Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki
Mānawa maiea te ariki o te rangi
Mānawa maiea te Mâtahi o te Tau
Tīhei Matariki e!
Celebrate the raising of Matariki
Celebrate the raising of the lord of the sky
Celebrate the raising of the new year

Te Tari Taiwhenua, Department of Internal Affairs has released the top Māori baby names for 2023/2024.

This year, Aroha/Te Aroha was the top name for kōtiro. Ariki/Te Ariki was the most popular name for tama.

164 pēpi were named Aroha/Te Aroha and 111 were named Ariki/Te Ariki.

These were also the top Māori pēpi names last year.

A full list of the top names is available at SmartStart.

Te Tari Taiwhenua has published a list of the top Māori baby names since 2013. Last year was the first year that this list was released to coincide with Matariki, the Māori New Year.

Our approach involves a thorough review of each name's origins and a comprehensive evaluation by internal advisors and Te Atamira Taiwhenua, our kaumātua group. The chosen names are then sent to Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission, for a final review.

The ingoa featured in this list are those registered with Te Tari Taiwhenua from 10 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. These dates are linked to the Tangaroa lunar calendar period, associated with Matariki. These dates align with the advice provided by the Matariki Advisory Committee.

Our process

1. We develop an initial long list by extracting all the names from our birth registration data that meet the following conventions:

• The vowels are limited to I, e, a, o, u (and their long forms)
• Consonant choice is limited to p, t, k, m, n, ng, wh, r, h, w
• All names must end in a vowel

2. All names also must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Appear in an authoritative Māori dictionary either as a full word, or in the case of compound names (e.g., Hineteuru), the component parts should appear, or
• Check the names for macrons. If the name has been written with a macron it is likely to be intended as a Māori name and should be ‘tested’ against the guidelines.

3. Names that meet the above criteria, but which have multiple origins are removed.

• This is on the basis that removal of the proportion of occurrences that are non-Māori would mean the name no longer appears as a top Māori name.

4. Our list is discussed with our kaumātua and then our recommendations are checked with Te Taura Whiri.

Tama – Boys

Kōtiro – Girls

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