Ranking 2022 : Emilia and Noah most popular names

Every year, hundreds of thousands of expectant parents ponder what name to give their child. Many are guided by rankings. This time Emilia and Noah are right at the front. Ben, on the other hand, has slipped further and a retro favorite is emerging in Saxony.

In the Top 10 list of most popular first names there has been some movement: while the name Emilia is still number 1 for girls on the list of first name experts Knud Bielefeld, Noah has landed at the top again after 2020. “Both names have been in the top ten for a long time,” Bielefeld told the dpa news agency.

Data from 423 cities

For the nationwide evaluation, Bielefeld and his small team used first name data from 423 cities. Two thirds of the data comes from registry offices and the rest from baby galleries from maternity hospitals. According to its own information, Bielefeld has recorded around 250,000 birth reports. This corresponds to about 34 percent of babies born in Germany.

The Gesellschaft für Deutsche Sprache also publishes similar statistics, with around 90 percent of all data from the registry offices, according to their own statements – but later than Knud Bielefeld.

In 2021 Matteo was at the top

Last year, the name Matteo took the top spot among boys. At the same time, a new name is on the way to the top group: Theo. “He has risen steadily to the top in recent years and is now sixth.”

But the name Ben, which has been enormously popular for years, has fallen even further. For nine years, the boy’s first name was number 1 until it was ousted from there in 2020. In the meantime, he can only be found in 10th place in the nationwide evaluation. “It seems to be slowly going out of fashion now and long-standing top names like Lukas or Luka are slowly disappearing from the first name lists,” explains Bielefeld.

Nelio as a possible new trend name

Even when looking at the back of the table, Bielefeld can make out a first name that is becoming more and more popular. “The name Nelio is not yet in the top ten, but it has risen strongly.”

In search of the reasons, the name expert has an assumption: “It seems to be because the entertainer and influencer Dagi Bee called her son that at the end of last year.”

Party hit “Layla” without influence

Looking for connections between his statistics and events of the year, Knud Bielefeld looked at the development of the name Layla and was surprised. He didn’t think that “there are so many parents who call their daughter that.” However, the controversial party hit “Layla” by DJ Robin and Schürze couldn’t do too much when it came to naming it.

Because although the hit was hotly debated in the summer and was often – in vain – banned at folk festivals, Layla has neither dropped nor climbed noticeably in the popularity list for girls’ names, as Bielefeld found. “That has hardly had an effect. The name has hardly been given less frequently than in previous years.”

Vowel-rich names are all the rage right now

Another trend, according to Bielefeld: “names with many vowels that have no other consonants than M, N and L” – for boys and girls. A majority of the popular names follow this pattern. The winning name Emilia fits perfectly.

Kurt very popular in Saxony

In general, it is still the case that there are also clear regional differences in the choice of names. As before, naming fashions were accepted more slowly in the south. “The old names will stick around a bit longer, like Lukas or Maximilian.”

In the north, parents are a bit more innovative and Scandinavian names are more common there. In Saxony, the name Kurt has also been a favorite for years. “It happens very, very, very often in Saxony and not so often in the rest of Germany.”

Erwin as the new retro name

In addition to Kurt, a new favorite name is emerging in Saxony: Erwin. “For years, no children were named Erwin at all. But he’s reappearing now – and I’ll watch him.”