Australian bush ballad Waltzing Matilda seems to have struck a chord with south-west parents when naming their baby girls last year.
Birth notices in The Standard during 2013 indicate Matilda was the most popular girls’ name, closely followed by Charlotte. Charlotte was the most common girls’ name in Australia last year, although Matilda didn’t even make the top 10.
Baby boys’ names followed the national trend with William the most popular both in the south-west and throughout Australia. Liam tied with William, followed by Jackson and its variations — all overtaking last year’s top boys’ name in the south-west, Jack.
Zoe, our most common girls’ name in 2012, appeared only three times last year, while for boys Lewis and Thomas rated highly — the latter also in sixth place nationally. Australian celebrity Isla Fisher perhaps inspired some parents, but the British royal baby George had only one south-west namesake last year.
Baby Tiger Lily (twin of Jarrah) can claim a connection both to the swimwear brand and daughter of the late Michael Hutchence and Paula Yates.
Some other noteworthy names found in the birth notices included Vogue and Astrid for girls, and Dusty and Jetta for boys.
Character Skyler White from popular television series Breaking Bad may have inspired the choice for Skylah, and three baby Braxtons share a name with Home and Away’s favourite “river boys”.
Place names weren’t as strong, apart from a baby girl named Memphis.
