Baby Name: Viktoria

According to preliminary data released yesterday by Bulgaria’s National Statistical Institute, the most popular baby names in the country in 2016 were Viktoria and Aleksandar.

Here are Bulgaria’s projected top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:

Girl names

1. Viktoria
2. Maria
3. Nikol
4. Raya
5. Sofia
6. Aleksandra
7. Gabriela
8. Daria
9. Yoana
10. Simona

Boy names

1. Aleksandar
2. Georgi
3. Martin
4. Dimitar
5. Ivan
6. Nikola
7. Viktor
8. Daniel
9. Kaloyan
10. Nikolay

On the boys’ list, Aleksandar replaced Georgi as the #1 name.

The name Kaloyan can be traced back to Tsar Ivan II, who ruled Bulgaria from 1197 to 1207. His nickname, “Kaloyan,” was based on the Greek phrase kalos Ioannes, meaning “handsome John.” In fact, an increasing number of baby boys are being named after the “khans and the kings of the First and Second Bulgarian Kingdom, for example Asparuh, Tervel, Simeon, Samuil, Kaloyan.”

Trendy girl name Krisia isn’t in the top 10, but it was given to 169 baby girls in 2016 (and 222 in 2015) thanks to the influence of Bulgarian child singer Krisia Todorova.

And what are the most common first names in Bulgaria overall?

Female names overall

1. Maria
2. Ivanka
3. Elena
4. Yordanka
5. Penka
6. Daniela
7. Rositsa
8. Desislava
9. Petya
10. Gergana

Male names overall

1. Georgi
2. Ivan
3. Dimitar
4. Nikolay
5. Petar
6. Hristo
7. Aleksandar
8. Stefan
9. Yordan
10. Vasil

Interesting entries in the overall top 20 include the female name Rumyana and the male names Stoyan, Atanas (from Athanasius), and Plamen.

Sources: Names in Bulgaria in 2016 (preliminary data) – NSI (PDF), Kaloyan – Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of Bulgaria (public domain)