Baby Name: Markus

The top baby girl and baby boy names in Norway last year were Emma and Lukas — the same as in 2009.

Here are the top ten girl names:

1. Emma (465 baby girls)
2. Linnea/Linea (452)
3. Sara/Sahra/Sarah (426)
4. Sofie/Sophie (423)
5. Nora/Norah (411)
6. Ingrid/Ingerid/Ingri (399)
7. Thea/Tea (389)
8. Emilie (387)
9. Ida (381)
10. Maja/Maia/Maya (353)

And here are the top ten boy names:

1. Lukas/Lucas (552 baby boys)
2. Emil (492)
3. Mathias/Matias (491)
4. William (443)
5. Magnus (435)
6. Markus/Marcus (428)
7. Jonas (423)
8. Kristian/Christian (400)
9. Oliver (384)
10. Alexander/Aleksander (380)

And here are a few other interesting facts:

• 52% of the girls born in 2010 have names that end with -a or -ah.
• 20% of the boys born in 2010 have biblical names.
• Mohammad was the most popular baby boy name in Oslo.
• Norwegian parents seem to be “avoiding names involving the uniquely Norwegian letters of æ, ø and å, which often cause problems and confusion in e-mail addresses and other aspects of a globalized society.”

That last point is particularly interesting. On the one hand, it’s cool that parents are gravitating toward names that will make their children’s lives simpler. On the other, names featuring Scandinavian letters like æ, ø and å represent Norway’s heritage, and it would a shame to see cultural gems like Bjørn and Jørgen fall by the wayside. (Though perhaps it’s inevitable…?)

Sources: Statistics Norway, ‘Emma’ and ‘Lukas’ most popular baby names

Image: Adapted from Flag of Norway (public domain)