Neville to Noah: Australia's top baby names from the 1950s to today

The short answer is these names, and many more, have fallen out of favour since their popularity peaked in the 1960s and they've been replaced by names such as Isla, Charlotte, Oliver and Henry.

Names go in and out of fashion as celebrities rise to fame, TV characters capture the nation's attention and royal births are celebrated, a 2024 survey by data analysts McCrindle found.

Penelope, Theo and Eloise have risen through the ranks of most-popular baby names since the period romance Bridgerton hit our screens in 2020.

And Margot, thought to be connected to Aussie actress Margot Robbie, Billie, for singer Billie Eilish, and Ariana, for singer Ariana Grande, have exploded in popularity with parents of Generation Alpha.

A look back at the top Australian names over the past seven decades offers a glimpse into the most popular trends and influential figures of pop culture history.

In the decade that birthed many of the Baby Boomers, girls names such as Maxine, Joy, Jill, Sue, Lynne, Kaye, Rosalie, Dorothy and Marlene were Australia's favourites.

Marilyn, for actress Marilyn Monroe, was also among the top girls names for the decade.

The top boys names in this era were Frederick, Larry, Denis, Victor, Grahame, Allen, Jeffery, Norman and Warwick.

Generation X emerged in the mid-1960s and with it came a fresh wave of trendy baby names partly inspired by the young stars of the era.

Girls names ending in a 'y', 'ie' or 'ee', such as Trudy, Lesley, Rosemary, Leonie and Maree, surged in popularity as did the names Lynette, Sharyn, Rhonda, Roslyn, Ruth, Diane, Denise, Jillian, Michele, Judith and Janine.

Popular boys names included Neville, Frank, Terence, Lindsay, Daryl, Murray, Leslie, Donald, Noel, Roger, Garry, Graeme and Darrin.

Internationally inspired names such as Bernadette, Madonna, Therese, Carmel, Giovanni, Roberto, Giuseppe and Antonio also saw a rise in popularity in the 1960s.

The 1970s saw the rise of names such as Narelle and Janelle while Annette, Allison, Wendy, Sonia, Teresa, Robyn, Bronwyn, Sharon, Deborah, Suzanne, Kym, Tania, Tracy, Tina and Sandra.

Popular baby boy names in the last decade of Gen X included Graham, Keith, Warren, Bruce, Derek, Nigel, Kenneth, Neil, Trevor and Rodney.

Clint also made the list in the decade actor Clint Eastwood starred in Dirty Harry.

The 1980s brought the children of Generation Y, also known as Millennials.

'K' names such as Kristen, Kristy, Kirsty, Kellie, Kimberly and, of course, Kylie soared in popularity for girls.

Other favourite girls names were Jodie, Fiona, Joanna, Andrea, Anita, Julie, Melinda, Jane, Sally, Candice, Carly, Belinda and Simone.

The decade ushered in such popular boys names as Ricky, Chad, Wayne, Dane, Marc, Lee, Ian, Clinton, Russell, Glen, Philip, Geoffrey, Colin, Alan, Ross, Grant, Damian, Stuart, Gregory, Martin and Brenton.

Generation Y ended halfway through the 1990s when Generation Z emerged.

The most common baby names of the period included Stacey, Shannon, Tiffany, Jennifer, Renee, Amanda, Lisa, Tegan, Kelly, Rebekah, Ellen, Katherine, Rhiannon, Cassandra, Casey, Vanessa, Rachael, Georgina and Brittany.

Names beginning with 'M' were popular for females and popular names for males included Matthew, Mark, Michaela, Melanie, Michelle and Morgan.

Shaun, Dean, Kevin, Trent, Scott, Steven, Brendan, Adrian, Reece and Jared were among the most popular names for boys.

The turn of the millennium welcomed in a throng of Taylahs and Taylas as well as Kaylas and Makaylas.

Angelina, Alicia, Natasha, Bianca, Laura, Katie, Ashley, Brianna, Claudia, Kate, Gemma and Alana were also among the most common names for girls.

Popular boys names included Jason, Jamie, Jeremy, Justin, Brayden, Peter, Tristan, Bradley, Rhys, Sam, Zane and Callum.

Generation Alpha arrived at the turn of the decade and with it came a wave of new favourite names.

They are the first generation born entirely within the 21^st century and many of the names popular in this decade are still on the top 100 baby names list.

Girls names include Emilia, Mila, Eleanor, Ayla, Elsie, Harriet, Esther, Penelope, Hazel, Frankie, Aurora, Florence, Sadie, Brooklyn, Eve, Aria, Freya, Millie, Peyton, Olive, Daisy and Harper.

Boys names included Arlo, Arthur, Sonny, Vincent, Theo, Elliot, Wyatt, Hugh, Theodore, Jude, Maxwell, Parker, Reuben, Billy, Spencer, Braxton, Fletcher, Felix, Rory, Harley, Ryan and Hugo.