Strains of cannabis, royal titles, and religious terms have made up 2024’s list of declined baby names.
An Official Information Act request shows Te Tari Taiwhenua Internal Affairs registered almost 60,000 births.
The department reviews proposed names to ensure they are not offensive and do not resemble a rank or title without justification. Names also must not be “unreasonably long,” or include numbers of symbols.
Internal Affairs said it had sought “more information from the parents on some proposed names”, and in 71 instances, an alternative name was registered.
The Registrar-General’s staff reviews each application and makes a judgment on how acceptable it may be, considering how it would be perceived, how it is spelt and sounds, how the name may impact how a person is treated, and why the parents wanted to register that name.
The Registrar-General makes the final call on whether to decline a name’s registration.
Before that judgment, the Registrar-General communicates with the parent or parents to provide a chance to justify their chosen name. The justification is then considered against the aforementioned criteria.
It is possible that a name is accepted, following the justification provided by the parent or parents of the child.
“Each name or combination of names is considered on its merits and will only be declined if the Registrar-General believes it does not meet the legislative criteria,” the Department of Internal Affairs said in the Official Information Act response.
"Whether a name causes offence or not is a question of judgement and whether a name is potentially offensive changes over time."
Department of Internal Affairs
“We continue to urge parents to think carefully about names. Names are a gift. Generally, the name registered will be with the individual for the rest of their lives,” the agency added.
Parents whose applications for name registration are declined can appeal to the Family Court within 28 working days.
Included in the 2024 list are unique spellings of royal and legal titles - a trend that has been the status quo for many years.
The list also includes “Indica” and “Sativa” - two separate strains of Cannabis.
Names declined in 2024
- King - proposed 11 times
- Prince - proposed 10 times
- Princess - proposed four times
- Name with no surname - proposed three times
- Rogue - proposed three times
- Sativa - proposed three times
- Caesar - proposed two times
- JP - proposed two times
- Pryncess - proposed two times
- Name with ` symbol - proposed once
- Allah - proposed once
- Állah - proposed once
- Bishop - proposed once
- Crown - proposed once
- Crownos - proposed once
- Duke - proposed once
- Emperor - proposed once
- Fanny - proposed once
- General - proposed once
- Ice - proposed once
- Indica - proposed once
- Juke - proposed once
- Justice - proposed once
- KC - proposed once
- Kingi - proposed once
- Kingz - proposed once
- Kyng - proposed once
- Lady - proposed once
- Magesty - proposed once
- Major - proposed once
- Messiah - proposed once
- Mighty - proposed once
- Prinz - proposed once
- Prynce- proposed once
- Queen - proposed once
- Roil - proposed once
- Royal - proposed once
- Royallty - proposed once
- Saint - proposed once
- Solvreign - proposed once
New Zealand’s most popular baby names of 2024 for girls were Isla, Amelia, and Charlotte - and Noah, Oliver, and Jack for boys.
Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden said it marks the third time in five years Isla had topped the list of girls, and the fourth year Noah had appeared in the top two.
A total of 250 boys were given the name Noah last year, while 190 girls were named Isla.
The year prior, 2023, saw 64 declined registrations, with the most popular attempt being Prince, proposed five times.
Azaria Howell is a multimedia reporter working from Parliament’s Press Gallery. She joined NZME in 2022 and became a Newstalk ZB political reporter in late 2024, with a keen interest in public service agency reform and Government spending.
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