Most popular first names in 2022: Emilia and Noah are in the running again this year
Gone are the days of Stefan and Susi, no one seems to name their children Ben or Katharina anymore – if you believe the Society for German Language. Because in the first half of the year, she is always busy determining the most popular first names for girls and boys from the previous year. Accordingly, 2022 was not a year of unexpected surprises: the kids who will come of age in 2040 will have the same names as those from the same period last year. We tell you the top ten most popular baby names for boys and girls in 2022.
Most popular baby names 2022: These are the top ten baby names for girls
Everything is the same: Emilia tops the list of the most popular first names for girls in Germany for the third year in a row. Sophia/Sofia made up one place, but there weren’t really any big surprises in the first ten places – the list looks more like it was mixed up and drawn up anew. Without touching Emilia on the top position, of course. But see for yourself:
These are the most popular baby names for girls (including last year’s ranking)
- Emily (1)
- Sophia/Sofia (3)
- Emma (4)
- Mia (5)
- Hannah/Hanna (2)
- Lena (7)
- Mila (6)
- Elena (8)
- Klara/Clara (10)
- Marie
Most popular baby names 2022: These are the top ten baby names for boys
While there is still a bit of momentum in the top ten for the most popular girls’ names, Noah, Mat(h)eo or Matt(h)eo, Leon, Finn and Paul have not moved an inch from their top positions for boys moved away. Noah remains the undisputed most popular name. A certain faithfulness to the Bible among Germans cannot be denied, especially when it comes to boys’ baby names: Noah was the one with the ark, Matteo (in all his spellings) one of the apostles, like his colleague Paul in fifth place. Where does that come from? – Not clear.
Most popular first names in 2022: These are the top ten baby names for boys (including the previous year’s ranking)
- Noah (1)
- Mat(h)eo/Matt(h)eo (2)
- Leo (3)
- Finn (4)
- Paul (5)
- Elijah (7)
- Emily (8)
- Luca/Luka (6)
- Louis/Luis (9)
- Henry/Henry (11)
The Wiesbaden-based society for the German language also found in its evaluation that both the boys’ and girls’ lists of the most popular first names were “very stable”. The other way around: Only Marie and Henry and Henri mixed up the top ten minimally (namely in last place) as returnees.
Apart from that, the Society for German Language noticed that parents still like to give their children short names with many vowels. The only thing you have to worry about is Hanna(h): Three years ago, this girl’s first name was still in first place, but in 2022 it slipped to fifth place. Incidentally, Lea and Felix were banned from the list of the most popular first names for girls and boys in 2022 – both were considered permanent fixtures in the top ten for years.
Since 1977, the Society for the German Language has been identifying the most popular baby names in Germany. For the period of 2022, 750 registry offices took part in the survey and submitted almost one million first names. According to the Society for the German Language, 70,000 different first names were given.
Most popular first names in 2022: Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
If you look at the other German-speaking countries (Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) in comparison with Germany, you will find old acquaintances there who have completely disappeared in Germany: Maximilian and Anna are still in the first name charts in Austria, as is Felix and Valentina. According to the Society for the German Language, the most popular baby names in the Alpine Republic are Marie (followed by Emilia and Anna) and Paul (followed by Jakob and Maximilian).
And in German-speaking Switzerland? Among the Confederates, there has been a rocketing rise in first names for girls: Malea has risen from 23rd place to 10th place. And for boys’ names, Leano rose from 22nd to 8th place. Top names in Switzerland are Mia (followed by Emilia and Emma) and Noah (followed by Matteo and Luca).
In Liechtenstein, the first names Emilia, Fri(e)da and Mia lead the field for girls, while the most popular baby names for boys are Elias/Elyas, L(o)uis and Leo.