Parents today are more likely than ever to choose a baby name that feels unique — and the data shows just how pronounced that shift has become. According to the McCrindle Baby Names Australia Report 2025, 83% of Gen Z parents say they are much, somewhat or slightly more likely to choose a distinctive name for their child, compared with 71% of Gen Y, 60% of Gen X, and just 43% of Baby Boomers. Even the most popular baby names today are shared by fewer children than they were a few decades ago, signalling a clear move away from repetition and towards individuality.
But while first names continue to evolve with trends, middle names are still very traditional.
In 2025, NSW released the top ten middle names given to babies over the past year. Given NSW accounts for around a third of all births in Australia, this data provides a strong indication of middle-name trends nationwide. What it shows: middle names are where we largely put our family traditions.
What’s more surprising is that most of the popular middle names don’t appear anywhere in the top 100 first names. Some have close variations: Mae and May are top ten middle names but rarely feature as first names, but Maeve and Maya are trending up in the top 100.
Despite the push for more and more diverse and unique names, it seems we don’t want to modernise that middle position. Instead, it continues to be used to honour relatives, preserve heritage, or balance a more contemporary first name with something familiar and grounding.
For boys, James sits firmly at number one, followed by John, William, Michael and Robert. Completing the top ten are David, Thomas, George, Joseph and Alexander. These names have barely shifted over time — and that’s no coincidence. The McCrindle Baby Names Australia Report 2025 notes that James and John have appeared in the top ten boys’ middle names consistently for the past 50 years, highlighting the enduring role of family tradition.
The pattern is just as clear for girls. Rose and Grace lead the list of most popular middle names, followed by Mae and May. Traditional choices such as Jane and Anne continue to feature strongly, alongside Louise, Elizabeth, Maree and Marie. In fact, Anne and Jane have remained top-ten middle names for girls for half a century — a level of consistency rarely seen in first-name trends.
The McCrindle report polled parents and found that, while nearly half of parents agree on a name immediately, many others compromise quickly. In that process, it seems the middle name often becomes the quiet consensus, tie-breaker or even trade-off. Ahead, the full list of most popular middle names in Australia.
Top 10 Boys’ Middle Names
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James
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John
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William
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Michael
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Robert
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David
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Thomas
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George
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Joseph
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Alexander
Top 10 Girls’ Middle Names
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Rose
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Grace
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Mae
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May
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Jane
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Anne
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Louise
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Elizabeth
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Maree
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Marie
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