The most popular names recorded in 1996 were Jessica for girls and Joshua for boys. Full top-50 lists below, from official NSW & VIC BDM data.
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jessica | 1,655 |
| 2 | Emily | 1,171 |
| 3 | Sarah | 1,124 |
| 4 | Emma | 840 |
| 5 | Samantha | 742 |
| 6 | Chloe | 611 |
| 7 | Courtney | 606 |
| 8 | Lauren | 599 |
| 9 | Georgia | 590 |
| 10 | Hannah | 571 |
| 11 | Rebecca | 541 |
| 12 | Stephanie | 530 |
| 13 | Amy | 491 |
| 14 | Maddison | 485 |
| 15 | Brooke | 469 |
| 16 | Caitlin | 466 |
| 17 | Laura | 466 |
| 18 | Sophie | 432 |
| 19 | Taylor | 422 |
| 20 | Ashleigh | 420 |
| 21 | Brittany | 399 |
| 22 | Rachel | 399 |
| 23 | Tayla | 393 |
| 24 | Madison | 369 |
| 25 | Grace | 355 |
| 26 | Alexandra | 354 |
| 27 | Elizabeth | 352 |
| 28 | Kate | 349 |
| 29 | Jasmine | 348 |
| 30 | Isabella | 346 |
| 31 | Olivia | 340 |
| 32 | Jade | 338 |
| 33 | Zoe | 338 |
| 34 | Natalie | 308 |
| 35 | Danielle | 304 |
| 36 | Kayla | 304 |
| 37 | Natasha | 304 |
| 38 | Madeleine | 299 |
| 39 | Madeline | 295 |
| 40 | Nicole | 294 |
| 41 | Melissa | 281 |
| 42 | Holly | 266 |
| 43 | Hayley | 259 |
| 44 | Ashley | 257 |
| 45 | Erin | 255 |
| 46 | Brianna | 253 |
| 47 | Shannon | 253 |
| 48 | Bianca | 248 |
| 49 | Chelsea | 248 |
| 50 | Lucy | 241 |
| # | Name | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua | 1,965 |
| 2 | Matthew | 1,445 |
| 3 | Daniel | 1,429 |
| 4 | James | 1,330 |
| 5 | Jack | 1,271 |
| 6 | Thomas | 1,151 |
| 7 | Nicholas | 1,064 |
| 8 | Benjamin | 997 |
| 9 | Jake | 978 |
| 10 | Mitchell | 964 |
| 11 | Michael | 962 |
| 12 | Luke | 924 |
| 13 | Dylan | 904 |
| 14 | Samuel | 897 |
| 15 | Liam | 888 |
| 16 | Jordan | 885 |
| 17 | Jacob | 852 |
| 18 | Lachlan | 848 |
| 19 | Ryan | 805 |
| 20 | Christopher | 796 |
| 21 | Nathan | 786 |
| 22 | Alexander | 753 |
| 23 | William | 733 |
| 24 | Andrew | 706 |
| 25 | Jesse | 576 |
| 26 | Adam | 573 |
| 27 | David | 542 |
| 28 | Blake | 530 |
| 29 | Zachary | 516 |
| 30 | Aaron | 514 |
| 31 | Hayden | 496 |
| 32 | Bradley | 488 |
| 33 | Cameron | 486 |
| 34 | Jayden | 461 |
| 35 | Timothy | 449 |
| 36 | Joseph | 447 |
| 37 | Connor | 430 |
| 38 | Brandon | 420 |
| 39 | Corey | 414 |
| 40 | Anthony | 412 |
| 41 | Patrick | 402 |
| 42 | Joel | 390 |
| 43 | John | 379 |
| 44 | Robert | 367 |
| 45 | Harrison | 365 |
| 46 | Jackson | 355 |
| 47 | Jason | 349 |
| 48 | Kyle | 338 |
| 49 | Justin | 333 |
| 50 | Peter | 330 |