The most popular names recorded in 1956 were Jennifer for girls and Peter for boys. Full top-50 lists below, from official NSW & VIC BDM data.
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jennifer | 1,418 |
| 2 | Susan | 1,165 |
| 3 | Julie | 842 |
| 4 | Christine | 831 |
| 5 | Margaret | 783 |
| 6 | Karen | 738 |
| 7 | Deborah | 716 |
| 8 | Robyn | 615 |
| 9 | Helen | 604 |
| 10 | Lynette | 596 |
| 11 | Kerry | 586 |
| 12 | Vicki | 565 |
| 13 | Judith | 534 |
| 14 | Wendy | 523 |
| 15 | Anne | 514 |
| 16 | Elizabeth | 511 |
| 17 | Patricia | 485 |
| 18 | Cheryl | 462 |
| 19 | Debra | 431 |
| 20 | Linda | 389 |
| 21 | Suzanne | 389 |
| 22 | Catherine | 387 |
| 23 | Mary | 386 |
| 24 | Sandra | 376 |
| 25 | Sharon | 365 |
| 26 | Kim | 362 |
| 27 | Dianne | 342 |
| 28 | Diane | 329 |
| 29 | Kerrie | 318 |
| 30 | Pamela | 309 |
| 31 | Denise | 305 |
| 32 | Gail | 304 |
| 33 | Carol | 293 |
| 34 | Ann | 290 |
| 35 | Barbara | 290 |
| 36 | Rhonda | 277 |
| 37 | Kathleen | 252 |
| 38 | Maria | 249 |
| 39 | Annette | 232 |
| 40 | Lorraine | 227 |
| 41 | Narelle | 216 |
| 42 | Janet | 214 |
| 43 | Jane | 210 |
| 44 | Louise | 209 |
| 45 | Janice | 204 |
| 46 | Joanne | 204 |
| 47 | Kathryn | 191 |
| 48 | Maureen | 191 |
| 49 | Heather | 181 |
| 50 | Leonie | 181 |
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter | 2,796 |
| 2 | John | 1,780 |
| 3 | David | 1,594 |
| 4 | Stephen | 1,584 |
| 5 | Michael | 1,464 |
| 6 | Robert | 1,457 |
| 7 | Mark | 1,225 |
| 8 | Gregory | 1,151 |
| 9 | Paul | 1,105 |
| 10 | Ian | 818 |
| 11 | Wayne | 730 |
| 12 | Anthony | 698 |
| 13 | Christopher | 671 |
| 14 | Gary | 581 |
| 15 | Kevin | 552 |
| 16 | Geoffrey | 521 |
| 17 | Garry | 520 |
| 18 | Phillip | 517 |
| 19 | William | 501 |
| 20 | James | 498 |
| 21 | Brian | 462 |
| 22 | Colin | 454 |
| 23 | Richard | 449 |
| 24 | Bruce | 424 |
| 25 | Steven | 421 |
| 26 | Graham | 405 |
| 27 | Kenneth | 402 |
| 28 | Raymond | 380 |
| 29 | Alan | 366 |
| 30 | Ronald | 364 |
| 31 | Allan | 335 |
| 32 | Barry | 321 |
| 33 | Rodney | 318 |
| 34 | Glenn | 313 |
| 35 | Philip | 300 |
| 36 | Andrew | 299 |
| 37 | Neil | 299 |
| 38 | Jeffrey | 298 |
| 39 | Trevor | 275 |
| 40 | Ross | 264 |
| 41 | Graeme | 258 |
| 42 | Keith | 229 |
| 43 | Warren | 216 |
| 44 | Leslie | 201 |
| 45 | Thomas | 184 |
| 46 | Malcolm | 183 |
| 47 | Donald | 180 |
| 48 | Douglas | 177 |
| 49 | Timothy | 177 |
| 50 | George | 170 |