According to Peru’s National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC), the most popular baby names in the country last year were Mia and Liam.
Peru released a single set of rankings that combined both genders, so here are Peru’s top 20 baby names overall for 2020:
- Liam, 4,179 babies
- Thiago, 3,398
- Dylan, 3,150
- Mia, 2,510
- Gael, 2,484
- Camila, 1,929
- Alessia, 1,856
- Luciana, 1,838
- Mateo, 1,837
- Zoe, 1,530
- Ian, 1,458
- Luis, 1,374
- Valentina, 1,335
- Aitana, 1,298
- Danna, 1,295
- Lucas, 1,248 (tie)
- Santiago, 1,248 (tie)
- Luana, 1,239
- Juan, 1,228
- Ariana, 1,213
I haven’t been able to track down Peru’s rankings for 2019, but in 2018 the top two names were the same.
RENIEC regularly tweets about Peru’s unusual baby names, so I can also tell you that, within the last few years, the country has welcomed babies named…
- Lapadula (15 babies) + Gianluca Lapadula (4)
- after Italian soccer player Gianluca Lapadula
- Peter Parker (5) + Spiderman (1)
- Gareca (3)
- after former Argentine soccer player Ricardo Gareca, who now manages Peru’s national team
- Mark Zuckerberg (2)
- Bo-derek (1) + Boderek (1)
- Bad Bunny
- Beethovena
- Gremlins
- Kardasham
- Neilamstrong
- Netflix
- Philcollins
- Pringles
- Rafael Nadal
Finally, Peru has put together several cool online booklets (PDFs) highlighting the names and naming practices of various indigenous groups within the country, so here’s a sampling of names from each of the booklets…
- Aimara names:
- Amuyiri, “thinker”
- Iqilla, “flower”
- Phuyo, “bird feather”
- Qhispi, “quartz, rock crystal, transparent object, mirror”
- Thalutari, “calming, lulling”
- Asháninkas names:
- Chabaka, species of toucan
- Kamore, “galaxy, milky way”
- Manchori, “herbalist”
- Sabaro, species of parrot
- Yonamine, “act of looking at you”
- Awajún names:
- Esámat, “heal the wound”
- Nanchíjam, “little bird that eats rice”
- Púmpuk, owl species
- Tíi, “hard as stone” (implies stoicism)
- Úum, “blowgun”
- Jaqaru names:
- Kukiri, “pigeon, dove”
- Nup’i, “the heat that is received from the sun’s rays”
- Pajshi, “moon”
- Qajsiri, “waterfall”
- Waraja, “star”
- Matsés names:
- Badi
- Chidopiu
- Didu
- Mëbu
- Tamu
- Quechua names:
- Liwyaq, “lightning”
- Qullqi, gold or silver metal
- Waqra, “horn”
- Willka, “sun”
- Yaku, “water”
- Shipibo-Konibo names:
- Biri, “dazzling”
- Kesin, “strip; fine and transparent banana fiber”
- Panshin, “yellow”
- Xeka, “vanilla”
- Wasan, “puffin”
- Wampís names:
- Apaape, “elusive”
- Chunchumanch, “snail”
- Dekentai, “bruise” (implies strength)
- Mamainkur, “yucca flower”
- Pamau, “tapir”
Sources:
- Año Nuevo: Conoce los 20 nombres preferidos por los padres para registrar a sus hijos en 2020
- Various RENIEC Perú tweets (Dec. 2021, Mar. 2020, Dec. 2020, Mar. 2019, Mar. 2018)
Image: Adapted from Flag of Peru (public domain)
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