July 04, 2013
Maia and Nikau most popular names
Kura will be filling up with Nikau in the next few years.
They won’t be groves of palms but small boys with last year’s most popular name for young Māori boys.
The Department of Internal Affairs’ Births, Deaths and Marriages unit says Maia was the most popular name in 2013 for Māori girl babies, followed by Aria, Manaia, Anahera, Ataahua, and Aroha.
For boys, Nikau was followed by old favourite Wiremu, with Kahurangi, Kauri, Nikora, Tane, Tamati, Rawiri, Anaru, and Tai completing the top ten.
Kahurangi also made the girls’ list at number 10, after Tia, Ariana, and Kaia.
Births, Deaths and Marriages had a database of 19,000 Māori babies to draw on.
The Māori Language Commission says many of the names are also becoming a popular choice for non-Māori pepe.
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