Baby Name: Eeli

According to the Population Register Centre of Finland (Väestörekisterikeskus), the most popular baby names in the country in 2018 were Eevi and Eeli.

Here are Finland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl Names

1. Eevi, 304 baby girls
2. Sofia, 265
3. Venla, 252
4. Ella, 248
5. Aino, 247
6. Aada, 244
7. Helmi, 237
8. Emma, 230
9. Olivia, 227
10. Isla, 224

Boy Names

1. Eeli, 404 baby boys
2. Elias, 388
3. Leo, 365
4. Oliver, 330
5. Eino, 317
6. Väinö, 281
7. Onni, 278
8. Leevi, 245
9. Niilo, 214
10. Noel, 207

In the girls’ top 10, Olivia and Isla replaced Lilja, Elli, and Enni. (Two replace three because there was a tie for 10th last year.)

In the boys’ top 10, Eeli — which wasn’t even in the top 10 in 2017 — replaced Eetu. My best guess on the sudden popularity of Eeli is young hockey player Eeli Tolvanen (pronounced EY-leh TOLL-vah-nen).

Among Finland’s Swedish-speakers (between 5% and 6% of the total population) the top baby names were Saga and William.

And in 2017, the top names in Finland overall were Aino and Leo.

Sources: Eevi ja Eeli ovat vuoden 2018 suosikkinimet, Nimet – Väestörekisterikeskus, Etunimitilasto 2018 suomenkieliset (PDF)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Finland (public domain)