According to the SSA, the most popular baby names in Puerto Rico in 2016 were Valentina and Sebastian.
Here are Puerto Rico’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:
Girl Names
1. Valentina, 279 baby girls
2. Victoria, 251
3. Mia, 215
4. Amanda, 164 (2-way tie)
5. Mikaela, 164 (2-way tie)
6. Camila, 160
7. Amaia, 157
8. Emma, 156
9. Kamila, 151
10. Sofia, 136
Boy Names
1. Sebastian, 457 baby boys
2. Dylan, 362
3. Ian, 295
4. Jayden, 200
5. Adrian, 198 (2-way tie)
6. Angel, 198 (2-way tie)
7. Luis, 175
8. Mateo, 174
9. Diego, 160
10. Lucas, 147
On the girls’ side: Valentina ousted Victoria from the top spot, and Emma replaced Isabella in the top 10. Five of the top-10 names were not in the U.S. top 100: Valentina (U.S. 106th), Amanda (329th), Mikaela, (616th), Amaia (1,276th), and Kamila (341st).
On the boys’ side: the top name is still Sebastian, and Mateo and Lucas replaced Noah and Fabian in the top 10. Two of the top-10 names were not in the U.S. top 100: Luis (U.S. 112th) and Diego (129th).
The name Monica, despite 2016 the success of tennis player Monica Puig — the first Puerto Rican athlete to win an Olympic gold medal — did not re-enter the PR top 100.
The male name Keniel is losing steam, down from 31st to 42nd.
The Basque name Amaia continues to rise. So do Amaia-variants like Amahia (ranked 31st), Amaya (38th), and Amaiah (94th). (Here’s how Amaia, Amahia, Amaya, and Amaiah are doing in the U.S.) The trendiness of Amaia may be attributable to Spanish pop singer Amaia Montero (b. 1976), or to Spanish actress Amaia Salamanca (b. 1986). Similar names also in the PR top 100 are Alaia, Alahia, Anaia, Anaiah, and Nahia.
Note: The SSA doesn’t include baby name data from the five permanently inhabited U.S. territories in its annual rankings (e.g., the top 1,000). But it does release two separate lists: one for Puerto Rico (the most populous territory at 3.5 million people), one for the four other territories combined. Click below to see the complete sets of rankings.
Source: Popular Baby Names by Territory (SSA)
Image: Adapted from Flag of Puerto Rico (public domain)
.svg){kind=link}
I gather Puerto Rican parents prefer definitely feminine names for their daughters. I work in the timeshare industry, so I come across some interesting names. One of my owners is from Puerto Rico, her name is Mari (Marr-ee), while her husband is Marcelino, their daughter is Marilina.
I would agree — the PR girls’ top 100 is mainly made up of names that are clearly girl names. I only noticed one or two possible exceptions (like Genesis).