Popular baby names in Brazil, 2025

Flag of Brazil
Flag of Brazil

Brazil, the largest and most populous country in South America, welcomes well over 2,000,000 babies every year.

What were the most popular names among last year’s babies specifically? Helena and Ravi, according to data released in mid-December by Arpen-Brasil.

Here are Brazil’s projected top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2025:

Girl names

  1. Helena, 28,271 baby girls
  2. Maitê, 20,677
  3. Cecilia, 20,378
  4. Maria Cecília, 16,889
  5. Aurora, 16,506
  6. Alice, 14,777
  7. Laura, 14,487
  8. Antonella, 10,436
  9. Isis, 10,378
  10. Heloísa, 9,703

Boy names

  1. Ravi, 21,982 baby boys
  2. Miguel, 21,654
  3. Heitor, 17,751
  4. Arthur, 17,514
  5. Theo, 16,766
  6. Gael, 16,201
  7. Bernardo, 15,395
  8. David, 14,425
  9. Noah, 14,182
  10. Samuel, 14,021

Ravi — which replaced Miguel as the country’s No. 1 boy name — has been used by several high-profile Brazilian content creators recently. Influencers Vitória di Felice Moraes (a.k.a., Viih Tube) and Eliezer do Carmo welcomed a son named Ravi in November of 2024, for instance.

I haven’t posted about Brazil’s top baby names in the last few years, but here are the rankings for 2021. (Ravi wasn’t even in the top ten yet at that point!)

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Brazil (public domain)

Popular baby names in Portugal, 2025

Flag of Portugal
Flag of Portugal

In 2025, from January through November, the European country of Portugal welcomed approximately 87,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Maria and Francisco, yet again, according to provisional data released in late December, 2025, by the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN).

Here are Portugal’s projected top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2025:

Girl names

  1. Maria, 4,791 baby girls
  2. Alice, 1,195
  3. Leonor, 1,146
  4. Matilde, 1,047
  5. Benedita, 963
  6. Aurora, 874
  7. Olívia, 722
  8. Carolina, 714
  9. Camila, 703
  10. Francisca, 692

Boy names

  1. Francisco, 1,495 baby boys
  2. Tomás, 1,356
  3. Duarte, 1,256
  4. Afonso, 1,226
  5. Vicente, 1,201
  6. João, 1,095
  7. Lourenço, 1,087
  8. Martim, 980
  9. Miguel, 928
  10. Gabriel, 896

Maria has been the No. 1 name in Portugal since 2004. Before that, the top girl name was Ana.

Finally, here’s a link to Portugal’s 2024 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Source: Camilo, Diogo. “Veja a lista dos nomes de bebés mais escolhidos em Portugal em 2025.” Rádio Renascença 22 Dec. 2025.

Image: Adapted from Flag of Portugal (public domain)

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2024

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

In 2024, the country of South Africa welcomed more than 787,900 babies.*

What were the most popular names among these babies? Onalerona and Lethabo, for the third year in a row.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Onalerona, 2,289 baby girls
  2. Zanokuhle, 2,223
  3. Melokuhle, 2,108
  4. Lisakhanya, 2,097
  5. Lethabo, 1,934
  6. Nkanyezi, 1,824
  7. Onthatile, 1,765
  8. Lesedi, 1,745
  9. Omphile, 1,725
  10. Olwemihla, 1,591

Boy names

  1. Lethabo, 2,791 baby boys
  2. Lubanzi, 1,907
  3. Nkazimulo, 1,808
  4. Nkanyezi, 1,691
  5. Langelihle, 1,555
  6. Lesedi, 1,519
  7. Lethokuhle, 1,508
  8. Siphosethu, 1,484
  9. Junior, 1,467
  10. Leano, 1,441

And what about middle names? The top five middles for girls were Precious, Princess, Blessing, Angel, and Faith, and the top five middles for boys were Junior, Blessing, Gift, Prince, and Jayden.

Finally, here’s a link to South Africa’s 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare.

*Tens of thousands of South African newborns are registered late every year, so the true total will likely be much higher than this.

Sources (both from Statistics South Africa): Recorded live births, 2024, What’s in a Name? South Africa’s Baby Naming Trends Tell a Story of Hope and Heritage

Image: Adapted from Flag of South Africa (public domain)

Preliminary 2025 baby name rankings for five U.S. states

peeking nun

We won’t have access to the federal government’s next batch of baby name data until May, but five U.S. states — Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Rhode Island — have released preliminary rankings for 2025. Let’s check them out, starting in the east and moving westward…

Rhode Island

According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names in 2025.

Top girl names, RITop boy names, RI
1. Charlotte
2. Olivia
3. Amelia
4. Isabella
5. Sophia
6. Aurora
7. Ava
8. Maeve
9. Nora
10. Isla		1. Noah
2. Liam
3. Oliver
4. Theodore
5. Benjamin
6. Luca
7. Lucas
8. Henry
9. John
10. Jack

Mississippi

According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names in 2025.

Top girl names, MSTop boy names, MS
1. Amelia
2. Charlotte
3. Olivia
4. Ava
5. Elizabeth
6. Mary
7. Ivy
8. Nova
9. Emma & Lainey (tie)
10. Ellie		1. James
2. William
3. John
4. Noah
5. Elijah
6. Liam
7. Waylon
8. Hudson
9. Henry
10. Levi

Louisiana

According to the Louisiana Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names in 2025.

Top girl names, LATop boy names, LA
1. Amelia
2. Charlotte
3. Olivia
4. Emma
5. Eleanor
6. Harper
7. Sophia
8. Evelyn
9. Ellie
10. Nova		1. Noah
2. Liam
3. James
4. John
5. Elijah
6. Oliver
7. William
8. Hudson
9. Joseph
10. Henry

New Mexico

According to the New Mexico Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names in 2025.

Top girl names, NMTop boy names, NM
1. Olivia
2. Mia
3. Sophia
4. Sofia
5. Camila
6. Eliana
7. Amelia
8. Isabella
9. Aurora
10. Aria		1. Noah
2. Liam
3. Mateo
4. Elijah
5. Santiago
6. Sebastian
7. Ezra
8. Elias
9. Levi
10. Ezekiel

Arizona

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names in 2025.

Top girl names, AZTop boy names, AZ
1. Olivia
2. Sophia
3. Mia
4. Isabella
5. Emma
6. Amelia
7. Charlotte
8. Eliana
9. Camila
10. Sofia		1. Noah
2. Liam
3. Mateo
4. Santiago
5. Oliver
6. Elias
7. Elijah
8. Theodore
9. Sebastian
10. Ezra

See anything interesting/unexpected so far?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from A trompe l’œil with a young nun peeking out through a shutter (public domain)