Name expert - Emilia and Noah again most popular first names in 2023
Every year, hundreds of thousands of parents are spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing a name for their newborn child. Some are creative, others follow the trends. In 2023, many have once again opted for the first names Emilia and Noah - the two names top the list of the most popular first names compiled by name expert Knud Bielefeld. "Just like last year. Nothing has changed," the amateur name researcher told the German Press Agency in Ahrensburg in Schleswig-Holstein.
Bielefeld published its ranking on Friday, which is available to the German Press Agency. Emma and Sophia follow for girls and Matteo and Elias for boys.
The fact that Emilia and Noah once again top the lists is not at all unusual. "It's quite typical that such first name fashions develop very slowly, that hardly anything really changes over decades." It could also happen that Noah and Emilia remain number one in the coming years. The two names have risen relatively evenly and cautiously in the hit list and have not skyrocketed like the name Matteo recently.
Up-and-coming candidates for the future
At the same time, however, Bielefeld's statistics also show names that have been on the rise in the past two years and could well be candidates for the top ten in the coming years. "That would be the names Emilio, Fiete, Fritz, Hannes, Leano, Liam, Lino, Lio, Marlon and Theo for the boys and Amalia, Ella, Elli, Hailey, Ida, Lia, Lilly, Lotta, Malia and Rosalie for the girls." He even sees one name as the clear favorite. "If I had to bet right now, I'd go for Leano."
Gender-neutral names that can be used by both girls and boys are also appearing more and more frequently in the lists. This trend has been around for some time in the USA. Examples of these unisex names include Ashley, Quinn and Taylor. "That's actually not such a rare boys' name in Germany. It has become increasingly popular. Thanks to the hype surrounding Taylor Swift, who is a singer, it is now also popular as a girl's name."
Special features in the federal states
The lists of the top ten first names are similar in most federal states. As a rule, Emilia, Emma, Sophia and Hannah as well as Noah, Matteo and Emil are in the top five places. In federal states with many large cities such as North Rhine-Westphalia or city states such as Bremen and Berlin, the name Mohammed even makes it into the top ten, because a comparatively large number of families with a migration background live there.
According to Bielefeld's calculations, half of the children born in Germany have one of the 60 most popular girls' or boys' names.
There are always noticeable deviations in Bavaria and Saxony. "In Saxony, these retro names are very popular - something like Karl and Gerda, which is not so familiar elsewhere." Bavaria also has a special naming landscape that is relatively conservative. "Names like Thomas, Michael or Sabine still do relatively well there, which no longer work at all in other countries." Noah is not even in the top ten there. Instead, Lukas, Felix and Maximilian are at the top.
Parents in the north are more modern in their choice of name
In contrast, the federal states in the north are much more modern, Bielefeld continued. "The further north, the more modern. First name trends are more likely to be shaped in northern Germany than in southern Germany." For example, the name Fiete has long played a role in the statistics of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. "And he's already conquering Germany with a vengeance. That's another candidate that could soon be in the top 10 everywhere."
When compiling the rankings, Bielefeld also noticed an unusual name - the maiden name Evanna. "It's a name I've never had in my database before and now I have it several times." The Ahrensburg native assumes that this could have something to do with the Irish actress Evanna Lynch, who played the role of Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films and published a book in 2021.
For the nationwide analysis, Bielefeld and his small team drew on first name data from 412 cities. Almost two thirds of the data came from registry offices and the rest from baby galleries at maternity clinics. According to Bielefeld, it has recorded around 280,000 birth registrations. This corresponds to around 40 percent of babies born in Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 738,800 children were born in 2022. More recent figures were not yet available.
The Society for the German Language publishes similar first name statistics with, according to its own information, around 90 percent of all data from the registry offices - but later than Knud Bielefeld.
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- Despite the popularity of Emilia and Noah, some parents are still creative in their choice of name for their future child.
- The turn of the year often sees a surge in parents seeking inspiration for their child's first name, and this trend continued in 2023.
- In Bavaria, the traditional first name choice for boys remains Lukas, Félix, and Maximilian, a stark contrast to the modern preferences in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
- Taylor Swift's popularity has led to a rise in the use of the gender-neutral name Taylor as a first name in Germany.
- The choice of name for a child can be influenced by a variety of factors, from cultural preferences to pop culture trends, as seen with the rise of the name Taylor in Germany.
- The German Press Agency announced that Emilia and Noah were once again the most popular first names of 2023, with Emma and Sophia following closely behind for girls, and Matteo and Elias for boys.
- One of the up-and-coming first names for boys that could potentially join the top ten in the coming years is Leano, according to name expert Knud Bielefeld.
- In states with a large urban population, such as North Rhine-Westphalia and the city-states of Bremen and Berlin, the name Mohammed frequently appears in the top ten.
- According to Bielefeld's statistics, approximately half of the children born in Germany carry one of the 60 most popular first names for boys and girls.
- Saxony sees a resurgence of retro names, such as Karl and Gerda, and Bavaria has a more conservative naming landscape that values traditional names like Thomas, Michael, and Sabine.
Source: www.stern.de
