The German cities of Karlsruhe and Pforzheim are located about 20 miles away from one another in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.
What were the most popular baby names in each city last year?
Let’s look at the larger one first…
Karlsruhe
The city of Karlsruhe — whose name means “Karl’s repose” in German — welcomed approximately 4,600 babies last year. (Notably, more than half of these babies were born to parents who lived outside the city.)
Here are Karlsruhe’s top 10+ girl names and top 10+ boy names of 2024:
Girl names
- Emma, 34 baby girls
- Mila, 33
- Lina, 26
- Ida, 23
- Ella, 22
- Malia, 21 (tie)
- Marie, 21 (tie)
- Leni, 18 (tie)
- Mia, 18 (tie)
- Anna, 17 (4-way tie)
- Lia, 17 (4-way tie)
- Lotte, 17 (4-way tie)
- Nora, 17 (4-way tie)
- Amelie, 16 (3-way tie)
- Lara, 16 (3-way tie)
- Mara, 16 (3-way tie)
- Sophie, 15
Boy names
- Levi, 29 baby boys (tie)
- Noah, 29 (tie)
- Elias, 28 (tie)
- Emil, 28 (tie)
- Paul, 27
- Liam, 25 (tie)
- Samuel, 25 (tie)
- Leon, 24 (tie)
- Milan, 24 (tie)
- Luca, 23
- Anton, 22 (tie)
- Ben, 22 (tie)
- Jakob, 21
- David, 20 (5-way tie)
- Finn, 20 (5-way tie)
- Jonathan, 20 (5-way tie)
- Leo, 20 (5-way tie)
- Theo, 20 (5-way tie)
- Emilio, 19
Pforzheim
The city of Pforzheim welcomed more than 2,700 babies last year. (As of December 19, the total count was 2,731.)
Here are Pforzheim’s projected top 3 girl names and top 3 boy names of 2024:
Girl names
- Lina, 20 baby girls
- Sophia, 16
- The spelling “Sofia” was given to another 9 baby girls.
- Emilia, 14
Boy names
- Leon, 23 baby boys (tie)
- Liam, 23 (tie)
- Elias, 18
I’ve never posted rankings for either Karlsruhe or Pforzheim before, but here are the most recent (albeit unofficial) rankings for Germany itself.
Sources:
- Givoni, Tina. “Das waren 2024 die beliebtesten Vornamen in Karlsruhe.” Badische Neueste Nachrichten 3 Jan. 2025.
- Metzbaur, Birgit. “Beliebteste Babynamen 2024: Pforzheim setzt auf Lina, Leon und Liam.” Badische Neueste Nachrichten 2 Jan. 2025.
Image: Adapted from Flag of Germany (public domain)
