Did you know that France is the most-visited tourist destination in the world?
Last year, the country welcomed about 738,000 babies. The most popular names among these babies were Jade (pronounced zhahd) and Gabriel.
Here are France’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:
Girl Names
- Jade, 3,802 baby girls
- Louise, 3,768
- Emma, 3,202
- Ambre, 3,017
- Alice, 2,769
- Rose, 2,703
- Anna, 2,515
- Alba, 2,504
- Romy, 2,446
- Mia, 2,430
- Lina, 2,366
- Lou, 2,222
- Julia, 2,212
- Chloé, 2,210
- Léna, 2,093
- Léa, 2,039
- Agathe, 2,020
- Iris, 2,006
- Nina, 1,896
- Juliette, 1,870
- Inaya, 1,867 – an Urdu name derived from the Arabic word inayah, meaning “care, concern.”
- Zoé, 1,840
- Jeanne, 1,727
- Léonie, 1,726
- Charlie, 1,725
- Eva, 1,709
- Mila, 1,706
- Luna, 1,686
- Adèle, 1,661
- Victoire, 1,648
- Inès, 1,594
- Olivia, 1,594
- Lola, 1,547
- Victoria, 1,537
- Lucie, 1,493
- Margaux, 1,472
- Romane, 1,458
- Giulia, 1,454
- Camille, 1,428
- Sofia, 1,381
- Charlotte, 1,352
- Alix, 1,349
- Nour, 1,274
- Lyana, 1,237
- Margot, 1,225
- Sarah, 1,214
- Louna, 1,209 – likely based on Luna (#28).
- Mya, 1,182
- Manon, 1,177
- Lya, 1,158
Boy Names
- Gabriel, 4,974 baby boys
- Léo, 4,358
- Raphaël, 3,957
- Louis, 3,715
- Arthur, 3,598
- Jules, 3,594
- Maël, 3,438
- Noah, 3,384
- Adam, 3,148
- Lucas, 3,054
- Hugo, 2,905
- Gabin, 2,719 – based on the Latin name Gabinus, which might have referred to the ancient city of Gabii (located in what is now central Italy).
- Liam, 2,672
- Sacha, 2,628
- Aaron, 2,496
- Léon, 2,362
- Isaac, 2,322
- Paul, 2,291
- Nathan, 2,286
- Noé, 2,276
- Eden, 2,260
- Mohamed, 2,183
- Ethan, 2,104
- Tom, 1,995
- Malo, 1,935 – a Breton name probably derived from the Old Breton elements mach, meaning “pledge, hostage,” and lou, meaning “luminous; beautiful.”
- Naël, 1,919
- Théo, 1,902
- Marius, 1,868
- Nino, 1,838
- Marceau, 1,834
- Mathis, 1,801
- Victor, 1,768
- Ayden, 1,753
- Milo, 1,723
- Martin, 1,712
- Tiago, 1,658
- Robin, 1,657
- Axel, 1,571
- Timéo, 1,541
- Eliott, 1,538 (tie)
- Lyam, 1,538 (tie)
- Enzo, 1,503
- Antoine, 1,445
- Nolan, 1,439
- Augustin, 1,430
- Gaspard, 1,379
- Valentin, 1,362
- Amir, 1,309
- Samuel, 1,301
- Côme, 1,300 – (pronounced kohm, as in the brand name Lancôme) the French form of Cosmas, ultimately derived from the ancient Greek word kosmos, meaning “order.”
The girls’ top 100 included Capucine (52nd), Apolline (65th), Thaïs (82nd), and Garance (98th).
The boys’ top 100 included Sohan (55th), Kaïs (58th), Soan (66th), and Livio (81st).
Soan, a variant spelling of Sohan, has been popularized recently by French singer/songwriter Soan (born Julien Decroix).
Also on the boys’ list, Charly (#78) pulled ahead of Charlie (#90) after the names saw nearly identical levels of usage in 2020. I wonder if this means that Charly is emerging as the preferred male spelling of the name…?
Gabriel also topped the rankings for the capital city of Paris last year. Jade, on the other hand, didn’t even make the top 10 — it was way down in 32nd place.
Finally, here are France’s 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.
Sources: Classement des prénoms en France depuis 1900 – Insee, Demography report 2021 – Insee, World Tourism rankings – Wikipedia, Behind the Name, Malo (saint) – Wikipeda
Image: Adapted from Flag of France (public domain)
