Australians stick to staid names like William and Isabella

Jan 3, 2010, 6:56 GMT

Sydney - Australians stuck with old favourites when naming their children in 2009, with William and Isabella displacing Jack and Mia in the moniker popularity stakes.

Jack, highest ranked seven times in 9 years, slipped behind William in a Top Ten list that contained eight of last year's favourites.

Isabella jumped from third to first in a list of the Top Ten girls' names where only Amelia, in 10th place, was a newcomer.

Noah was the big mover in the boys' list, coming in at eighth from 13th last year. Charlotte, which jumped from seventh to third, is a likely candidate for top slot in 2010.

McCrindle Research, which compiles a top baby names list, said parents were conservative in their choices but individualistic in how they spelt them. It found 14 different spellings for Amelia.

Among the out-of-the-ordinary names for boys were Broly, Rusty, Shelby and River. Among the unusual names for girls were Kalora, Star, Rainbow and Winter.

As in previous years, parents avoided the gender-neutral and picked snappy masculine names like Bill and Jack for sons and dreamy feminine ones like Isabella and Chloe for daughters.