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Popular baby names in Switzerland, 2023

Flag of Switzerland
Flag of Switzerland

Last year, the European country of Switzerland welcomed 80,024 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Mia and Noah.

Here are Switzerland’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Mia, 380 baby girls
  2. Emma, 376
  3. Sofia, 358
  4. Emilia, 313
  5. Elena, 286
  6. Lia, 260 (tie)
  7. Olivia, 260 (tie)
  8. Lina, 259
  9. Nora, 240
  10. Mila, 239
  11. Ella, 208
  12. Lara, 207
  13. Lena, 202
  14. Luna, 200
  15. Lea, 196
  16. Malea, 194
  17. Anna, 192
  18. Alice, 191 (3-way tie)
  19. Sophia, 191 (3-way tie)
  20. Valentina, 191 (3-way tie)
  21. Yara, 188
  22. Elina, 183
  23. Nina, 182
  24. Alina, 181
  25. Leonie, 178
  26. Aurora, 176
  27. Giulia, 172
  28. Chiara, 170
  29. Eva, 164
  30. Elin, 162 (3-way tie)
  31. Julia, 162 (3-way tie)
  32. Laura, 162 (3-way tie)
  33. Amelia, 156 (tie)
  34. Emily, 156 (tie)
  35. Livia, 155
  36. Luana, 154
  37. Sophie, 147
  38. Alma, 145
  39. Maria, 133
  40. Elisa, 131
  41. Juna, 130
  42. Sara, 126
  43. Yuna, 125
  44. Zoé, 124
  45. Dua, 120
  46. Ayla, 118 (tie)
  47. Clara, 118 (tie)
  48. Malia, 117 (tie)
  49. Mara, 117 (tie)
  50. Inaya, 114 (4-way tie)
  51. Jana, 114 (4-way tie)
  52. Lou, 114 (4-way tie)
  53. Victoria, 114 (4-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 495 baby boys
  2. Liam, 442
  3. Matteo, 362
  4. Gabriel, 284
  5. Leano, 282
  6. Leo, 273
  7. Luca, 271
  8. Leon, 255
  9. Elias, 246
  10. Lio, 245
  11. Louis, 241
  12. Nino, 201
  13. Leonardo, 196
  14. Aaron, 193
  15. Ben, 189
  16. Elio, 187
  17. Elia, 186
  18. Theo, 182
  19. Luan, 180 (tie)
  20. Samuel, 180 (tie)
  21. David, 173 (tie)
  22. Levi, 173 (tie)
  23. Livio, 172
  24. Malik, 168
  25. Mateo, 166
  26. Nico, 161
  27. Arthur, 160
  28. Adam, 158 (tie)
  29. Lian, 158 (tie)
  30. Leandro, 157
  31. Diego, 155
  32. Julian, 151
  33. Finn, 150 (tie)
  34. Mattia, 150 (tie)
  35. Noé, 146
  36. Emil, 143 (tie)
  37. Enea, 143 (tie)
  38. Nael, 141
  39. Mael, 140
  40. Levin, 138
  41. Oliver, 137
  42. Milo, 133
  43. Kian, 132
  44. Rayan, 131
  45. Enzo, 130
  46. Daniel, 129 (tie)
  47. Robin, 129 (tie)
  48. Emilio, 126 (tie)
  49. Lino, 126 (tie)
  50. Lucas, 124

The girls’ top 100 included Lynn (65th), Amira (76th), Kiara (89th), and Aurelia (94th).

The boys’ top 100 included Laurin (58th), Nevio (72nd), Andrin (88th), and Nils (93rd).

Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. Here are the top baby names among the speakers of each of these languages:

Girl namesBoy names
German speakers
(62.3% of the population)
1. Mia, 289
2. Emilia, 287
3. Sofia, 249
1. Noah, 323
2. Matteo, 282
3. Liam, 279
French speakers
(22.8% of pop.)
1. Emma, 125
2. Olivia, 103
3. Alice, 94
1. Noah, 143
2. Gabriel, 140
3. Liam, 139
Italian speakers
(8.0% of pop.)
1. Emma, 25
2. Aurora, 24
3. Ginevra/Sofia, 21 each
1. Leonardo, 38
2. Noah, 28
3. Enea, 26
Romansh speakers
(0.5% of pop.)
1. Amalia/Gianna/Hannah, 2 each1. Mauro, 4
2. Luca/Nino, 3 each

And here’s a selection of uncommon names that were given to just two babies each in Switzerland in 2023:

Rare girl names Rare boy names
Aulona, Binja, Colombe, Dorela, Elsi, Flutra, Geraldine, Helbest, Ikonija, Joanna, Katia, Lorenza, Monika, Nephele, Orlane, Palmyre, Rivka, Sira, Théodora, Ursina, Vinia, Winnie, Yma, ZerinAlerio, Brusk, Clovis, Décio, Elimelech, Fiete, Glen, Hanno, Ishan, Jigdel, Kenneth, Lulzim, Matty, Nordhen, Ousmane, Pieter, Rolf, Sherwin, Tristán, Urs, Vinzent, Waylon, Yonah, Zayon

Helbest is a Kurdish word meaning “poem,” while Lulzim is based on an Albanian verb meaning “to bloom,” “to flourish.”

Finally, here are Switzerland’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: First names of newborns – Federal Statistical Office, Languages of Switzerland – Wikipedia, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Switzerland (public domain)

What gave the baby name Ezekiel a boost in 2017?

Football player Ezekiel Elliott
Ezekiel Elliott

The baby name Ezekiel, which has been on the rise since the late 1980s, saw higher-than-expected usage in 2017 specifically:

Boys named Ezekiel (USA)Boys named Ezekiel (Texas)
20194,932 [rank: 71st]697 (14.1%)
20184,363 [rank: 87th]594 (13.6%)
20174,773 [rank: 82nd]754 (15.8%)
20163,401 [rank: 121st]444 (13.1%)
20152,811 [rank: 146th]287 (10.2%)

What caused the uptick?

My guess is football player Ezekiel “Zeke” Elliott, who was chosen fourth overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2016 NFL draft.

During his rookie season (2016-17), the running back was the top rusher in the league with 1,631 yards. (Before this, the only Cowboy to rush for more than 1,000 yards as a rookie was Tony Dorsett in the late 1970s.) He also scored 15 touchdowns.

In January of 2017, Elliott was selected to participate in his first Pro Bowl alongside teammate (and fellow rookie) Dak Prescott.

Ezekiel Elijah Elliott was born in Illinois in 1995. How did he come to have his name? Here’s how his father, Stacy Elliott, told the story:

[Ezekiel’s mother Dawn] had a vision of the Mother Plane, and when she described what she saw I went to the Book of Ezekiel and what she described fit what the book said. So she named him Ezekiel after that great prophet and Elijah after Elijah Muhammad.

What are your thoughts on the name Ezekiel?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Ezekiel Elliott 2016 by Keith Allison under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Baby names with ART: Arthur, Hartley, Stuart

paintings, art

Are you an art lover? Interested in baby names that contain the word ART?

If so, you’re in luck!

Below you’ll find hundreds of names that contain the letter sequence “a-r-t.” Most of these names come directly from the U.S. SSA’s baby name data.

  • Aarti, Aarthi, Arthi
  • Amartya
  • Art
  • Arta
  • Artadius
  • Artan
  • Artasia
  • Artavia
  • Artavion
  • Artavis
  • Artavius, Artavious
  • Arteen
  • Artelia
  • Artell
  • Artella
  • Artem
  • Artemas
  • Artemio
  • Artemis
  • Artemisa
  • Artemisia
  • Artemiy, Artemy
  • Artemus
  • Artena
  • Artensia
  • Arteo
  • Arter
  • Arteria
  • Artesha
  • Artesia
  • Artez
  • Arth
  • Artha
  • Arthar
  • Arthas
  • Arthea
  • Arthel, Arthell
  • Arthelia
  • Arthella
  • Arthemise
  • Arthena
  • Arthenia
  • Arther
  • Artherine
  • Arthetta
  • Arthor
  • Arthur
  • Arthuree
  • Arthurene
  • Arthurine
  • Arthuro
  • Arthus
  • Artia
  • Artiana
  • Artice
  • Artie, Arty, Artee
  • Artimas
  • Artimese
  • Artimus
  • Artin
  • Artina
  • Artis
  • Artisha
  • Artishia
  • Artist, Artyst
  • Arto
  • Artorius, Artorias
  • Artrell
  • Artresha
  • Artreus
  • Artrice
  • Artricia
  • Artrina
  • Artturi
  • Artur
  • Artura
  • Arturo
  • Artyom
  • Bart, Bartt
  • Bartek
  • Barth
  • Bartha
  • Bartholomew
  • Bartlett
  • Bartley, Bartly
  • Bartlomiej
  • Bartola
  • Bartolo
  • Bartolome
  • Bartolomeo
  • Barton
  • Bartosz
  • Bartow, Barto
  • Bartu
  • Barty
  • Benhart
  • Bernhart
  • Besart
  • Bogart
  • Cartavious
  • Carter, Cartyr
  • Cartez
  • Cartha
  • Carthel, Carthell
  • Carti
  • Cartier
  • Cartina
  • Cartisha
  • Cartlin
  • Cartney
  • Cartrell
  • Cartrina
  • Charta
  • Chartese
  • Chartez
  • Dalhart
  • Dart
  • Dartagnan, Dartanyan, Dartanian, Dartanyon, Dartanion
  • Dartanya
  • Dartavius, Dartavious
  • Dartez
  • Dartha
  • Darthea
  • Darthia
  • Darthula
  • Darthy
  • Dartisha
  • Dartrell
  • Dharti
  • Duarte
  • Earth
  • Eartha
  • Earther
  • Earthy
  • Erhart
  • Evart
  • Ewart
  • Fartun
  • Garth
  • Gartha
  • Gartrell
  • Gerhart
  • Hart
  • Hartej
  • Hartense
  • Hartford
  • Hartie
  • Hartlen
  • Hartley, Hartlee, Hartleigh, Hartlie, Hartly, Hartli
  • Hartlyn, Hartlynn
  • Hartman
  • Hartsel, Hartsell
  • Hartwell
  • Hartzell
  • Heart
  • Hearther
  • Heartley, Heartlee, Heartly
  • Heartlynn
  • Hobart
  • Hubart
  • Jacarter, Jakarter
  • Jartavis
  • Jartavius, Jartavious
  • Kartar
  • Karter, Kharter, Kartyr
  • Kartez
  • Karthikeyan
  • Karti
  • Kartier
  • Kartik, Karthik
  • Kartika, Karthika
  • Kartikeya, Karthikeya
  • Kartina
  • Kartrina
  • Lamart
  • Lartarsha
  • Lartha
  • Leart
  • Learta
  • Leartis
  • Lennart
  • Leonhart
  • Maarten
  • Macarthur, Mcarthur
  • Mart
  • Marta
  • Martae
  • Martain
  • Martaja, Martajah
  • Martarius
  • Martasia
  • Martavia
  • Martavian
  • Martavion, Martaveon
  • Martavis
  • Martavius, Martavious
  • Martay
  • Martaz
  • Marte
  • Marteen
  • Marteisha
  • Martel, Martell, Martelle
  • Martella
  • Martellis
  • Marten
  • Martena
  • Marterius
  • Marterrion
  • Martes
  • Martese
  • Martesha
  • Martez
  • Marteze
  • Marth
  • Martha
  • Marthalene
  • Marthana
  • Marthann, Marthanne
  • Martharee
  • Marthe
  • Marthel, Marthell
  • Marthella
  • Marthena
  • Marthenia
  • Marther
  • Marthia
  • Marthie, Marthy
  • Martia
  • Martial
  • Martiana
  • Martice
  • Marticia
  • Martiel
  • Martijn
  • Martika, Martica, Marteeka, Marteka
  • Martile
  • Martin
  • Martina
  • Martine
  • Martinez
  • Martini
  • Martiniano
  • Martinique
  • Martinis
  • Martino
  • Martinus
  • Martiqua
  • Martique
  • Martir
  • Martis
  • Martisa
  • Martise
  • Martisha
  • Martita
  • Martiza
  • Martize
  • Marton
  • Martrail
  • Martravious
  • Martrel, Martrell
  • Martrez
  • Martrice
  • Martricia
  • Martrina
  • Martwan, Martwon
  • Marty, Martie, Marti, Martee
  • Martyn
  • Martyna
  • Martynas
  • Mccarthy
  • Mccartney
  • Mccarty
  • Mozart
  • Nevart
  • Parth, Paarth
  • Partha
  • Parthena, Parthina
  • Parthenia
  • Parthiv
  • Prarthana
  • Quarterrio
  • Quartez
  • Quartney
  • Raymart
  • Reinhart, Rinehart
  • Robart
  • Saarth
  • Samarth
  • Sartaj, Sartaaj
  • Sarthak
  • Shartavia
  • Siddharth, Sidharth, Siddarth, Sidarth
  • Siddhartha
  • Spartaco
  • Spartacus
  • Spartan
  • Startasia
  • Stuart, Stewart
  • Taggart
  • Tarteel
  • Thearthur
  • Theartis
  • Vartan
  • Vedarth
  • Vidharth
  • Wharton
  • Yatharth
  • Yosgart, Yosgarth, Josgart

Some of the above are non-traditional spellings of more common names such as Heather and Robert.

Which ART name do you like most? Let me know in the comments!

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from French paintings in the Louvre, room 826 b (public domain)

Boy names on the rise in Canada, 2023

hot air balloons

Which names were the trendiest among baby boys born in Canada last year?

Below you’ll find Canada’s fastest-rising and highest-debuting boy names of 2023.

Rises (absolute)

Here are the boy names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of absolute change (number of babies) from 2022 to 2023:

  1. Zorawar, rose from 152 to 246 baby boys (+94)
  2. Myles, 356 to 430 (+74)
  3. Henry, 870 to 943 (+73)
  4. Maverick, 581 to 649 (+68)
  5. Matteo, 410 to 474 (+64)

Maverick may have been influenced by the Top Gun sequel Top Gun: Maverick, which was released in mid-2022. (In the U.S., Maverick was among the fastest-rising boy names of 2022, but not of 2023.)

Rises (relative)

Here are the boy names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of relative change (percentage of babies) from 2022 to 2023:

  1. Tage, rose from 5 to 41 baby boys (720% increase)
  2. Nawab, 10 to 44 (340%)
  3. Shubhdeep, 9 to 33 (267%)
  4. Dilawar, 5 to 18 (260%)
  5. Meir, 6 to 21 (250%)

My best guess regarding Tage — which now ranks 655th in Canada — is hockey player Tage Thompson. He’s an American who’s only ever played on American NHL teams, but his last few seasons (all with the Buffalo Sabres) have been his best yet. (The U.S. usage of Tage more than doubled last year, but the name is still nowhere near the U.S. top 1,000.)

Debuts

Finally, here are the boy names that debuted most impressively in Canada’s baby name data in 2023:

  1. Gurnawab, 24 baby boys
  2. Agaaz, 18
  3. Virasat, 15
  4. Iraj, 13 [3-way tie]
  5. Manvik, 13 [3-way tie]
  6. Vaayu, 13 [3-way tie]

Other boy-name debuts in the Canadian data included Light (8), Acre (7), Pierrot (7), and Jrue (5).

Do you have thoughts/theories about any of the names above?

Sources: First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators (Number) – Statistics Canada, Baby Names Observatory – Statistics Canada, Tage Thompson – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Turkey-2036 by Dennis Jarvis under CC BY-SA 2.0.