Most popular baby names in Saskatchewan in 2024

Saskatchewan’s health ministry released its latest list of the top baby names in the province, and it looks parents are still opting for traditional — with a few exceptions.

Chantel Duncan has worked at the Kidz Castle Indoor Playground in Saskatoon for almost 3 years, so she’s seen a lot of names come across the front desk.

“The most popular name I've seen is Aria. When people say the name Aria and then last name, but it doesn't always show up because there's so many different spellings, like, it could be with a Y or AH at the end, or double As, you never know,” she told CTV News.

Duncan keeps a list on her phone of names she might like to use for her own kids someday, but working there has also made her eliminate some, too.

“I really like the name Theodore, but I see so many. Theodore is very popular. Then it's, like, if a kid is really mean, I take them off the list,” she said.

Theodore is on the eHealth list of the most popular baby names, which saw a continuation of the more traditional names in Saskatchewan in 2024.

*Top five baby names for boys:

Henry - 49

Oliver - 44

Levi - 40

Theodore - 40

William - 40

 

Top five(ish) baby names for girls:

Sophia - 44

Olivia - 39

Ellie - 35

Charlotte - 34

Hazel - 33

Isla – 33

*The list reflects births registered with eHealth Saskatchewan by Dec. 7, 2024

Other names on the list of 20 boys and girls which are more contemporary: Brooks, Asher and Beau for the boys; Harper and Aurora for the girls.

Then there are families that like to stick with names that have a theme.

“I got two daughters, Kyra and Kylee and so if I were to have a third child, I think maybe, we'd stick with the Ks just to keep it going,” Janel Enns said.

Another mom we spoke to who has two 1-year-olds chose names to reflect their culture.

“I wanted to choose some names that my relatives back home can pronounce and here so it can be easy for other people and teachers to pronounce,” Samaneh Nasami said.

Nasami specifically wanted to keep the names short to eliminate pronunciation or spelling issues, which has been an issue for Duncan.

“If I go to, like, Starbucks or something, they always add an extra E at the end, because that's like, the most common. Or like instead of tel it’s tal,” Duncan said.

Some trendy names that are seen now for kids have Xs in them, like Jaxson or GH in place of EY, like Bailey.

“I just feel like it's a little much for me, especially if I have to search it up when I’m working,” she said.

The eHealth list is created with live data and reflects births registered in the province by December 7, 2024. Lists on their website go back to 2014.