StatsSA Releases Most Popular Baby Names in South Africa (Oh, and Births Declining)

PRETORIA – The total number of children born in South Africa is declining, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Thursday. They also revealed the most popular names for babies with Junior heading the list for boys, and Precious for girls.

The most popular baby name for males in 2015 was Junior, followed by Blessing and Gift and for females it was Precious, Princess and Angel, in that order.

The most popular surnames were from the Nguni clans being Dlamini, followed by Nkosi and Ndlovu. (See full list of baby names below.)

StatsSA released the Recorded Live Births 2013 – 2015 report at a media briefing in Pretoria.

It turns out that the months of January, March and September had the highest percentage of birth occurrences for the three year period. (Perhaps thanks to the Easter and Christmas holidays around nine months beforehand…)

Statistician General Pali Lehohla said there has been a decline in the number of births – decreasing by 6.8% from 1.6 million in 2013 to 1.08 million in 2015. The biggest decline has been in KwaZulu-Natal.

“The total number of children born in South Africa has started to decline in absolute numbers,” says General Lehohla. 

Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal produce the most children, but even then there are no places where births are increasing. The decline is nationwide and includes rural areas. 

Stillbirths accounted for 66% of perinatal deaths in 2014, and neonatal deaths for 34%. Black Africans comprised the majority of neonatal deaths.

The average age of moms at birth has fluctuated between 26 and 28 from 1998 to 2015.