More than a million babies were born in South Africa in 2021, with many being named Melokuhle, Lethabo or Lethokuhle.
Lethabo and Melokuhle were common first and second names for boys and girls respectively, according to Stats SA.
Dlamini, followed by Nkosi and Ndlovu were still the top three most common surnames among newborns, as was the case in previous years, Stats SA said.
It said provincial differentials showed most births occurred in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
The gender ratio in 2021 was 102 male birth registrations per 100 female birth registrations, indicating slightly more male than female birth registrations.
It said a slight departure from previous patterns was observed in births by month of occurrence.
“Though most births occurred in March, with May the second most common month of birth occurrence, for the second year, January had the third highest proportion of births, with September showing an uncharacteristic lower proportion of birth occurrence.”
Information about fathers remains the biggest challenge, Stats SA said.
“In 2021 no reliable information on fathers could be provided due to a high proportion of births registered (more than 60%) without details of fathers.
“However, this is expected to change in the coming years as in September 2021 the Constitutional Court ruled that this section of the Births & Deaths Registration Act is unconstitutional,” Stats SA said.
This means unmarried fathers will have their information registered on the birth certificates of their children at home affairs.
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