Baby Name: Anahit

The landlocked country of Armenia is located in Western Asia and bordered by Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran.

Last year, Armenia welcomed over 36,600 babies — about 17,600 girls and about 19,000 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Nare and Davit.

Here are Armenia’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

1. Nare, 758 baby girls – a diminutive of Narine (which ranked 49th)
2. Maria, 635
3. Arpi, 540
4. Mane, 493
5. Angelina, 444
6. Marie, 402
7. Yeva, 396
8. Mariam, 357
9. Anahit, 338 – an Armenian goddess (related to the Persian goddess Anahita)
10. Anna, 305
11. Sofi, 302
12. Ani, 294
13. Ellen, 284
14. Milena, 279
15. Lyusie, 277
16. Eva, 263
17. Ariana, 259
18. Adriana, 247
19. Luse, 245
20. Tatev, 237 – from the name of the Tatev monastery
21. Yana, 231
22. Gayane, 226
23. Nane, 224 – an Armenian goddess
24. Milla, 202
25. Arina, 193
26. Emily, 187
27. Elina, 186 (tie)
28. Sona, 186 (tie)
29. Lilit, 176
30. Natalie, 170
31. Sarah, 160
32. Amelie, 155
33. Hasmik, 153 – means “jasmine” in Armenian
34. Lia, 152
35. Arevik, 148
36. Mary, 146
37. Susanna, 136
38. Viktoria, 134
39. Monika, 130
40. Gohar, 123
41. Karina, 112
42. Lili, 100
43. Sofia, 98
44. Karine, 92
45. Lusine, 89 (tie) – based on the Armenian word lusin, meaning “moon”
46. Anush, 89 (tie) – means “sweet” in Armenian
47. Lucy, 88
48. Sofya, 83 (tie)
49. Narine, 83 (tie)
50. Astghik, 82 – an Armenian goddess whose name is a diminutive of the Old Armenian word for “star”

Boy Names

1. Davit, 1,275 baby boys
2. Narek, 859
3. Monte, 647
4. Tigran, 584 – a form of Tigranes, the name of several ancient Armenian kings
5. Areg, 564
6. Hayk, 550
7. Mark, 507
8. Michael, 448
9. Alex, 385
10. Aren, 355
11. Armen, 346
12. Robert, 339
13. Daniel, 326
14. Gor, 323
15. Arthur, 321
16. Aram, 318
17. Leo, 310
18. Hovhannes, 303
19. Samvel, 298
20. Alen, 287
21. Ashot, 255 (tie)
22. Arman, 255 (tie)
23. Levon, 252
24. Erik, 232
25. Gevorg, 219
26. Gagik, 213
27. Vahe, 209
28. Arsen, 195
29. Sargis, 186
30. Artiom, 176
31. Vardan, 154
32. Karen, 152 – In Armenia, Karen is a male name! (Tell that to the manager!) It’s a short form of the Armenian name Garegin/Karekin.
33. Avet, 150
34. Albert, 126
35. Andranik, 118
36. Van, 116 – possibly from the name of Lake Van…?
37. Suren, 115
38. Raphael, 110
39. Max, 105
40. Ruben, 100 (tie)
41. Hakob, 100 (tie)
42. Alexandr, 97
43. Mher, 95
44. Grigor, 94
45. Harutyun, 90
46. Vahan, 80 – means “shield” in Armenian
47. Edgar, 75
48. Menua, 73 (tie) – the name of an ancient Armenian king
49. Henry, 73 (tie)
50. Noy, 67

Here’s a link to Armenia’s 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia (2021 pdf), Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of Armenia (public domain)