Popular baby names in France, 2022

France

The country of France — which was the most populous country in Europe from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, and still ranks within the top five today — shares land borders with eight other countries: Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain.

Last year, France welcomed about 723,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Jade (pronounced zhahd) and Gabriel.

Here are France’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Jade, 3,420 baby girls
  2. Louise, 3,412
  3. Ambre, 3,380
  4. Alba, 3,280
  5. Emma, 3,158
  6. Rose, 2,692
  7. Alice, 2,520
  8. Romy, 2,409
  9. Anna, 2,380
  10. Lina, 2,355
  11. Léna, 2,266
  12. Mia, 2,173
  13. Lou, 2,114
  14. Julia, 2,056
  15. Chloé, 2,004
  16. Alma, 1,974
  17. Agathe, 1,958
  18. Iris, 1,904
  19. Inaya, 1,875
  20. Charlie, 1,834
  21. Juliette, 1,802
  22. Léa, 1,791
  23. Victoire, 1,772
  24. Luna, 1,751
  25. Giulia, 1,745
  26. Adèle, 1,718
  27. Jeanne, 1,699
  28. Nina, 1,669
  29. Eva, 1,630
  30. Olivia, 1,546
  31. Zoé, 1,523
  32. Léonie, 1,511
  33. Romane, 1,481
  34. Victoria, 1,452
  35. Nour, 1,372
  36. Inès, 1,284 (tie)
  37. Lya, 1,284 (tie)
  38. Lucie, 1,261
  39. Lyana, 1,235
  40. Lola, 1,205
  41. Alix, 1,182
  42. Charlotte, 1,176
  43. Mila, 1,173
  44. Sofia, 1,168
  45. Louna, 1,163
  46. Ava, 1,153 (tie)
  47. Margaux, 1,153 (tie)
  48. Elena, 1,149
  49. Emy, 1,118
  50. Mya, 1,115

Boy Names

  1. Gabriel, 4,889 baby boys
  2. Léo, 4,078
  3. Raphaël, 3,798
  4. Maël, 3,571
  5. Louis, 3,560
  6. Noah, 3,325
  7. Jules, 3,308
  8. Arthur, 3,284
  9. Adam, 3,212
  10. Lucas, 2,774
  11. Liam, 2,715
  12. Sacha, 2,613
  13. Isaac, 2,590
  14. Gabin, 2,561
  15. Eden, 2,460
  16. Hugo, 2,447
  17. Naël, 2,325
  18. Aaron, 2,287
  19. Mohamed, 2,237
  20. Léon, 2,203
  21. Paul, 2,200
  22. Noé, 2,154
  23. Marceau, 1,970
  24. Ethan, 1,963
  25. Nathan, 1,899
  26. Théo, 1,872
  27. Tom, 1,843
  28. Nino, 1,825
  29. Marius, 1,751
  30. Ayden, 1,717
  31. Malo, 1,715
  32. Mathis, 1,636
  33. Gaspard, 1,606
  34. Martin, 1,559
  35. Lyam, 1,549
  36. Victor, 1,537
  37. Rayan, 1,484
  38. Elio, 1,432
  39. Timéo, 1,424
  40. Eliott, 1,420
  41. Milo, 1,416
  42. Robin, 1,393
  43. Tiago, 1,383
  44. Valentin, 1,378
  45. Ibrahim, 1,359
  46. Axel, 1,350
  47. Augustin, 1,317
  48. Amir, 1,305
  49. Enzo, 1,270
  50. Imran, 1,246

The girls’ top 100 included Alya (53rd), Diane (81st), Maddy (90th), and Suzanne (97th).

The boys’ top 100 included Camille (61st), Mahé (66th), Basile (78th), and Andrea (91st).

Charlie is still rising on the girls’ side — which could explain why the parents of baby boys slightly prefer the spelling Charly (73rd) over the spelling Charlie (80th) these days.

In the capital city of Paris last year, the top boy name was also Gabriel, but the top girl name was Alma instead of Jade. (Jade was tied with Léa for 10th/11th place in Paris.)

Finally, here are France’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Classement des prénoms en France depuis 1900 – Insee, Demographic report 2022 – Insee, Demographics of France – Wikipedia

Image by Rafael K. Streit from Unsplash

Popular baby names in the Channel Islands, 2022

The Channel Islands (off the coast of Normandy, France)
The Channel Islands (off the coast of France)

The Channel Islands are an archipelago located in the English Channel, close to the coast of France. They are divided into two territories, Jersey and Guernsey, and residents of both regions are considered British citizens (even though the regions themselves are not officially part of the UK).

The territory of Jersey coincides with the archipelago’s most populous island, Jersey, while the territory of Guernsey includes several of the less populous islands: Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Herm.

Jersey

Last year, Jersey welcomed a total of 835 babies — 371 girls and 464 boys. Here are Jersey’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Willow
  2. Mia
  3. Aria
  4. Sienna
  5. Lily
  6. Daisy
  7. Olivia
  8. Emily
  9. Florence
  10. Valentina

Boy Names

  1. Arthur
  2. Noah
  3. Luca
  4. Leo
  5. Lucas
  6. Oliver
  7. Theodore
  8. Frederick
  9. Finn
  10. Albert

A year earlier, the top names in Jersey were Sienna and Arthur.

(In future years, baby names in Jersey may be affected by an amendment enacted in March of 2023 that allows the island’s Superintendent Registrar to refuse to register any name that “might cause mistake, confusion, or embarrassment to the child.”)

Guernsey

Last year, Guernsey welcomed “just over 500 babies.” Here are Guernsey’s top girl names and top boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Ava, 9 baby girls
    • “In three cases it was hyphenated with another name.”
  2. Daisy, 6
  3. Evelyn, 5 (tie)
  4. Isabelle/Isabella, 5 (tie)
  5. Beatrice/Beatrix/Beatrise, 4 (7-way tie)
  6. Eden, 4 (7-way tie)
  7. Emilia, 4 (7-way tie)
  8. Isla, 4 (7-way tie)
  9. Ivy, 4 (7-way tie)
  10. Phoebe, 4 (7-way tie)
  11. Orla, 4 (7-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Freddie, 5 baby boys (tie)
  2. Jack, 5 (tie)
  3. Finley/Finlay, 4 (5-way tie)
  4. Jackson, 4 (5-way tie)
  5. James, 4 (5-way tie)
  6. Oscar, 4 (5-way tie)
  7. Rory, 4 (5-way tie)
  8. Alexander, 3 (12-way tie)
  9. Alfie, 3 (12-way tie)
  10. Arlo, 3 (12-way tie)
  11. Arthur, 3 (12-way tie)
  12. Elijah, 3 (12-way tie)
  13. Ethan, 3 (12-way tie)
  14. Harry, 3 (12-way tie)
  15. Leo, 3 (12-way tie)
  16. Noah, 3 (12-way tie)
  17. Rudy, 3 (12-way tie)
  18. Theo, 3 (12-way tie)
  19. Tommy/Tommie, 3 (12-way tie)

A year earlier, the top names in Guernsey were Olivia and a tie between Luca and Theodore. (In 2022, Olivia was given to 3 girls, Luca to a single boy, and Theodore wasn’t used at all.)

My source also mentioned that…

  • Poppy, Emily, Edie, Luna, Imogen, and Tilly were given to 3 baby girls each, Charlotte was given to 2 baby girls, and Amelia and Penelope were given to 1 baby girl each.
  • Archie and Frederick were given to 2 baby boys each, and Henry and Thomas were given to 1 baby boy each.

Finally, here’s a link to the Channel Islands’ 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Channel Islands by Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

Popular and unique baby names in Uruguay, 2021

Uruguay

The country of Uruguay, located in the southern region of South America, shares land borders with Argentina and Brazil.

According to Uruguay’s Dirección Nacional de Identificación Civil (DNIC), the most popular baby names in the country in 2021 were María and Juan.

Uruguay’s baby name rankings consist of girl and boy names mixed together on a single list. The data mostly represents first-name usage, but does include some second-name usage as well. (This is because the rankings are created from Uruguayan identity card data, and Uruguayans are permitted to add up to two given names to their ID cards.)

That said, here are Uruguay’s top 100+ baby names of 2021:

  1. María, 1,260 babies
    • María was used 858 times as a first name and 402 times as a second name.
  2. Juan, 1,023
    • Juan was used 980 times as a first name and 43 times as a second name.
  3. Benjamín, 925
  4. Maria, 889
  5. Isabella, 798
  6. Mateo, 778
  7. Valentina, 725
  8. Emma, 722
  9. Martina, 706
  10. Catalina, 658
  11. Julieta, 644
  12. Felipe, 631
  13. Sofía, 624
  14. Valentín, 615
  15. Ezequiel, 561
  16. Nicolás, 541
  17. Lorenzo, 535
  18. Emilia, 513
  19. Agustín, 487 (tie)
  20. Bautista, 487 (tie)
  21. Belén, 477
  22. Daniel, 459
  23. Manuel, 450
  24. Alejandro, 433
  25. Santiago, 429
  26. Francisco, 426
  27. Delfina, 422
  28. Lautaro, 421 (tie)
  29. Agustina, 421 (tie)
  30. Santino, 419
  31. Carlos, 417
  32. Lucas, 413
  33. Valentino, 411
  34. Dante, 407
  35. Josefina, 393
  36. Luis, 392
  37. Ignacio, 389 (tie)
  38. Gabriel, 389 (tie)
  39. Joaquín, 385
  40. Olivia, 380
  41. José, 374
  42. Thiago, 359
  43. Emiliano, 352
  44. Gael, 343
  45. Victoria, 341
  46. Francesca, 325
  47. Alberto, 324
  48. Tomás, 318
  49. Sebastián, 315
  50. Renata, 312
  51. David, 308
  52. Jose, 302
  53. Martín, 301
  54. Zoe, 296
  55. Bastian, 290
  56. Samuel, 288
  57. Milagros, 286
  58. Eduardo, 284
  59. Pilar, 280 (tie)
  60. Paulina, 280 (tie)
  61. Bruno, 278
  62. Alexander, 275 (tie)
  63. Ana, 275 (tie)
  64. Clara, 271
  65. Facundo, 267
  66. Emily, 261 (tie)
  67. Pedro, 261 (tie)
  68. Benjamin, 259
  69. Antonio, 257 (tie)
  70. Alfonsina, 257 (tie)
  71. Guadalupe, 255
  72. Sofia, 254 (tie)
  73. Vicente, 254 (tie)
  74. Pablo, 254 (tie)
  75. Federico, 253
  76. Emanuel, 251
  77. Diego, 249
  78. Jorge, 240
  79. Javier, 239
  80. Salvador, 235
  81. Rafael, 230
  82. Fernando, 229
  83. Nahuel, 228
  84. Jazmín, 226
  85. Luciano, 223
  86. Liam, 222
  87. Paz, 218
  88. Camila, 217
  89. Maite, 216
  90. Andrés, 207
  91. Ismael, 206 (tie)
  92. Miguel, 206 (tie)
  93. Alma, 205
  94. Noah, 204
  95. Mía, 203
  96. Lucía, 202 (tie)
  97. Benicio, 202 (tie)
  98. Mia, 201
  99. Franco, 198
  100. Nicolas, 195
  101. Bianca, 194
  102. Isabel, 193
  103. Juana, 191
  104. Camilo, 190
  105. Tadeo, 188
  106. Enzo, 187
  107. Guillermo, 186
  108. Cataleya, 183
  109. Alejandra, 181 (tie)
  110. Sebastian, 181 (tie)
  111. Florencia, 179
  112. Carolina, 175
  113. Enrique, 172
  114. Ramiro, 171
  115. Alfonso, 167
  116. Faustino, 166
  117. Ámbar, 164 (4-way tie)
  118. Beatriz, 164 (4-way tie)
  119. Logan, 164 (4-way tie)
  120. Marcelo, 164 (4-way tie)
  121. Matías, 161 (tie)
  122. Ciro, 161 (tie)
  123. Aitana, 160 (tie)
  124. Antonella, 160 (tie)
  125. Angel, 159 (tie)
  126. Nahitan, 159 (tie)
  127. Nicole, 158
  128. Andrea, 156 (tie)
  129. Elena, 156 (tie)

(I went down this far to ensure that at least fifty girl names were included.)

Here are a few names from lower down on the list:

  • 16 babies were named Tabaré, which was the name of former Uruguayan president Tabaré Vázquez (who died in December of 2020).
    • Tabaré was given to just 2 babies the year before.
  • 6 were named Atahualpa, which was the name of the last emperor of the Inca.
    • Atahualpa was given to just one baby the year before.
  • 2 were named Cono, perhaps after St. Cono of Italy.
  • 2 were named Giorgian, which is the first name of Uruguayan soccer player Giorgian de Arrascaeta.
  • 2 were named Pampa, which may refer to the Pampas — the grasslands of South America.
    • The Spanish word pampa comes directly from the Quechua word pampa, meaning “plain, field.”

And, because Uruguay releases all of its baby name data, we can also check out the unique names at the other end of the spectrum. Here’s a selection Uruguay’s single-use baby names of 2021:

Aitziber, Berzaline, Carbonell, Danisel, Evtimova, Fradixon, Gilbeth, Hinayana, Itanu, Joxibel, Kundlik, Lothar, Mactominei, Neybis, Orientina, Pandugula, Quimey, Rillary, Sizzle, Tilottama, Toruk, Unelma, Venexia, Wilfreddy, Xunmira, Yulipza, Zombul

Some possible explanations/associations:

  • Lothar – German soccer player Lothar Matthäus
  • Mactominei – English soccer player Scott McTominay
  • Orientina – the word orientales (“easterners”) is sometimes used to refer to Uruguayans
    • The country’s official name is La República Oriental del Uruguay.
  • Tilottama – an apsara in Hindu mythology
  • Toruk – a flying creature in the movie Avatar

In 2020, the top names in Uruguay were Emma and Juan. (Emma managed to beat María/Maria only because Uruguay counts the accented and unaccented forms of names separately in the rankings.)

Sources:

Image by pirizluz from Pixabay

Popular baby names (and Maori baby names) in New Zealand, 2022

new zealand

The island nation of New Zealand is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about 1,200 miles east of Australia.

Last year, New Zealand welcomed a total of 59,711 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Isla and Oliver.

Here are New Zealand’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Isla, 246 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 210
  3. Charlotte, 208
  4. Mila, 182
  5. Lily, 180
  6. Ava, 179
  7. Willow, 177
  8. Olivia, 175
  9. Harper, 167
  10. Sophie, 166
  11. Hazel, 164
  12. Mia, 161
  13. Ella, 157
  14. Isabella, 156
  15. Ruby, 149
  16. Chloe, 144
  17. Millie, 137
  18. Zoe, 130
  19. Grace, 128
  20. Lucy, 117 (tie)
  21. Olive, 117 (tie)
  22. Emily, 116
  23. Aria, 115
  24. Freya, 114
  25. Ivy, 111
  26. Evelyn, 110
  27. Georgia, 105 (tie)
  28. Sienna, 105 (tie)
  29. Layla, 102 (tie)
  30. Poppy, 102 (tie)
  31. Matilda, 101 (tie)
  32. Sophia, 101 (tie)
  33. Frankie, 100
  34. Luna, 96
  35. Mackenzie, 95
  36. Ellie, 94
  37. Sadie, 92
  38. Maia, 91
  39. Florence, 87
  40. Riley, 86
  41. Isabelle, 85 (tie)
  42. Margot, 85 (tie)
  43. Maeve, 84
  44. Evie, 83 (tie)
  45. Violet, 83 (tie)
  46. Aurora, 80 (tie)
  47. Billie, 80 (tie)
  48. Daisy, 78
  49. Sofia, 75
  50. Eleanor, 73

Boy Names

  1. Oliver, 274 baby boys
  2. Noah, 262
  3. Leo, 243
  4. Jack, 234
  5. Luca, 222
  6. Theodore, 219
  7. George, 211
  8. Charlie, 195
  9. Hudson, 169 (tie)
  10. William, 169 (tie)
  11. Oscar, 166
  12. Arthur, 160
  13. Elijah, 158
  14. Arlo, 156
  15. Thomas, 151
  16. James, 150
  17. Archie, 146
  18. Henry, 144
  19. Lucas, 140
  20. Hunter, 138
  21. Liam, 136
  22. Mason, 130
  23. Theo, 124
  24. Ezra, 123 (tie)
  25. Max, 123 (tie)
  26. Levi, 121
  27. Cooper, 120
  28. Carter, 114
  29. Hugo, 112
  30. Lachlan, 110
  31. Asher, 109
  32. Beau, 108
  33. Finn, 104
  34. Archer, 103 (tie)
  35. Felix, 103 (tie)
  36. Benjamin, 100 (tie)
  37. Luka, 100 (tie)
  38. Jasper, 94
  39. Luke, 92
  40. Harry, 91
  41. Ethan, 88
  42. Alexander, 87 (tie)
  43. Roman, 87 (tie)
  44. Grayson, 85 (tie)
  45. Harrison, 85 (tie)
  46. Jackson, 83 (3-way tie)
  47. Lincoln, 83 (3-way tie)
  48. Samuel, 83 (3-way tie)
  49. Jacob, 82 (tie)
  50. Louie, 82 (tie)

This is the tenth year in a row that Oliver has been New Zealand’s #1 boy name.

The news release also mentioned that the “most popular gender-neutral name for 2022 was Riley,” which ranked 40th for girls and 51st for boys.

And what about the top Maori baby names?

Maori girl names

  1. Aroha / Te Aroha
  2. Aria
  3. Anahera
  4. Maia
  5. Moana
  6. Kaia
  7. Manaia
  8. Atarangi / Te Atarangi
  9. Ataahua
  10. Marama

Maori boy names

  1. Ariki / Te Ariki / Teariki
  2. Nikau
  3. Wiremu
  4. Rawiri
  5. Mikaere
  6. Manaia
  7. Kai
  8. Manaaki
  9. Kahurangi
  10. Koa

There are a couple of things we need to note about the Maori baby name rankings, though.

First, the Maori rankings don’t cover the same period of time as the national rankings. Instead, they cover births from June 21, 2022, to July 9, 2023. Why? Because these dates are linked to Matariki, or Maori New Year. (The Maori word Matariki refers to both the Pleiades star cluster and to the yearly celebration of the Pleiades’ return to the night sky, in late June or early July).

Second, a more thorough process is now being used to determine which names to include in the Maori rankings. Previously, the only criterion was that the names be made up of letters in the Maori alphabet. Now, on top of that, the names must: end in a vowel, be “carefully considered and checked,” be discussed with a Maori elder, and be reviewed by the Maori Language Commission.

In 2021, the top names overall in New Zealand were Charlotte and Oliver.

Sources: Top Baby Names – New Zealand Government, Aotearoa’s top ten Maori baby names of the year revealed for Matariki, Matariki (the Pleiades) – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Image by ken lecoq from Pixabay