It’s that time of the year again! The Association for the German Language, or the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS), has collated the data and presented us with the most popular baby names for 2020.
As it does every year, the GfdS records and publishes its lists of the most popular names in Germany. The GfdS uses birth records from registry offices all over Germany. In 2020, a total of 689.421 first names were recorded by the GfdS in 2020, 335.041 (48,6 percent) of them were girls’ names; the other 354.380 (51,4 percent) were boys’ names. Through the registry offices, the GfdS was able to record 89 percent of all the given first names in Germany.
Noah proved as popular last year as it did in 2019, retaining its status as the most popular name for baby boys in Germany. For baby girls, the most popular name in 2020 was Emilia. There was little change in the names that featured in this year’s list, although there were a few surprises.
The name Mat(h)eo / Matt(h)eo jumped into the top 10 this year, climbing from 13th place in 2019 to fourth place in 2020. According to the GfdS, such jumps have been pretty rare in recent years. The name has proven popular in eastern Germany, with it being ranked as the most popular name across the eastern federal states.
Noah, Ben, Leon and Paul all made it back into the top five most popular first names for boys for 2020. The only name that didn’t make it back into the top 10 this year from 2019 was Jonas.
The 10 most popular first names for baby boys in Germany in 2020 are:
| Rank | Name | Share of total (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Noah | 1,47 |
| 2. | Leon | 1,34 |
| 3. | Paul | 1,27 |
| 4. | Mat(h)eo / Matt(h)eo | 1,26 |
| 5. | Ben | 1,23 |
| 6. | Elias | 1,17 |
| 7. | Finn | 1,17 |
| 8. | Felix | 1,15 |
| 9. | Henry / Henri | 1,14 |
| 10. | Louis / Luis | 1,14 |
The GfdS noted that a trend of “phonetic monotony” had continued in 2020, particularly in the list of the most popular names for girls. In this year’s list of most popular girls’ names, the top 10 entries now all end in -a or -ah and, as with last year’s list, the most popular names repeat the same sound: Mia, Lina, Mila and Emilia, for example.
The 10 most popular first names for baby girls in Germany in 2020 are:
| Rank | Name | Share of total (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emilia | 1,54 |
| 2 | Hannah / Hanna | 1,51 |
| 3 | Emma | 1,50 |
| 4 | Sophia / Sofia | 1,45 |
| 5 | Mia | 1,44 |
| 6 | Lina | 1,21 |
| 7 | Mila | 1,19 |
| 8 | Ella | 1,17 |
| 9 | Leah / Lea | 1,12 |
| 10 | Klara / Clara | 1,12 |
For a full breakdown of the most popular names in Germany, including comparisons between different federal states and German-speaking countries, visit the GfdS website.