What are you naming your kids down under? I’ve always wondered if names used in [name_f]England[/name_f]/[name_u]America[/name_u] influence what names you use or whether there are names that don’t work because of the accent thing. Like names that sound better in an Australian accent than they do in an English accent. Also, which names are popular where you live?
Sorry if this is rude/ignorant in anyway.
Thanks in advance x
[name_m]Hi[/name_m] from Down Under!
I’m not naming any kids for at least 10-ish years, but I can help you with some other things.
Our accent is actually pretty flexible when it comes to pronouncing names. Generally, we sound more English the stereotypical Aussie accent heard in movies (although there are some people who do talk like that) There are no names which I can think of which sound horrible in my accent but one thing is (assuming you’re from the US) [name_f]Clara[/name_f] is pronounced CLAH-ra instead of [name_u]CLARE[/name_u]-a here.
Something to be wary of in Aus is that you will most likely get a nickname relating to your fn or your ln (for example if your name is [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] you might get called [name_m]Tom[/name_m] or Tommo or if your last name is [name_m]McDonald[/name_m] you might get called Macca) although that’s more for the older generation. You can avoid getting a nickname though by just constantly introducing yourself by your preferred name. That’s what works for me.
For popular names in my area, some of them are similar to the US and some are hugely different. I was so surprised when I heard here that [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] has never been in the US top 1000 when I have met at least three. I also know a lot of Georgias, Emilys and Caitlins for girls and lots of Lachlans, Jacobs and Joshuas for boys. The top girls names in Aus for 2013 is here and for boys here
Also it’s not ignorant at all 
I don’t really have anything else to add to @cheshirekat, except to add some more nickname’s to explain. [name_m]Warren[/name_m] get’s Wazza - [name_f]Sharon[/name_f] get’s Shazza. It’s really weird as we shorten everything.
[name_u]True[/name_u], I am Australian, and you will get a nickname- regardless of if you like it or not. Some names do sound really bad in our accent though. A lot of Australian accents are no where near as heavy as they have in the movies, but I live in an area where they pretty much are. In my area, if you are named [name_f]Talia[/name_f] (or basically any ‘ia’ name), be prepared for your name to be turned into tahl-YAH or even tah-YAH by the vast majority.
I am always really surprised when people on NB describe [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] or [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m] as unique and uncommon, or they don’t know how to say it: here, it seems like practically every kid is named [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m], and [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] is quite common too. Also when people describe [name_f]Grace[/name_f] as being an uncommon virtue name. Not here it isn’t: I literally know a dozen [name_f]Grace[/name_f]'s.
Names that are really common in my local area: [name_f]Emily[/name_f] (a crazy crazy crazy amount of [name_f]Emily[/name_f]'s. It’s quite unbelievable), [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_m]Jackson[/name_m], [name_u]Ryan[/name_u], [name_u]Aidan[/name_u], [name_m]Zack[/name_m], [name_m]Joshua[/name_m], [name_u]Hayden[/name_u], [name_u]Jayden[/name_u], [name_m]Zayden[/name_m], [name_u]Taj[/name_u], Jye, [name_u]Kai[/name_u], [name_m]Caden[/name_m], [name_m]Kale[/name_m] / [name_m]Cale[/name_m] / [name_m]Kael[/name_m], etc, [name_f]Shaniqua[/name_f], [name_f]Tanisha[/name_f] / Taneesha / Zaneesha, Zamika / [name_f]Tamika[/name_f], Zaya, Maya, etc.
I think [name_f]Shaniqua[/name_f], [name_f]Tanisha[/name_f], Zaneesha and Zamika are more a local thing than Australia wide, but I am pretty sure the other names are fairly common Australia wide. [name_u]Taj[/name_u], Jye and [name_u]Kai[/name_u] are especially popular in beach side towns.
I second what @nooshi said about [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] and [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m] - I know so many Imogens and Lachlans!
Something to really consider about Australian pronunciation: whenever a name ends in -er (e.g. [name_u]Piper[/name_u]) it will be pronounced as an -a or -ah sound (i.e. [name_u]Piper[/name_u]'s ending sounds exactly the same as [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]'s ending to me).
Speaking of [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], it’s very popular here. Probably at least in part to the old Australian song ‘Waltzing [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]’.
Also, aw and or sound the same. I always get really confused when people on NB say things like:
‘which pronunciation do you prefer: [name_m]LAW[/name_m]-rel or LOR-rel for [name_f]Laurel[/name_f]?’
We wouldn’t say either, we say [name_f]Laurel[/name_f] as [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] with an ‘l’ (lo-rel / loh-rel, the ‘o’ sound like the ‘o’ in [name_f]Olive[/name_f] or [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f]). However, both AW and OR (lore and law) sound exactly the same to us, so it really confuses me.
I see a lot of names ending in “-er” or “-or” spelled with with just an “-a” or “-ah.” For example, [name_u]Taylor[/name_u] becomes [name_f]Tayla[/name_f]. In Australia, -er and -ah pretty much sound the same, so [name_u]Taylor[/name_u] and [name_f]Tayla[/name_f] sound alike, but to someone outside of [name_m]Oz[/name_m] it sounds very weird and abbreviated.
As an Australian [name_u]Taylor[/name_u], I can confirm that. There was a [name_f]Tayla[/name_f] at my school as well, and my Canadian friend pronounced our names with completely different endings; it was strange to hear.
Thanks for all the replies guys! @cheshirekat I’m actually English, so if anyone wants to know about English naming I could probably lend a hand 
imogen is really popular here too, but I’ve never met a [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m]. With my accent, I say [name_f]Tayla[/name_f] for [name_u]Taylor[/name_u] too. I don’t really have the stereotypical English accent so most names that end in er/or I pronounce with an ah.