Of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada, Quebec is the second-largest in terms of both population (after Ontario) and area (after Nunavut).
Last year, Quebec welcomed close to 78,000 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Alice/Florence (tied) and Noah.
Here are Quebec’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:
Girl names
- Alice, 465 baby girls (tie)
- Florence, 465 (tie)
- Emma, 456
- Olivia, 430
- Charlie, 415
- Charlotte, 405
- Livia, 359
- Lea, 326
- Beatrice, 300 (tie)
- Juliette, 300 (tie)
- Clara, 296
- Mila, 295
- Romy, 294 (tie)
- Sofia, 294 (tie)
- Rose, 291
- Zoe, 280
- Mia, 253
- Eva, 222
- Rosalie, 211
- Chloe, 208
- Leonie, 200
- Victoria, 189
- Flavie, 188 (tie)
- Julia, 188 (tie)
- Jade, 183
- Adele, 180 (tie)
- Elena, 180 (tie)
- Maeva, 177
- Billie, 175
- Amelia, 159 (tie)
- Jeanne, 159 (tie)
- Raphaelle, 158
- Ophelie, 145
- Sophia, 144
- Margot, 142
- Eleonore, 140
- Sophie, 133
- Elizabeth, 132
- Clemence, 127
- Ellie, 124 (tie)
- Flora, 124 (tie)
- Camille, 123 (3-way tie)
- Laura, 123 (3-way tie)
- Maya, 123 (3-way tie)
- Lily, 121
- Simone, 119
- Jasmine, 115
- Mathilde, 109
- Sarah, 105
- Anna, 104
Boy names
- Noah, 613 baby boys
- Liam, 556
- Leo, 549
- Thomas, 535
- William, 520
- Edouard, 495
- Jacob, 468
- Louis, 427
- Nathan, 400
- Arthur, 398
- Emile, 378
- Charles, 369
- Theo, 357
- Jules, 346
- Arnaud, 329
- James, 320
- Adam, 318
- Logan, 310
- Raphael, 299
- Felix, 293
- Theodore, 273
- Laurent, 272
- Lucas, 266
- Victor, 259
- Elliot, 258
- Eloi, 254
- Henri, 251
- Benjamin, 245
- Jackson, 233
- Gabriel, 218 (tie)
- Milan, 218 (tie)
- Olivier, 207
- Nolan, 201
- Samuel, 194
- Matheo, 189
- Eli, 188 (tie)
- Ethan, 188 (tie)
- Jayden, 180
- Antoine, 175
- Alexis, 172
- Leonard, 149
- Matteo, 147
- Jake, 146
- Robin, 143
- Zack, 135
- Tristan, 132
- Luca, 128 (tie)
- Mayson, 128 (tie)
- Axel, 127
- Malik, 126
The girls’ top 100 included Romane (52nd), Lily-Rose (72nd), Yasmine (78th), and Lyvia (89th).
The boys’ top 100 included Hubert (58th), Eliott (64th), Romeo (78th), and Philippe (85th).
And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Quebec last year:
| Unique girl names | Unique boy names |
| Ateret, Balkissa, Clovia, Dunnia, Elisapee, Fauve, Genia, Hestelle, Inuluk, Japnaaz, Kaudjak, Luluthia, Miskomin, Namu, Orzala, Pimprenelle, Pulammaq, Qiana, Rydia, Subby, Tanilla, Ulluriaq, Ummaluk, Valerina, Wilsie, Xiran, Yoldez, Zivah | Auklin, Benno, Clavis, Deepak, Endri, Ferruccio, Galvany, Heston, Inukpak, Jassir, Keslin, Latevi, Melrick, Naullaq, Nipin, Orphe, Puulik, Rayler, Sorance, Tsalel, Tukalak, Uasheshkuan, Vladan, Wistaron, Xincheng, Yuutin, Zuryel |
Some definitions/associations for a few of the above:
- Ateret means “crown” in Hebrew.
- Fauve is French for “tawny” and, by extension, can refer to a big cat (such as a lion).
- Inukpak means “giant” in Inuktitut.
- Miskomin means “raspberry” in Ojibwe.
- Naullaq is based on the Inuktitut word naulaq, which refers to a harpoon head.
- Nipin means “summer” in Cree.
- Pimprenelle is French for “burnet,” which refers to herbs of the genus Sanguisorba.
- Pulammaq means “root” in Inuktitut.
- Uasheshkuan means “the sky is clear, cloudless” in Innu.
- Ulliriaq means “star” in Inuktitut.
- Yuutin means “it is windy” in East Cree.
I also spotted a single girl named Chaya Mushka, and two other babies — one girl and one boy — named Mispun, meaning “it is snowing” in East Cree.
Finally, here’s a link to Quebec’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare.
Sources:
- Retraite Québec – List of Baby Names
- Births and birth rate, Québec, 1900-2023
- Population of Canada by province and territory – Wikipedia
- Plains Cree language – Wikipedia
- Northern Lights (#CreeSimonSays) – Cree Literacy Network
- Online Cree Dictionary
- Ojibwe People’s Dictionary
- Innu Dictionary (via Algonquian Dictionaries and Language Resources Project)
- Wiktionary
Image: Adapted from Flag of Quebec (public domain)
