The country of Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe. It shares a border with Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova.
According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice, the top baby names of 2023 in the center-west part of the country — the city of Kyiv plus five nearby oblasts (Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy) — were Mariya (Maria) and Yeva (Eva) for girls and Mark and Oleksandr (Alexander) for boys.
Here’s a visual of the area:
Below you’ll find the top names for each of the six locations. Rankings weren’t specified, so, in the tables below, I’ve written the names in the order in which they appeared in the news release.
Kyiv (city)
Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, has a population of over 2.9 million. Here are Kyiv’s top baby names of 2023:
| Girl names | Boy names | |
| City of Kyiv | Mariya Solomiya Yeva Polina | Maksym Mark Tymofiy Oleksandr Danylo Mykhaylo |
The city’s rare names included…
- Girls: Paulina, Oriyana, Yevdokiya, Klara, Vesna, Vedana, Dana, Astrid, Dzvinka-Iya, Sakhara, Oktaviya, Vohnena, Ariya, Afina-Penelopa, Yaruna, Dzvinka, Kylyna, Emmanuela, Ilariya, Mahda, Yustyna, Freya, Hlafira, Matilda, Iulianiya, Inha, Lili, Leonida, Zoreslava, Afina, Nefa
- Boys: Zoreslav, Leslav, Yanislav, Veles, Ratmyr, Kyy, Lyutsyfer, Hraf, Korniy, Budymyr, Vir, Eney, Serafym, Yerofiy, Lyuksor, Elizar, Ioann, Harri, Adonis, Ares, Iliodor, Mars, Teo, Yan, Domian, Zevs, Hrey, Kay
Lyutsyfer and Lyuksor are the Ukrainian versions of Lucifer and Luxor, and Veles is the Slavic god of the underworld.
Kyiv Oblast
Kyiv Oblast has a population of over 1.7 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:
| Girl names | Boy names | |
| Kyiv Oblast | Daryna Zlata Polina Sofiya Yeva Solomiya Anna | Tymofiy Tymur Maksym Mark Bohdan Oleksandr Dmytro |
The region’s rare names included…
- Girls: Alisi, Luna, Snyezhka, Mane, Lisanna, Yesfir, Eluna, Virsaviya, Dominika, Roksana, Adel, Francheska, Armine, Slavyana, Yeremiya
- Boys: Reyan, Leon, Karim, Sayan, Mikhey, Elman, Ruvim, Iliya, Teodor, Lavrin
Vinnytsia Oblast
Vinnytsia Oblast has a population of over 1.5 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:
| Girl names | Boy names | |
| Vinnytsia Oblast | Milana Anna Daryna Alina Anastasiya | Oleksandr Dmytro Tymofiy Denys Andriy Maksym |
The region’s rare names included…
- Girls: Aviva-Svitantsvitayne, Infiniti-Marta, Nana, Ariella, Yesfir, Aya, Yevnika, Zarichna, Hloriya, Madonna, Vilena, Zhasmina, Daliya, Ayla, Dzhulyeta, Yustiniya, Liyel
- Boys: Ruvym, Isaak, Kamil, Kimran, Yunus, Nikolos, Akim, Ernest, Ustym, Samuel, Vidar, Ilay, Ksavyer, Avel, Rozhden, Ioana
Svitantsvitayne appears to be an invented name based on the Ukrainian word svitanok, meaning “dawn.”
Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Khmelnytskyi Oblast has a population of over 1.27 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:
| Girl names | Boy names | |
| Khmelnytskyi Oblast | Anastasiya Anna Viktoriya Yeva Zlata Oleksandra Solomiya Sofiya | Artem Bohdan Vladyslav Danylo Mark Matviy Myroslav Tymofiy |
The region’s rare names included…
- Girls: Ayisha, Ameliya, Hoar, Eteri, Liliana, Miray, Tsvitana, Yaremiya
- Boys: Bohomir, Yoan, Murat, Nektariy, Nikola, Nolan, Ovsiy, Radyslav
Zhytomyr Oblast
Zhytomyr Oblast has a population of over 1.21 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:
| Girl names | Boy names | |
| Zhytomyr Oblast | Anastasiya Anhelina Daryna Yeva Milana Solomiya Tetyana Yuliya | Bohdan Vladyslav Danylo Dmytro Zakhar Yevhen Ivan Roman Taras Yaroslav |
Zakhar is a form of Zacharias, and Taras is based on the Ancient Greek name Tarasios.
The region’s rare names included…
- Girls: Avreliya, Ahata, Ahnesa, Ahlaya, Ada-Mariya, Adel, Aymel, Alana, Aliche, Aliya, Amaliya, Ariel, Afina, Beatrysa, Versaviya, Vitsentina, Hnata, Ester, Zhasmin, Kamila-Rafaila, Kvitoslava, Laura, Nila-Ester, Samira, Teona, Tereza, Faustyna, Khafsa
- Boys: Azmir, Alan, Artyom, Domyen, Elkhan, Ernest, Emmanuyil, Yehoriy, Zhdan, Ilay, Isa, Yonatan, Maverik, Matfyey, Monik, Myrolyub, Mukhammed Ali, Natan, Nikolas, Ostin, Ruvym, Savva
Myrolyub is made up of Slavic elements meaning “peace” and “love” — very good concepts to be focused on during wartime.
Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast has a population of close to 1.2 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:
| Girl names | Boy names | |
| Cherkasy Oblast | Anastasiya Anna Emiliya Yeva Zlata Miya Solomiya | Andriy Bohdan Zakhar Maksym Matviy Oleksandr Tymofiy |
The region’s rare names included…
- Girls: Alisiya, Vlastelina, Dinara, Elzara, Zakariya, Luana, Muna, Ruta, Teona
- Boys: Alim, Vakula, Dobrynya, Edem, Yeseniy, Zlatan, Ilay, Remus, Samedin, Yarem
Vakula is the protagonist of the short story “Christmas Eve” (1832) by Ukrainian-born Russian writer Nikolai Gogol (Ukranian: Mykola Hohol).
P.S. Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice released the top baby names of 2022 for Kyiv and each of the five oblasts, but not for the center-west part of the country overall.
Sources:
- Popular baby names in 2023 – Central Interregional Department of the Ministry of Justice (via Google Translate)
- Oblasts of Ukraine – Wikipedia
- Behind the Name
Image: Adapted from Flag of Ukraine (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Ukraine (1991-2014) location map by NordNordWest under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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