Island Health introduced the Island’s first newborn of the new year.

Ferguson “Gus” Kenneth Ouellet Mitchell was born at Victoria General Hospital at 2:06 yesterday morning, weighing in at 7lbs 8oz.

Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, Noah is the front-runner for the most popular name for babies born in B.C.

Noah is followed by Oliver, Olivia, Theodore, Liam, Jack, Emma, Sophia, Ethan and Leo, according to the Vital Statistics Agency’s preliminary figures for 2023.

In 2022, the top names for babies born in B.C. were Noah, Olivia, Oliver, Liam, Theodore, Jack, Emma, Lucas, Leo and Sophia.

Only names that occur five or more times are listed.

More than 37,650 babies were registered as born in B.C. last year.