All-time top baby names are . . .

Put all the New Zealanders together who have shared the most popular boy and girl names and you’d have a city the size of Hamilton.

That’s right – there would be 108,000 Johns and 54,000 Marys.

With just four letters each and a handy biblical background, these names indicate Kiwi households have traditionally leaned towards playing it safe. Very safe.

A guy with still four letters but the slightly more imaginative name of Jeff (Montgomery, New Zealand Registrar-General for Births, Deaths and Marriages) says birth records go back to the 1840s and a count up showed John and Mary were the winners.

Other all-time favourites included Margaret, Elizabeth, William and James.

William and James in particular have stood the test of time.

If the urge to create Hamiltons remained, you could fill yet another one with all the New Zealand boys who have been named William (almost 80,000) and James (almost 70,000).

The top baby names of 2018 were Charlotte and Oliver. Isla, Emily and Ava were also among the most favoured girls’ names in 2018. But Jeff says none of these names also appear in the all-time top 10 most popular list.

‘‘However, Charlotte and Emily do rank quite highly overall. Charlotte comes in at number 31 overall. Emily, ranking

8th most popular in 2018, is ranked 17th most popular overall.’’

Jeff says more modern names like Mason, Noah and Oliver, (172nd, 151st and

90th respectively on the all-time list), seem to be on the rise as all made the top 10 in

2018.

Unlike many other countries, Kiwis can register their babies online at the Government’s SmartStart portal. While 97 per cent here do it online, Aussies and Brits still have to visit a local office and fill in a paper form.