It’s everyone’s favourite time of the year - the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS) has published their list of the most popular baby names in Germany in 2019.
The GfdS has been recording and publishing the most popular names in Germany since 1977, using records of birth registrations from offices all over Germany. Last year, a total of 485.678 girls’ names were recorded, compared to 510.793 boys’ names, for a total of 996.417.
The most popular baby names in 2019 are Hanna and Noah. In recent years, several baby names have consistently appeared in the top 10 in Germany, but this year there are a few notable absences. Sophie, Maximilian and Alexander don’t feature in the top 10 at all and Marie (which was the most popular girl's name in 2018) has dropped to tenth place.
As already mentioned, Alexander and Maximilian, which were rated second and third in 2018 and second and first in 2017 respectively, do not make the top ten most popular baby boy names this year.
Professor Damaris Nübling told the DPA that boys’ names have gotten increasingly creative over the past few years. “The boy names are somewhat more colourful," he said. “Their spectrum of vowels and consonants is significantly richer."
The top 10 most popular boys names in Germany in 2019 were:
| Rank | Name | Share of Total (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Noah | 1,38 |
| 2. | Ben | 1,35 |
| 3. | Paul | 1,33 |
| 4. | Leon | 1,30 |
| 5. | Luis / Louis | 1,18 |
| 6. | Henry / Henri | 1,18 |
| 7. | Felix | 1,18 |
| 8. | Elias | 1,17 |
| 9. | Jonas | 1,16 |
| 10. | Finn | 1,15 |
Similarly names ending in a soft “a” sound are still the most popular for baby girls. First names for baby girls in Germany have been becoming pretty monotonous in recent years, with more and more girls sharing the same name, as well as popular names repeating similar sounds, for example, Emma, Emilia, Ella and Mila.
The most popular girl's names in Germany in 2019 were:
| Rank | Name | Share of Total (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hannah / Hanna | 1,57 |
| 2. | Emma | 1,57 |
| 3. | Mia | 1,49 |
| 4. | Emilia | 1,48 |
| 5. | Sophia / Sofia | 1,47 |
| 6. | Lina | 1,23 |
| 7. | Clara | 1,15 |
| 8. | Ella | 1,14 |
| 9. | Mila | 1,13 |
| 10. | Marie | 1,07 |
The GfdS also counts up the most popular follow-up names. This allows us to see what the most popular names in Germany are, not just in terms of first names but of given names in general. Marie, Alexander, Sophie and Maximilian all make this list, showing that popular first names from the past few years are now being used more often as middle and other given names.
| Rank | Name (Girl) | Share of Total (%) | Name (Boy) | Share of total (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Marie | 2,52 | Paul | 1,32 |
| 2. | Sophie / Sofie | 2,34 | Alexander | 1,26 |
| 3. | Maria | 1,63 | Maximilian | 1,25 |
| 4. | Sophia / Sofia | 1,41 | Elias | 1,21 |
| 5. | Emilia | 1,36 | Noah | 1,13 |
| 6. | Emma | 1,20 | Louis / Luis | 1,08 |
| 7. | Hannah / Hanna | 1,18 | Leon | 1,07 |
| 8. | Mia | 1,15 | Ben | 1,04 |
| 9. | Anna | 1,03 | Henry / Henri | 1,03 |
| 10. | Charlotte | 0,97 | Emil | 1,01 |
You can find the full breakdown of popular names in Germany, including comparisons between different federal states and German-speaking countries, on the GfdS website.