Babies born via surrogacy in Australia, 2022 edition! My new favourite word is anthroponymy: the study of proper names for people. The study of names is anthroponomastics.

In my work, I get to meet people hoping to grow their family through surrogacy and donor conception. Some of the highlights of my work include when I get to meet people at the beginning, and see them months and even years later, with a babe in arms that I saw as a twinkle in their eye. It is very special when they tell me of the impending birth, and that baby has arrived and the name they have chosen for their little person.

Having gone through IVF, I know that many of these parents will have had a name chosen for their future baby, years before they were born. I had a long list of names chosen for my future children, although it didn’t make it any easier to narrow it down when they arrived in the world.

There are estimated to be around 115 babies born via surrogacy in Australia each year. This estimate is based on figures reported by IVF clinics, which mostly record babies born via gestational surrogacy. We know that traditional surrogacy accounts for 10-15% of all surrogacy arrangements, so there are about 100 babies born via gestational surrogacy and another 15 or born via traditional surrogacy.

Read a full report about the other statistics and information about surrogacy in Australia for the years 2021-2023 including a breakdown of who the intended parents are, how they found a surrogate, and the number of gestational and traditional surrogacy arrangements.

So, without further ado, I am celebrating many of the babies born via surrogacy in 2022:

Boys born, 2022:

Harrison, Tainui, Jetson, Eamon, Gideon, Oscar (x2!), Rupert, Winston, Asher, Till, August, Emilio, Eli, Miles, Nash, George, Tully, Leonidas, Nate, Michael, Ariyeh, Teddy, Vaughan, Charlie, Matteo, Parker, Lachlan, Arthur, Alfie, Jimmie, Joshua, Harry, Malin, Hugo, Angus, Koa and Ned.

Girls born, 2022:

Harper, Lily, Rhylea, Alice (x2!), Macey, Abigail, Talia, Mia, Aila, Zoe, Fleetwood, Quinn, Vera, Chloe, Polly, Amelia, Ava, Leila, Imogen, Maple, Blake, Rian, Anya, Charlotte, Aurora (x2!), Summer, Emily, Vivian, Phoenix and Zya.

Some interesting facts:

1 in 5 of the babies born begins with the letter A! That includes two named Alice and two named Aurora.

Of the 75 babies born, there are 40 boys and 35 girls, a 53:47 split between the sexes.

88% were born via gestational surrogacy, and 12% were born via traditional surrogacy.

There was one set of twins! Twins in surrogacy is uncommon in Australia, as the clinics are restricted from transferring more than one embryo. But these little ones came from one embryo that split, creating lovely identical twin boys.

Of all 75 babies born, only one boy name – Charlie – appears in the top 10 boys’ names for Australia in 2022, while six girls’ names – Lily, Mia, Zoe, Amelia, Ava and Charlotte – appear in the top 10 girls’ names for Australia in 2022.

If you are new to surrogacy, you can read about how to find a surrogate, or how to become a surrogate yourself. You can also download the free Surrogacy Handbook which explains the processes and options.

Sarah has published a book, More Than Just a Baby: A Guide to Surrogacy for Intended Parents and Surrogates, the only guide to surrogacy in Australia.

Looking for a surrogate and not sure where to start? We Need a Surrogate – What’s Next? And if you have a surrogate or intended parents, you can get started on the surrogacy process.

You can read a broad overview for surrogacy in Australia and how it works.

You can find more information in the free Surrogacy Handbook, reading articles in the Blog, by listening to more episodes of the Surrogacy Podcast. You can also book in for a consult with me below, and check out the legal services I provide.