I’ve never posted rankings for Albania before, so even though these are out-of-date — even more so than the Iowa rankings from earlier this week — I figured it would be better to have one set as opposed to nothing at all. :)
According to Albania’s Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), the most popular baby names in the country in 2019 were Amelia and Noel.
Here are Albania’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:
Girl names
- Amelia, 499 baby girls
- Ajla, 327
- Aria, 182 (tie)
- Amelja, 182 (tie)
- Leandra, 145
- Ambra, 144
- Klea, 121
- Melisa, 114 (tie)
- Amaris, 114 (tie)
- Reina, 104
Boy names
- Noel, 402 baby boys
- Aron, 190
- Joel, 188
- Roan, 178
- Amar, 170
- Mateo, 146
- Alteo, 121
- Luis, 115 (tie)
- Roel, 115 (tie)
- Dion, 113
The following names didn’t make Albania’s top 10, but did rank #1 in at least one Albanian municipality:
| Other top girl names | Other top boy names |
| Adela, Adriana, Ajsela, Alesia, Alesja, Alisja, Ariela, Arilena, Jasmina, Kostandina, Marilena, Natalia | Ajan, Albi, Albjon, Aleandro, Alesio, Alfjo, Alison, Amelio, Anesti, Angjelo, David, Denis, Enea, Ergi, Hristos, Mihal, Nezir, Rafael, Samuel, Xhoel |
An article about Albanian baby names published several years ago mentioned that, in 2014, none of the top ten names of either gender were of Albanian origin. University of Tirana sociology professor Edmond Dragoti argued that the trendiness of foreign names could be traced back to the fall of communism in Albania because, during the communist era, such names had been banned. He explained:
All the frustration about [parents] not being able to name their children as they wished exploded after the 1990s, when Albania opened up. The unlimited and uncontrolled new freedom quickly surpassed the need for a national identity.
Sources: Emrat më të përdorur për bebet shqiptare në 2019-n! Para se të vendosësh shiko listën, Top 10 names used in the last year – INSTAT, Emrat e rinj – INSTAT, Craze For Foreign Names Alarms Albanian Patriots
Image: Adapted from Flag of Albania (public domain)
