Popular baby names in Malta, 2023

Last year, the Mediterranean island nation of Malta welcomed 4,204 babies — 2,042 girls and 2,162 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emma and Matteo.

Here are Malta’s top 4 girl names and top 4 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

1. Emma
2. Valentina
3. Julia
4. Nina

Boy names

1. Matteo
2. Noah
3. Luca
4. Jack

And what about Maltese names specifically?

For the second year in a row, the top picks were Lucija (pronounced loo-chee-ah) and Ganni (pronounced jah-nee) — the Maltese forms of Lucia and John. Here’s how they’re written in Maltese orthography:

(That diacritic mark is called an “overdot.”)

In 2022, the top names (overall) in Malta were Mia and Luca.

Source: “Ganni and Lucija remain the most popular Maltese baby names.” Times of Malta 17 Jan. 2024.

Image: Adapted from Flag of Malta (public domain)