Some people say that Australia is now culturally closer to the USA than the UK.

I think Australia has its own, unique culture with British roots. Like most other cultures it continues to takes bits and pieces from elsewhere and American influence is important.

I was looking at popular baby names last night and thought it would be interesting to compare baby names from Australia, the UK and the USA. I’ve listed the top ten for each country below.

It’s amazing to see the close similarities between the three countries in 2005.

Australia seems to be slightly closer to the UK than it is to the USA in this totally unscientific study of baby names.

Girls Names:
Six baby names from the Australian top 10 were in the UK top ten - Emily, Olivia, Chloe, Sophie, Charlotte and Jessica.

Four baby names from the Australian top 10 were in the US top ten - Emily, Olivia, Isabella and Hannah.

Boys Names:
Five baby names from the Australian top 10 were in the UK top ten - Jack, Joshua, Thomas, Samuel and William.

Four baby names from the Australian top 10 were in the US top ten - Ethan, William, Joshua and Matthew.

Top 10 Boys’ Names in Australia / UK / USA

Australia UK USA
1 Jack Jack Jacob
2 Lachlan Joshua Michael
3 Thomas Thomas Joshua
4 Ethan James Matthew
5 William Oliver Ethan
6 Joshua Daniel Andrew
7 Ryan Samuel Daniel
8 Samuel William William
9 Matthew Harry Joseph
10 Benjamin Joseph Christopher

Top 10 Girls’ Names in Australia / UK / USA

Australia UK USA
1 Ella Jessica Emily
2 Emily Emily Emma
3 Olivia Sophie Madison
4 Chloe Olivia Olivia
5 Sophie Chloe Hannah
6 Charlotte Ellie Abigail
7 Jessica Grace Isabella
8 Lily Lucy Ashley
9 Isabella Charlotte Samantha
10 Hannah Katie Elizabeth