'Prince’ the most declined baby name in 2023

The most declined name in 2023 was ‘Prince’. For the previous 13 years, ‘King’ was the most declined name. A total of 64 registrations were declined in 2023.

In Aotearoa New Zealand there are guidelines in place to ensure that names don’t cause offence, are a reasonable length and don’t represent an official title or rank. The law allows the Registrar-General to decline registration of names which fail to comply with those guidelines. The Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages reviews the names that don’t meet the criteria on a case-by-case basis. Whether a name is offensive or not is a judgement call, and each name is considered in its entirety to determine whether it meets statutory criteria.

“Names are a gift, and they are an important part of a person’s identity. We encourage parents to think about their child and how they might feel about their name later in life,” says the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages Russell Burnard.

“When a name is in review, we give parents the opportunity to present the reasoning for the name. Then we make a decision, considering the balance of how the name may be perceived by the public and the Department’s obligations under the law.”

Below are the Registrar-General’s tips for ensuring you can register your baby’s name:

• Don’t use official titles or ranks, or names that resemble one.

• Don’t use numeric characters or symbols, like a backslash or a punctuation mark.

• Avoid names that might be considered offensive.

• Limit the name to 70 characters, including spaces.

And remember to register your baby online using SmarStart, the quickest and easiest way to register a birth: https://www.smartstart.services.govt.nz/register-my-baby

Below is a list of the top names declined by the Registrar-General in 2023. For a full list of most popular baby names and to find out more about registering your baby, head to: https://smartstart.services.govt.nz/news/baby-names