Today, the Swiss government released statistics on the most popular baby names in 2016. The Swiss statistics office has been collecting this data for 31 years.
In 2016, Mia (488), Emma (446) and Elena (327) were the three most popular girls’ names. Together these three names were given to 3% of the 42,900 girls born in 2016.
Among the 44,932 boys born in 2016, the most popular names were Noah (477), Liam (433), with Gabriel and Luca sharing third place (345). Noah has been popular since 2014. It came first in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Among girls names Mia stands out. It was the leading choice in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
- Most popular Swiss baby names in 2015 (Le News)
- What’s in a name – most common Swiss surnames and their meaning (Le News)
Over the last five years the most popular names have changed little. Seven of the top ten boys names in 2012 remained in the top ten in 2016. The trend was similar for girls with six of the top ten in 2012 remaining in 2016.
Linguistic differences were clear in 2016. Noah and Mia led in German-speaking Switzerland, while Gabriel and Emma led in French-speaking Switzerland. South of the Alps in Italian-speaking Switzerland it was Leonardo and Sofia that came out on top.
More on this:
Swiss statistics press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
Swiss statistics press release (in German)
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.