The country of the Netherlands, located in Northwestern Europe, is bordered by both Belgium and Germany.
Last year, from January to November, the Netherlands welcomed more than 168,000 babies — over 82,000 girls and over 86,000 boys.
What were the most popular names among these babies? Emma and Noah.
Here are the Netherlands’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:
Girl Names
- Emma, 677 baby girls
- Julia, 655
- Mila, 624
- Sophie, 620
- Olivia, 591
- Yara, 559
- Saar, 532 – short form of Sarah
- Nora, 524
- Tess, 509
- Noor, 501
- Milou, 489
- Sara, 486
- Liv, 482
- Zoë, 473
- Evi, 466
- Anna, 455
- Luna, 451
- Lotte, 423 (tie)
- Nina, 423 (tie)
- Eva, 405
- Emily, 389
- Lauren, 386
- Maeve, 384
- Lina, 383
- Elin, 379
- Maud, 368
- Sarah, 350
- Nova, 345
- Loïs, 340 (tie)
- Sofia, 340 (tie)
- Mia, 339
- Sofie, 332
- Lieke, 330
- Fleur, 328
- Isa, 325
- Fien, 324 – short form of Josefien
- Lynn, 319
- Hailey, 312
- Roos, 297
- Julie, 290
- Livia, 288
- Fenna, 284 – feminine form of Fen (a Frisian short form of Ferdinand)
- Ella, 279
- Sophia, 275
- Bo, 274
- Lily, 252
- Ivy, 248
- Romée, 246
- Lena, 244
- Noé, 241
Boy Names
- Noah, 871 baby boys
- Liam, 666
- Luca, 664
- Lucas, 652
- Mees, 621 – short form of Bartholomeus
- Finn, 596
- James, 594
- Milan, 591
- Levi, 585
- Sem, 582
- Daan, 538
- Noud, 533 – short form of Arnoud (the Dutch form of Arnold)
- Luuk, 518
- Adam, 508
- Sam, 495
- Bram, 470
- Zayn, 447
- Mason, 440
- Benjamin, 409
- Boaz, 369
- Siem, 360 – short form of Simon
- Guus, 356
- Morris, 353
- Olivier, 349 (tie)
- Thomas, 349 (tie)
- Teun, 346 – short form of Antonius
- Gijs, 335 (tie) – short form of Gijsbert
- Mats, 335 (tie)
- Max, 326
- Jesse, 317
- Julian, 315
- Otis, 314
- Floris, 312
- Lars, 307
- David, 304 (tie)
- Jake, 304 (tie)
- Moos, 303 – short form of Mozes
- Rayan, 300
- Jens, 291
- Joep, 289
- Owen, 286
- Thijs, 273
- Jan, 270 (3-way tie)
- Oliver, 270 (3-way tie)
- Willem, 270 (3-way tie)
- Mick, 269
- Jack, 262
- Jurre, 259 – short form of Jurryt (the Frisian form of Gerard)
- Abel, 254
- Kai, 253
Dutch onomastician Gerrit Bloothooft noted that, if similar names had been counted together, the name-groups Saar/Sara/Sarah and Luca/Lucas/Luuk would have topped the girls’ list and the boys’ list, respectively.
The girls’ top 100 included Cato (55th), Veerle (60th), Puck (75th), and Merel (83rd).
The boys’ top 100 included Jaxx (56th), Sven (64th), Hidde (72nd), and Jip (78th).
Finally, here are the Netherlands’ 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare.
Sources: Kindernamen home | Kindernamen | SVB, Emma en Noah de populairste kindernamen van 2022, Population growth almost doubled in 2022, Behind the Name
Image: Adapted from Flag of the Netherlands (public domain)