Of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada, Quebec is the second-largest both in terms of population (after Ontario) and in terms of area (after Nunavut).
Last year, Quebec welcomed 80,700 babies. The most popular names among these babies? Emma and Noah.
Here are Quebec’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:
Girl Names
- Emma, 520 baby girls
- Olivia, 476
- Charlotte, 465
- Charlie, 462
- Florence, 445
- Alice, 433
- Lea, 371 (tie)
- Livia, 371 (tie)
- Rose, 321
- Juliette, 315
- Romy, 314
- Clara, 308
- Beatrice, 292
- Zoe, 278
- Mia, 268
- Eva, 261
- Chloe, 260 (tie)
- Mila, 260 (tie)
- Rosalie, 250
- Sofia, 249
- Victoria, 239
- Julia, 234
- Leonie, 219
- Jade, 214
- Maeva, 202 (tie)
- Raphaelle, 202 (tie)
- Flavie, 182
- Jeanne, 182
- Amelia, 175
- Eleonore, 169
- Elena, 168
- Billie, 167
- Camille, 163 (tie)
- Ophelie, 163 (tie)
- Adele, 160
- Elizabeth, 158
- Sophie, 150
- Ellie, 145 (tie)
- Sophia, 145 (tie)
- Lily, 134
- Oceane, 125
- Flora, 120
- Maya, 118 (tie)
- Simone, 118 (tie)
- Eloise, 117
- Alicia, 116
- Mathilde, 114 (tie)
- Romane, 114 (tie)
- Gabrielle, 111 (tie)
- Lexie, 111 (tie)
Boy Names
- Noah, 650 baby boys
- William, 616
- Liam, 586
- Thomas, 571
- Leo, 563
- Edouard, 482
- Jacob, 451
- Arthur, 446 (tie)
- Louis, 446 (tie)
- Nathan, 430
- Emile, 429
- Charles, 408
- Felix, 400
- Theo, 385
- Logan, 384
- Adam, 369
- Arnaud, 349
- Raphael, 344
- Jules, 315
- James, 294
- Henri, 290
- Victor, 289
- Theodore, 277
- Lucas, 270
- Elliot, 261
- Laurent, 260
- Jackson, 259
- Benjamin, 256
- Nolan, 254
- Samuel, 247
- Alexis, 246
- Gabriel, 244
- Milan, 226
- Olivier, 223
- Antoine, 219
- Eloi, 218
- Ethan, 213
- Matheo, 211
- Jayden, 203
- Axel, 200
- Jake, 198
- Eli, 197
- Zack, 178
- Leonard, 164
- Robin, 163
- Louka, 157
- Mathis, 154
- Hubert, 148
- Zachary, 145
- Mayson, 143
The girls’ top 100 included Laurence (53rd), Clemence (71st), Stella (75th), and Dahlia (97th).
The boys’ top 100 included Tristan (55th), Ludovic (61st), Tyler (75th), and Maverick (93rd).
Below are some of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Quebec last year:
| Unique Girl Names | Unique Boy Names |
| Arsaniq, Brythanie, Celestia, Dashnie, Everly-Andalucia, Florabelle, Guerlandine, Halanna, Itzia, Joneer, Kana, Lista, Midland, Namra, Orchina, Paulasie, Qullik, Raffie, Sirpaluk, Thelora, Uashtuashkuan, Veola, Wapikon, Xerra, Yrina, Zoulfa | Adonijah, Brivael, Cleamsburg, Dodnerlyn, Enzau, Forty, Glauca, Halprin, Ihaziel, Joanassie, Kittir, Lorio, Mihkwaabin, Napessis, Orso, Pinaskin, Qumanguaq, Roosely, Shmaryahu, Timangiak, Uziar, Valmond, Waastuskun, Wakinyan, Xavyn, Yasten, Zotique |
Some possible explanations/associations for a few of the above:
- Arsaniq means “northern lights” in Inuktitut.
- Glauca might be a reference to white spruce (Picea glauca), a type of tree found throughout Canada.
- Napessis is based on napesis, the Cree word for “small boy.”
- Qullik (like Qulliq in the 2021 data) refers to an Inuit soapstone lamp.
- Qumanguaq (which was also used in 2020) refers to a mountain in Nunavut.
- Sirpaluk refers to “one of the seal knucklebones used in an Inuit game.”
- Uashtuashkuan means “northern lights” in Innu (which is related to Cree).
- Waastuskun means “northern lights” in Cree.
- There’s a hotel in the Cree village of Chisasibi, Québec, called Waastooskuun Hotel.
- Wakinyan means “thunder” in Lakota.
- Zotique can be traced back to the ancient Greek word zotikos, meaning “full of life, alive.”
Joanassie and Paulasie (which were mentioned in the post about Canada’s 2021 rankings) are two examples of Inuktitut-influenced Christian names.
And one last name I wanted to throw in was Minokimin, which was part of a longer boy name bestowed in Quebec last year. Minokimin refers to one of the eight Algonquin seasons — specifically, to the period in late spring during which ice thaws and plants begin to grow.
Sources:
- Retraite Québec – List of Baby Names
- Births and birth rate, Québec, 1900-2022
- Population of Canada by province and territory – Wikipedia
- Online Cree Dictionary
- Northern Lights (#CreeSimonSays) – Cree Literacy Network
- Dictionnary of names – Avataq Cultural Institute
- Nickels, Scot. Importance of Experiential Context for Understanding lndigenous Ecological Knowledge: The Algonquins of Barriere Lake, Quebec. McGill University, McGill University Libraries, 1999.
Image by jacqueline macou from Pixabay
