According to data from Spain’s Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), the most popular baby names in Spain in 2015 were Lucia and Hugo.
Here are Spain’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2015:
| Girl Names | Boy Names |
|---|---|
| 1. Lucia, 5,229 baby girls 2. Maria, 4,516 3. Martina, 4,447 4. Paula, 3,854 5. Sofia, 3,525 6. Daniela, 3,392 7. Alba, 3,082 8. Julia, 3,006 9. Carla, 2,951 10. Sara, 2,936 | 1. Hugo, 5,162 baby boys 2. Daniel, 4,578 3. Pablo, 4,202 4. Martin, 4,078 5. Alejandro, 3,994 6. Adrian, 3,341 7. Alvaro, 3,244 8. David, 2,993 9. Lucas, 2,904 10. Mario, 2,825 |
Lucia has held the #1 spot since 2003, and Hugo since 2012.
In the girls’ top 10, Alba rose 3 spots, and Julia replaced Valeria.
In the boys’ top 10, Martin rose 4 spots, and Lucas replaced Diego.
In the top 100, Miguel and Jose rank 23rd and 38th, respectively, while the related compound names Miguel Angel and Jose Antonio rank 86th and 94th, respectively.
Other interesting names in the top 100 include…
- Laia, 34th for girls. It’s a short form of Eulalia in Catalan. Laia ranks 3rd for girls in Catalonia specifically.
- Leire and Leyre, 39th and 50th for girls. They refer to the Monastery of San Salvador of Leyre in Navarre. Leyre ranks 10th in Navarre specifically.
- Nerea, 46th for girls. It’s based on the Basque word nere, meaning “my” or “mine” — kind of like a Basque version of Mia.
- Triana, 38th for girls. Perhaps inspired by the Triana neighborhood of Seville…?
- Iria, 69th for girls. It might be a form of Irene, based on the ancient Greek word for “peace.” The Marian apparitions of Fátima occurred at the Cova da Iria.
- Biel, 71st for boys. It’s a short form of Gabriel in Catalan. Biel ranks 5th for boys in Catalonia specifically.
- Ibai, 99th for boys. It’s the Basque word for “river.” It ranks 4th in both Navarre and the Basque Country.
Here are Spain’s 2014 rankings.
Sources:
- Kotetishvili, Elene. “Hugo and Lucia are top choice for Spanish infants.” EuroWeekly 23 May 2016.
- Apellidos y nombres más frecuentes – INEbase
Image: Adapted from Flag of Spain (public domain)
