For the seventh year in a row, Singh has topped the list as the most common family name given to newborns in New Zealand.

The Department of Internal Affairs today confirmed more than 680 babies were registered with the popular surname last year.

Kaur was in the No 2 spot, with 630 babies registered, followed by Smith with 300 registrations. Ten years ago, Smith was the most common surname in New Zealand.

Breaking it down by island reveals a difference in rankings; Singh, Kaur and Patel were the three most registered surnames in the North Island, while Kaur, Singh and Smith dominated in the South Island.

“New Zealand is a diverse country – and it’s great to see that reflected in our family name data for 2024,” said Brooke van Velden, Minister of Internal Affairs.

“Family names are a real gift for all children, as they reflect the rich history of each family they originate from.”

Singh is a common name in the Sikh community and has roots in the Sanskrit word for lion. Over 53,000 New Zealanders reported having a Sikh religious affiliation in the 2023 Census.

Last year the Department of Internal Affairs registered 59,199 births with a total of 19,404 unique first names.

The most popular first names for babies born in 2024 were Noah and Isla, marking the fourth year Noah has made the top two.

Noah, a biblical name from the Old Testament (it also features in Islam and Judaism) remains popular despite New Zealand reporting a drop in Kiwis identifying as Christian, down from 32.3% in 2023.

Isla has led the list for two out of the last five years.