Germany’s top baby names for 2023: Michael makes a comeback
By Olivia Logan
The second of Germany’s two annual popular baby name rankings is here. The number one boy’s name has retained its title for the fifth year in a row, while Emilia was usurped after three years in the lead.
Germany’s top baby names for 2023: Noah and Sophia
According to the annual ranking by the Association for the German Language (GfdS), Noah continues to reign supreme for the fifth year in a row as the number one baby boy’s name in Germany. Matteo and Leon followed in second and third place respectively, retaining their spots for the third consecutive year.
Meanwhile, Emilia was dethroned. After three years in the lead, always with an annually changing succession order of Sophia / Sofia, Hannah / Hanna and Emma following behind, Emilia was finally usurped by Sophia / Sofia in 2023, but still stood as the second most popular name. Emma and Mia followed in third and fourth place, with Hannah / Hanna in fifth.
The annual GfdS list of baby names in Germany has been going since 1977 and collects data from more than 750 registration offices in Germany. For the 2023 ranking, these 750 registration offices shared almost 900.000 names with the organisation.
Baby -Michael makes a comeback in 2023
“Overall the first name list has remained stable,” GdfS executive Andrea-Eva Ewels, speaking of the 2023 results.
The majority of new parents in Germany, 63 percent, gave their baby one first name. However, those who decided to give their babies two first names shook things up in 2023, igniting the resurrection of a “god-like” old classic; Michael.
Michael's renaissance as Michael-Something or Something-Michael was accompanied by the growing popularity of other favourites of the 1970s and 1980s; Johannes and Andreas. But it is the Old Testament’s Michael which has consistently crawled up the ranking in the past few years, Ewels explained.
The top 10 baby names in Germany in 2023
According to the GfdS ranking, the top baby names of 2023 were as follows:
10 most popular feminine baby names in 2023
- Sophia / Sofia
- Emilia
- Emma
- Mia
- Hanna / Hannah
- Mila
- Lina
- Ella
- Klara / Clara
- Lia / Liah
10 most popular masculine baby names in 2023
- Noah
- Matteo
- Leon
- Paul
- Emil
- Luca / Luka
- Henry / Henri
- Elias
- Louis / Luis
- Liam
To check out the full list of names head to the GfdS website here.
Thumb image credit: Zurijeta / Shutterstock.com
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Editor for Germany at IamExpat Media. Olivia first came to Germany in 2013 to work as an Au Pair. Since studying English Literature and German in Scotland, Freiburg and Berlin she has worked as a features journalist and news editor.Read more