There's so much baby name inspiration out there now that it almost makes narrowing down your choices to just the one more difficult than ever before. You've got for those wanting something different, and that play into all sorts of fun wordplays. And Europe's most popular baby names prove that the varied choices available are all being put to use.
Classic names like Louise sit next to unique ones like Romy, and trendy monikers sit side-by-side with old-fashioned baby names too. In Spain, the country’s National Statistics Institute reports the most popular baby names for girls are Lucía, Sofía, Martina, María, Paula and Alba. For the boys, it's, Hugo, Mateo, Lucas, Leo and Marcos.
Germany's leading choices are Sophia and Noah, names which currently rank at number eight and number two in the UK according to data. Sofia also topped the charts in Italy, with Leonardo taking the number one spot there for boys. But while Sophia, Noah, and Leonardo remain top choices across Europe and the UK, it's a different story in France.
According to France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, who have just rounded up the most popular baby names of 2023 in their country, Louise is the most popular girls name. It's a classic name in the region, with deep roots in both Germany and France. In both languages, it means “loud”, “to battle or fight” and “loot bringer” - so it's a very strong name for any little girl.
Gabriel is Europe's most popular boys name, meaning "God is my strength" or “man of God” in the original Hebrew. The french name choices are growing in popularity in the UK at the moment, with many of them leaning into the growing trends of retro-baby names and taking hold across the country. The top three baby girl name choices of Louise, Ambre, and Alba in France find themselves at hugely lower rankings in the UK, though they are making a comeback.
Louise currently sits as the 612th most popular girls name after it massively dipped in popularity in the UK in 2001. However, the name is seeing a slight resurgence and has already been used more times in 2024 than it was throughout all of the previous year. Ambre is a lot lower on the list at 4749th, but it's seen a steady incline in use since 2019 and is only set to soar in popularity.
Alba is in a more prominent spot at 172nd, though it's seen a slight dip in use this year. For the boys, Gabriel is the 60th most popular boys name in the UK and it's been a steady option since around 1998. The name Raphaël, however, is massively surging in use across the UK and currently sits as the 179th most popular boys name.
The french Léo, in English just simply Leo, bumps down two spots to the fifth most used boys name in the UK, compared with its third position in France..
