Direction, helped keep the name in the spotlight.
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