According to Government figures, there have been 112,689 different names chosen by Australians between 1790 and 2011 - 76,459 are female and 46,230 are male. Of these, 51,293 females and 31,042 males were given a unique name, ranging from Aab to Zyrkia-Lee for girls and A. to Zzak for boys.
Although the figures paint a national picture, they also show the quirks between the states.
South Australia stands out for appearing intent on breaking down sexual stereotypes, with 50 boys called Sharon between 1952-1986, and girls named George, David, John, Stephen and Trevor.
It's a case of the vanishing names in Victoria, with a number of traditional names simply disappearing from birth certificates.Spare a thought for poor old Basil (not used since 1929), Cecil (1930), Agnes (1932) and Eunice (1933).
Queensland, meanwhile, is clearly the punctuation state, with thousands of kids born in the last 35 years given a hyphen or apostrophe to deal with when they learn to spell their own name. How does Lospipeli-Fakamanatu-He-Lotu-Ka, Onyx-Z'Xyon, Zche-Ztev'n and Bendeicta-malia-Eva-I-Loto-Mua grab you?
And down in Tasmania, they are clearly fans of the alternate spelling. Take your pick from Tameeka, Tameika, Tameka, Tamieka or Tamika.
As for the future, Ms Townsend said new parents were turning to Biblical names, traditional surnames being used as first names, ethnic names, meaningful place names, celebrity-inspired names and creative spellings. "We've counted nine different spellings for Ryley," she said.
"People want their kids to stand out from the crowd".
Social analyst Mark McCrindle welcomed parents putting time and effort into choosing names, but cautioned against twisting a name simply for difference's sake."That's when it can become a burden for the child," he said."Be a little bit creative, but think long term."