Popular and unique baby names in Austria, 2023

Flag of Austria
Flag of Austria

Last year, the European country of Austria welcomed 77,605 babies — 37,596 girls and 40,009 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emilia and Paul.

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

Girl names

  1. Emilia, 638 baby girls
  2. Marie, 554
  3. Emma, 517
  4. Anna, 514
  5. Mia, 509
  6. Sophia, 471
  7. Valentina, 446
  8. Lena, 434
  9. Lea, 427
  10. Laura, 420
  11. Johanna, 413
  12. Lina, 412
  13. Leonie, 387
  14. Sophie, 381
  15. Hannah, 363
  16. Luisa, 362
  17. Ella, 345
  18. Olivia, 334
  19. Lara, 332
  20. Elena, 318
  21. Nora, 312
  22. Magdalena, 273
  23. Amelie, 268
  24. Mila, 264
  25. Antonia, 262
  26. Helena, 260
  27. Hanna, 252
  28. Lia, 240
  29. Valerie, 236
  30. Isabella, 223
  31. Katharina, 215 (tie)
  32. Sarah, 215 (tie)
  33. Sara, 209
  34. Klara, 207
  35. Theresa, 199
  36. Ida, 195 (tie)
  37. Miriam, 195 (tie)
  38. Elisa, 193
  39. Rosa, 191 (tie)
  40. Sofia, 191 (tie)
  41. Julia, 190
  42. Alina, 186
  43. Elina, 182
  44. Marlene, 181 (tie)
  45. Paula, 181 (tie)
  46. Paulina, 180
  47. Livia, 179
  48. Emily, 176
  49. Clara, 173
  50. Rosalie, 162

Boy names

  1. Paul, 687 baby boys
  2. Jakob, 660
  3. Elias, 625
  4. Maximilian, 620
  5. Felix, 596
  6. Noah, 577
  7. Leon, 572
  8. David, 535
  9. Tobias, 528
  10. Jonas, 520
  11. Leo, 506
  12. Lukas, 484
  13. Moritz, 447
  14. Matteo, 411
  15. Alexander, 406
  16. Theo, 397
  17. Anton, 389
  18. Fabian, 385
  19. Liam, 374
  20. Julian, 369
  21. Simon, 363
  22. Emil, 350
  23. Valentin, 337
  24. Luca, 320
  25. Florian, 315
  26. Matthias, 313
  27. Samuel, 308
  28. Johannes, 283
  29. Gabriel, 279 (tie)
  30. Raphael, 279 (tie)
  31. Lorenz, 272 (tie)
  32. Luis, 272 (tie)
  33. Theodor, 263
  34. Benjamin, 251
  35. Sebastian, 222
  36. Oskar, 216
  37. Niklas, 215
  38. Levi, 213
  39. Finn, 209
  40. Emilio, 207 (tie)
  41. Jonathan, 207 (tie)
  42. Adam, 206 (tie)
  43. Michael, 206 (tie)
  44. Ben, 201
  45. Oliver, 200
  46. Fabio, 193
  47. Mateo, 191
  48. Konstantin, 189 (tie)
  49. Max, 189 (tie)
  50. Luka, 183

In the boys’ top 100 were Ferdinand (60th), Erik (75th), Clemens (84th), and Muhammed (95th).

In the girls’ top 100 were Aurelia (61st), Frida (78th), Mathea (83rd), and Lotta (92nd).

Lower down in the rankings I spotted…

  • Girl names:
    • Finja (53 babies)
    • Dunja (22) – means “quince” in several South Slavic languages
    • Florentine (10)
    • Pelin (8) – means “wormwood” in Turkish
    • Neele (6)
    • Hannelore (4)
    • Philia (3)
  • Boy names:
    • Fridolin (184 babies)
    • Nepomuk (6) – refers to St. John of Nepomuk
    • Amadeus (4)
    • Thorin (4)
    • Atdhe (3) – means “fatherland” in Albanian
    • Pirmin (3) – refers to St. Pirmin
    • Toprak (2) – means “earth, soil,” “land,” or “country” in Turkish

Thousands of other names were given to a single baby each in Austria last year. Here’s a selection of the names that were bestowed just once:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Aristhea, Berivan, Cleophea, Diola, Elfriede, Fancy, Filianore, Galia, Helly, Irmlind, Julita, Katalia, Lysithea, Mitravinda, Nihira, Orbita, Priska, Qunut, Rudolfina, Silke, Thabea, Uresa, Valina, Weiyu, Xena, Ylenia, ZilliAnadin, Bendix, Crown, Dastan, Elino, Frowin, Guntram, Hannan, Itgelt, Jaryl, Kordian, Lambert, Medardus, Metatron, Nainoa, Oswald, Pim, Qibin, Reinhold, Siegfried, Torger, Uriel, Volodymyr, Willibald, Xichen, Yuzuru, Zinar

Some possible influences/associations for a few of the above:

  • Filianore is a character in the video game Dark Souls III (2016) — specifically, in the downloadable content pack Dark Souls III: The Ringed City (2017).
  • St. Frowin of Engelberg was a 12th-century Swiss German abbot.
  • Itgelt is likely based on the Mongolian word itgel, meaning “faith, belief.”
  • Kordian is the main character of the Polish drama Kordian (1834) by Juliusz Slowacki.
  • Lysithea refers to several figures in Greek mythology, as well as to a character in the video game Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019).
  • Metatron is an archangel mentioned in Jewish folklore.
  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the president of Ukraine.
  • St. Willibald was an 8th-century Englishman who became a bishop in Bavaria.

Finally, here’s a link to Austria’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: First names of newborns – Statistics Austria (in German), Atlas der Vornamen – Statistics Austria, Demographic characteristics of newborns – Statistics Austria, Behind the Name, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Austria (public domain)

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2023

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

South Africa — the southernmost country on the continent of Africa — has three capital cities, a dozen official languages, and more than 62 million residents.

In 2023, South Africa welcomed 932,138 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Onalerona and Lethabo.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Onalerona, 2,836 baby girls
  2. Melokuhle, 2,463
  3. Lisakhanya, 2,298
  4. Zanokuhle, 2,273
  5. Lethabo, 2,093
  6. Lesedi, 2,010
  7. Omphile, 1,909
  8. Amahle, 1,778
  9. Naledi, 1,771
  10. Nkanyezi, 1,694

Boy names

  1. Lethabo, 2,965 baby boys
  2. Nkazimulo, 2,377
  3. Lubanzi, 2,249
  4. Nkanyezi, 1,890
  5. Langelihle, 1,874
  6. Lethokuhle, 1,656
  7. Junior, 1,640
  8. Melokuhle, 1,614
  9. Siphosethu, 1,607
  10. Omphile, 1,606

The #1 girl name, Onalerona — which means “he is with us” in the related languages of Tswana and Sotho — was also the #1 girl name in 2022. But one year earlier, in 2021, it was way down in 27th place.

What pushed it to the top all of a sudden?

The character Onalerona Molapo from the South African TV series "House of Zwide" (2021-)
Onalerona Molapo from “House of Zwide“

A young character named Onalerona “Ona” Molapo from the popular South African TV series House of Zwide, which began airing in July of 2021. The character, an aspiring fashion designer, is played by actress Nefisa Mkhabela.

Sources:

Images: Adapted from Flag of South Africa (public domain); screenshot of House of Zwide

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)

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.