Get ready to coo over a whole bunch of Lucases and Olivias going into 2017. Provincial government statistics say those were the most popular baby names in B.C. between Jan. 1 and Dec. 12, 2016.
Lucas and Olivia beat out Oliver and Emma, which were the top baby names in 2015. According to the Ministry of Health last Friday, 217 Olivers and 258 Emmas were born in the province last year.
Emma scored a narrow victory over the 256 Olivias born last year, but both were much more popular than the third, fourth and fifth place names Emily, Sophia and Ava, which came in at 183, 173 and 163, respectively.
The 2015 battle for the top boy’s name was much tighter — first place Oliver only beat out second-place Ethan by 11 babies, third-place Liam by 14 and fourth place Benjamin by 16.
Other names to make the top 20 last year included Alexander, Jacob and Mason for the boys and Chloe, Charlotte and Abigail for the girls.
While the province says the top baby names are usually based on exact spellings, parents got creative in 2015 with Sophia/Sofia, Emily/Emilee/Emilie and Amelia/Emelia/Emilia, as well as Jackson/Jaxon/Jaxson and Lucas/Lukas.
newsroom@tricitynews.com
