Olivia's nine-year run at the top is over.
Charlotte was Canada's most popular baby girl name in 2025, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
It wasn't a landslide. There were 1,502 Charlottes born last year and 1,445 Olivias.
Just 57 babies separated first and second.
For boys, nothing changed. Noah was No. 1 for the fifth year in a row, with 2,190 babies.
But the national list only tells part of the story. Province by province, the favourites change. Olivia is still No. 1 in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan. Charlotte won Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Canada's top 10 baby names for 2025
Boys
Noah
Theodore
Liam
Leo
William
Oliver
Jack
Benjamin
Thomas
Lucas
Girls
Charlotte
Olivia
Emma
Sophia
Amelia
Sofia
Chloe
Mia
Lily
Nora
Neither name came out of nowhere. Olivia has ranked in Canada's top three every year since 2007. Charlotte has been there since 2015.

Noah isn't close to losing
The boys' race wasn't tight.
Noah had 2,190 babies. Second-place Theodore had 1,629, a gap of 561.
Theodore passed Liam, which slipped to third.
Jack made the biggest comeback. After missing the top 10 in 2024, it returned at No. 7.
Benjamin moved up to eighth, Thomas took ninth and Lucas fell from seventh to 10th.
James dropped out of the top 10 entirely after finishing eighth the year before.
Farther down, Muhammad reached Canada's top 20 for the first time, ranking 20th with 807 babies.
Nora is in. Ava is out.
Nora cracked the girls' top 10 for the first time.
That pushed Ava down to 19th. It's a notable fall. Apart from 2023, Ava had been in the top 10 every year since 2005.
Emma held third. Sophia moved up to fourth, trading places with Amelia. Chloe passed Mia for seventh, and Lily stayed ninth.
Sophia and Sofia are two different names
Statistics Canada counts every spelling separately.
So Sophia (fourth) and Sofia (sixth) are treated as completely different names. Combined, they'd sit well above Charlotte.
The same rule shapes the whole list. A name spread across two or three common spellings can look less popular than a name almost everyone spells the same way.
Names given to fewer than five babies aren't published at all.
Alberta kept Olivia at No. 1
The national change didn't reach Alberta.
Olivia was Alberta's most popular girl name for the 13th straight year, with 173 babies.
Charlotte, Canada's new No. 1, was only fifth here, with 149. Amelia was second, with Emma and Sophia tied behind it.
Noah led the boys for a seventh straight year, with 259.
Farther down, Alberta went its own way. Henry was fourth here, despite missing Canada's top 10. Violet was fifth among girls. Eliana made Alberta's top 10 for the first time.
More than 52,000 babies were born in Alberta in 2025, and parents chose more than 14,500 different names. The province also flagged some less conventional picks, like Khaleesi, Zendaya and Beckham, along with Alberta-inspired names such as Jasper and Rose, the provincial flower.
B.C. picked Olivia too
B.C. also stuck with Olivia, with 172 babies to Charlotte's 158.
The rest of B.C.'s girls' top five was Sophia, Amelia and Isla.
For boys, Noah led with 219, followed by Oliver (188) and Theodore (184).
B.C. had its own favourites too. Hazel was seventh among girls but missed Canada's top 10. Henry, James and Levi all made B.C.'s boys' top 10 but not the national one.
Saskatchewan's surprise: Lainey
Saskatchewan kept Olivia on top as well, with 43 babies. It's now been No. 1 there in nine of the last 10 years.
Second place was the shock. Lainey and Nora tied with 37 each.
Lainey had only just entered Saskatchewan's list the year before, at No. 20. One year later, it was tied for second.
Charlotte was just 10th in Saskatchewan, with 28.
On the boys' side, Noah won by one baby, 49 to Jack's 48. Muhammad, Oliver and William tied right behind at 44 each.
Nova Scotia went with Charlotte
Nova Scotia was far more into Canada's new No. 1.
Charlotte was Nova Scotia's most popular name overall in 2025, with 42 babies. Henry followed with 40, then William with 38. Noah and Jack had 33 each.
Nova Scotia ranks boys and girls together on one list, so it isn't a perfect comparison with other provinces.
Wesley and Lainey each had 25 babies. Olivia had just 22.
New Brunswick picked Charlotte and Jack
Charlotte also led in New Brunswick, alongside Jack, according to the province's preliminary 2025 results.
Other popular names there included Noah, William, Henry, Benjamin, Sophia, Violet, Olivia and Ellie.
For boys, that's a change. Noah led New Brunswick in 2024.
Provinces release their lists on different schedules, and final 2025 rankings for Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador weren't available for comparison. Ontario's most recent list, for 2024, had Olivia first for a 16th straight year and Noah first for a sixth.
What the map shows
Noah is remarkably steady. It led nationally, and in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan.
The girls' side is a split country. Olivia still holds the West. Charlotte took the East, and Canada.
And some names that barely register nationally are big locally: Lainey in Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, Hazel in B.C., Henry in Alberta and the Maritimes, Violet in Alberta and New Brunswick.
The national top 10 isn't always the list you'll hear called out at your local daycare.
Look up any name
Statistics Canada's Baby Names Observatory lets you search any name and see how its popularity has changed over the years.
Search the Baby Names Observatory →
Sources
The Daily: Fertility and baby names, 2025, Statistics Canada, September 23, 2026
Alberta's top baby names, Government of Alberta
Baby's Most Chosen Names in British Columbia, B.C. Vital Statistics Agency
Most Popular Baby Names for 2025, Government of Saskatchewan
Most Popular Baby Names in Nova Scotia in 2025, Government of Nova Scotia
Top baby names in 2025, Government of New Brunswick










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