Popular baby names in Ukraine, 2023

Flag of Ukraine
Flag of Ukraine

The country of Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe. It shares a border with Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice, the top baby names of 2023 in the center-west part of the country — the city of Kyiv plus five nearby oblasts (Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy) — were Mariya (Maria) and Yeva (Eva) for girls and Mark and Oleksandr (Alexander) for boys.

Here’s a visual of the area:

Map of Ukraine
Map of Ukraine

Below you’ll find the top names for each of the six locations. Rankings weren’t specified, so, in the tables below, I’ve written the names in the order in which they appeared in the news release.

Kyiv (city)

Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, has a population of over 2.9 million. Here are Kyiv’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
City of KyivMariya
Solomiya
Yeva
Polina		Maksym
Mark
Tymofiy
Oleksandr
Danylo
Mykhaylo

The city’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Paulina, Oriyana, Yevdokiya, Klara, Vesna, Vedana, Dana, Astrid, Dzvinka-Iya, Sakhara, Oktaviya, Vohnena, Ariya, Afina-Penelopa, Yaruna, Dzvinka, Kylyna, Emmanuela, Ilariya, Mahda, Yustyna, Freya, Hlafira, Matilda, Iulianiya, Inha, Lili, Leonida, Zoreslava, Afina, Nefa
  • Boys: Zoreslav, Leslav, Yanislav, Veles, Ratmyr, Kyy, Lyutsyfer, Hraf, Korniy, Budymyr, Vir, Eney, Serafym, Yerofiy, Lyuksor, Elizar, Ioann, Harri, Adonis, Ares, Iliodor, Mars, Teo, Yan, Domian, Zevs, Hrey, Kay

Lyutsyfer and Lyuksor are the Ukrainian versions of Lucifer and Luxor, and Veles is the Slavic god of the underworld.

Kyiv Oblast

Kyiv Oblast has a population of over 1.7 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
Kyiv OblastDaryna
Zlata
Polina
Sofiya
Yeva
Solomiya
Anna		Tymofiy
Tymur
Maksym
Mark
Bohdan
Oleksandr
Dmytro

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Alisi, Luna, Snyezhka, Mane, Lisanna, Yesfir, Eluna, Virsaviya, Dominika, Roksana, Adel, Francheska, Armine, Slavyana, Yeremiya
  • Boys: Reyan, Leon, Karim, Sayan, Mikhey, Elman, Ruvim, Iliya, Teodor, Lavrin

Vinnytsia Oblast

Vinnytsia Oblast has a population of over 1.5 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
Vinnytsia OblastMilana
Anna
Daryna
Alina
Anastasiya		Oleksandr
Dmytro
Tymofiy
Denys
Andriy
Maksym

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Aviva-Svitantsvitayne, Infiniti-Marta, Nana, Ariella, Yesfir, Aya, Yevnika, Zarichna, Hloriya, Madonna, Vilena, Zhasmina, Daliya, Ayla, Dzhulyeta, Yustiniya, Liyel
  • Boys: Ruvym, Isaak, Kamil, Kimran, Yunus, Nikolos, Akim, Ernest, Ustym, Samuel, Vidar, Ilay, Ksavyer, Avel, Rozhden, Ioana

Svitantsvitayne appears to be an invented name based on the Ukrainian word svitanok, meaning “dawn.”

Khmelnytskyi Oblast

Khmelnytskyi Oblast has a population of over 1.27 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
Khmelnytskyi OblastAnastasiya
Anna
Viktoriya
Yeva
Zlata
Oleksandra
Solomiya
Sofiya		Artem
Bohdan
Vladyslav
Danylo
Mark
Matviy
Myroslav
Tymofiy

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Ayisha, Ameliya, Hoar, Eteri, Liliana, Miray, Tsvitana, Yaremiya
  • Boys: Bohomir, Yoan, Murat, Nektariy, Nikola, Nolan, Ovsiy, Radyslav

Zhytomyr Oblast

Zhytomyr Oblast has a population of over 1.21 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
Zhytomyr OblastAnastasiya
Anhelina
Daryna
Yeva
Milana
Solomiya
Tetyana
Yuliya		Bohdan
Vladyslav
Danylo
Dmytro
Zakhar
Yevhen
Ivan
Roman
Taras
Yaroslav

Zakhar is a form of Zacharias, and Taras is based on the Ancient Greek name Tarasios.

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Avreliya, Ahata, Ahnesa, Ahlaya, Ada-Mariya, Adel, Aymel, Alana, Aliche, Aliya, Amaliya, Ariel, Afina, Beatrysa, Versaviya, Vitsentina, Hnata, Ester, Zhasmin, Kamila-Rafaila, Kvitoslava, Laura, Nila-Ester, Samira, Teona, Tereza, Faustyna, Khafsa
  • Boys: Azmir, Alan, Artyom, Domyen, Elkhan, Ernest, Emmanuyil, Yehoriy, Zhdan, Ilay, Isa, Yonatan, Maverik, Matfyey, Monik, Myrolyub, Mukhammed Ali, Natan, Nikolas, Ostin, Ruvym, Savva

Myrolyub is made up of Slavic elements meaning “peace” and “love” — very good concepts to be focused on during wartime.

Cherkasy Oblast

Cherkasy Oblast has a population of close to 1.2 million. Here are the region’s top baby names of 2023:

Girl namesBoy names
Cherkasy OblastAnastasiya
Anna
Emiliya
Yeva
Zlata
Miya
Solomiya		Andriy
Bohdan
Zakhar
Maksym
Matviy
Oleksandr
Tymofiy

The region’s rare names included…

  • Girls: Alisiya, Vlastelina, Dinara, Elzara, Zakariya, Luana, Muna, Ruta, Teona
  • Boys: Alim, Vakula, Dobrynya, Edem, Yeseniy, Zlatan, Ilay, Remus, Samedin, Yarem

Vakula is the protagonist of the short story “Christmas Eve” (1832) by Ukrainian-born Russian writer Nikolai Gogol (Ukranian: Mykola Hohol).

P.S. Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice released the top baby names of 2022 for Kyiv and each of the five oblasts, but not for the center-west part of the country overall.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ukraine (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Ukraine (1991-2014) location map by NordNordWest under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Popular baby names in Quebec (Canada), 2024

Flag of Quebec
Flag of Quebec

Last year, the Canadian province of Quebec welcomed about 77,400 babies.

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

Here are Quebec’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Emma, 461 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 452
  3. Florence, 449
  4. Charlotte, 447
  5. Alice, 407
  6. Charlie, 364
  7. Beatrice, 334
  8. Clara, 331
  9. Sofia, 327
  10. Livia, 298
  11. Lea, 285
  12. Romy, 281
  13. Mila, 280
  14. Juliette, 276
  15. Mia, 254
  16. Eva, 235
  17. Zoe, 234
  18. Rose, 232
  19. Victoria, 213
  20. Leonie, 212
  21. Billie, 206
  22. Julia, 205
  23. Rosalie, 198
  24. Chloe, 185
  25. Jeanne, 178
  26. Elena, 176 (tie)
  27. Flavie, 176 (tie)
  28. Jade, 173
  29. Elizabeth, 171
  30. Margot, 159
  31. Amelia, 158
  32. Adele, 152
  33. Eleonore, 149
  34. Ophelie, 144
  35. Raphaelle, 143
  36. Sophia, 140
  37. Clemence, 138
  38. Maeva, 135
  39. Camille, 130
  40. Lily, 129
  41. Ellie, 127
  42. Lena, 123
  43. Flora, 121
  44. Estelle, 109
  45. Aurelie, 107
  46. Eloise, 105 (tie)
  47. Marguerite, 105 (tie)
  48. Sophie, 104
  49. Jasmine, 102
  50. Evelyne, 101 (tie)
  51. Nora, 101 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 572 baby boys
  2. Leo, 531
  3. Liam, 494 (tie)
  4. William, 494 (tie)
  5. Thomas, 448
  6. Louis, 445
  7. Arthur, 435
  8. Edouard, 426
  9. Emile, 389
  10. Theo, 387
  11. Jacob, 354
  12. Charles, 346
  13. Adam, 340 (tie)
  14. Jules, 340 (tie)
  15. Nathan, 338
  16. James, 329
  17. Raphael, 303
  18. Laurent, 282
  19. Lucas, 274
  20. Theodore, 273
  21. Arnaud, 268
  22. Felix, 264
  23. Logan, 261
  24. Victor, 254
  25. Henri, 252
  26. Benjamin, 244
  27. Eloi, 237
  28. Elliot, 234
  29. Jackson, 228
  30. Gabriel, 226
  31. Samuel, 209
  32. Nolan, 204
  33. Milan, 203
  34. Ethan, 192
  35. Matheo, 181
  36. Antoine, 180
  37. Jayden, 168
  38. Olivier, 163
  39. Alexis, 159
  40. Leonard, 152
  41. Matteo, 139
  42. Eli, 137
  43. Robin, 131
  44. Hubert, 127
  45. Axel, 126
  46. Leon, 125 (tie)
  47. Zack, 125 (tie)
  48. Caleb, 124
  49. Jake, 123 (tie)
  50. Maverick, 123 (tie)

In the girls’ top 10, Clara and Sofia replaced Lea and Juliette.

In the boys’ top 10, Emile and Theo replaced Jacob and Nathan.

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum?

Among those given to fewer than five babies, I spotted the place names Kenai and Sitka, the plant name Melilot (sweet clover), the French word Tantine (meaning “auntie”), and the Inuktitut versions of various Christian names:

  • Joanassie (based on John, Jonah, or Jonas)
  • Jusipi/Juusipi (based on Joseph)
  • Paulusie (based on Paul)
  • Silasie (based on Silas)
  • Tuumasi (based on Thomas)
  • Elisapee/Elisapi/Elisapie (based on Elizabeth)

I also noticed names from various indigenous languages, such as…

  • Aqiaruk, which means “stomach” in Inuktut.
  • Arnaq Talittuq, made up of the Inuktitut words arnaq, meaning “woman,” and talittuq, meaning “disappears, hides.”
  • Maikaniss, which means “wolf cub” in Innu. (The word maikan means “wolf.”)
  • Mispun, which means “it is snowing” in East Cree.
  • Missinak, which means “turtle” in Innu.
  • Nipinok, based on the Cree word nipinohk, meaning “last summer.” (The word nipin means “summer.”)
  • Piponik, based on the Cree word pipon, meaning both “winter” and “year.”
  • Putulik
  • Qumaluk
  • Tillikasak
  • Timangiak
  • Uashtessiu, part of the Innu term uashtessiu-pishimu, meaning “the month when the leaves become yellow” (i.e., October).
  • Uiviru
  • Ulluriaq, which means “star” in Inuktitut.
  • Weetalutuk

(I can’t give you the usual sampling of Quebec’s single-use names because, as of 2024, the province has decided to stop specifying which names were given to just one baby. The single-use names — along with the names that were given to two, three, and four babies — are now labeled “<5” in the data.)

Finally, here’s a link to Quebec’s 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Quebec (public domain)

Girl names on the rise in Canada, 2024

hot air balloons

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

Below you’ll find Canada’s fastest-rising and highest-debuting girl names of 2024.

Rises (absolute)

Here are the girl names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of absolute change (number of babies) from 2023 to 2024:

  1. Lainey, rose from 193 to 341 baby girls (+148)
  2. Charlotte, 1,418 to 1,528 (+110)
  3. Eliana, 343 to 452 (+109)
  4. Asees, 180 to 272 (+92)
  5. Clara, 558 to 646 (+88)
  6. Arzoyi, 40 to 127 (+87)
  7. Scottie, 97 to 181 (+84)
  8. Lara, 133 to 210 (+77)
  9. Arzoi, 69 to 144 (+75) [tie]
  10. Ayla, 367 to 442 (+75) [tie]

Lainey, the second-fastest-rising girl name a year earlier, continues to be influenced by country singer Lainey Wilson. (In the U.S., Lainey was similarly one of the fastest-rising girl names in both 2023 and 2024.)

Rises (relative)

Here are the girl names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of relative change (percentage of babies) from 2023 to 2024:

  1. Sada, rose from 6 to 29 baby girls (383% increase)
  2. Arjoi, 5 to 19 (280%)
  3. Ambar, 7 to 26 (271%)
  4. Raha, 16 to 59 (269%)
  5. Elody, 6 to 22 (267%)
  6. Jaap, 11 to 40 (264%)
  7. Clea, 7 to 25 (257%)
  8. Ayleen, 5 to 17 (240%)
  9. Haneen, 6 to 20 (233%)
  10. Brie, 5 to 16 (220%) [tie]
  11. Hidayah, 5 to 16 (220%) [tie]

Debuts

Finally, here are the girl names that debuted most impressively in Canada’s baby name data in 2024:

  1. Yashna, 28 baby girls
  2. Lewhat, 17
  3. Riyasat, 16
  4. Jeevat, 14
  5. Sukoon, 13
  6. Kamsiyochukwu, 12 [3 -way tie]
  7. Sanjog, 12 [3 -way tie]
  8. Solenne, 12 [3 -way tie]
  9. Fiora, 11 [5-way tie]
  10. Jasnaaz, 11 [5-way tie]
  11. Jeeva, 11 [5-way tie]
  12. Pranvi, 11 [5-way tie]
  13. Raaya, 11 [5-way tie]

Yashna may have been influenced by a character in the Indian movie Hi Nanna, released in late 2023. (In the U.S., Yashna was the top girl-name debut of 2024 as well.)

Other girl-name debuts in the Canadian data included Apollonia (6), Galadriel (5), and Happy (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, Canada’s most popular baby names in 2024 (Sept. 2025)

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

Boy names on the rise in Canada, 2024

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 2024.

Rises (absolute)

Here are the boy names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of absolute change (number of babies) from 2023 to 2024:

  1. Arjan, rose from 160 to 292 baby boys (+132)
  2. Zorawar, 247 to 367 (+120)
  3. Samuel, 627 to 723 (+96)
  4. Levi, 818 to 909 (+91)
  5. Muhammad, 637 to 716 (+79) [3-way tie]
  6. Weston, 286 to 365 (+79) [3-way tie]
  7. Wyatt, 448 to 527 (+79) [3-way tie]
  8. Wesley, 459 to 534 (+75)
  9. Arthur, 813 to 883 (+70) [tie]
  10. August, 215 to 285 (+70) [tie]

Zorawar, the fastest-rising boy name a year earlier, continues to climb.

Rises (relative)

Here are the boy names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of relative change (percentage of babies) from 2023 to 2024:

  1. Laken, rose from 5 to 28 baby boys (460% increase)
  2. Macklin, 10 to 52 (420%)
  3. Ilyes, 8 to 31 (288%)
  4. Rishiv, 7 to 26 (271%)
  5. Avitaj, 11 to 40 (264%)
  6. Gurshaan, 8 to 29 (263%)
  7. Anveer, 7 to 25 (257%)
  8. Lael, 7 to 24 (243%)
  9. Jugaad, 5 to 16 (220%) [3-way tie]
  10. Mateus, 5 to 16 (220%) [3-way tie]
  11. Sabr, 5 to 16 (220%) [3-way tie]

Macklin — which now ranks 536th in Canada — was no doubt influenced by Canadian hockey player Macklin Celebrini, who was selected first overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2024 NHL draft. (The U.S. usage of Macklin also increased last year.)

Debuts

Finally, here are the boy names that debuted most impressively in Canada’s baby name data in 2024:

  1. Avitaaz, 46 baby boys
  2. Akaay, 32
  3. Lovic, 20
  4. Avitaaj, 13
  5. Arshiv, 12 [3-way tie]
  6. Parwaaz, 12 [3-way tie]
  7. Rustyn, 12 [3-way tie]
  8. Charvik, 11 [4-way tie]
  9. Daler, 11 [4-way tie]
  10. Jaitegh, 11 [4-way tie]
  11. Neeom, 11 [4-way tie]

Akaay was influenced by a celebrity baby — the son of Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma. (Thank you to Clare for figuring out why Akaay debuted in both Canada and the U.S. last year!)

Other boy-name debuts in the Canadian data included Juancho (10), Lupin (6), and Melchizedek (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, Canada’s most popular baby names in 2024 (Sept. 2025), Macklin Celebrini – Wikipedia

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