Each year, the official ranking of the most given first names in France is published by INSEE and we take pleasure in giving our opinion on the names of all the kids in France and Navarre. This year, the first names of children of stars have influenced new parents too much, but some classics keep their historical place and do not intend to move.
THE LITTLE GIRLS
1. Jade
Jade has been the most given name in France for years and even if it’s not as pretty as Jeanne, I’ve never met a Jade who hated her first name so we can say that it’s a good choice of the part of the parents not original.
2. Louise
There are plenty of reasons not to give the first name Louise to your daughter, but oddly, it doesn’t seem to put off the new parents. Louise and Emma have been at the top of the rankings for a long time and we don’t really know why…
3. Emma
Emma comes from Hebrew and would mean “God is with us” and despite all the recent disasters which prove that God wants to punish us more than to help us, the parents seem to have nothing to beat since there are more than 3000 babies we named Emma in 2021.
4. Amber
The first name Amber has been climbing the rankings for a few years. While there were “only” 2000 babies named Amber in 2O15, there are more than 3000 in 2021. I’m sure that in 2030, one in two children will be named Amber.
5. Alice
Alice is a step-child’s name, just like Sarah, and parents know it very well. A girl called Alice is necessarily beautiful, blond and rich so the young parents try everything for everything. We hope it will work for them.
6. Rose
We thought the fashion for fruit and flower names had slowly died out, but the first name Rose doesn’t seem to want to give up so easily. If you thought you were original, you failed.
7. Anne
There are first names that were fashionable 50 years ago and are coming back in force without anyone really knowing why, and Anne is proof of that. Why this first name and not another? Did a star call their kid Anne? If you have info, send us your sources in DM.
8. Alba
We don’t really know where this first name comes from (which is very pretty, it’s true) which appeared in the rankings when it has never appeared in recent years. In 2021, there are 1,517 more Albas than in 2020 and this is the first name with the biggest increase. Maybe because of the series The Ladies of the Telephone. Or maybe not.
9. Romy
Romy is the name of a Parisian influencer or the child of a reality TV star, but apparently it has become super common. Sorry to all Romy, I hope you don’t take it badly.
10. Mia
When your name is Mia, you are bound to become rich. Call your daughters Mia to spend their lives sipping cocktails on yachts, they deserve it.
LITTLE BOYS
11. Gabriel
Gabriel has been the most given name in France for 15 years and it may be time to change the record. It’s very pretty, we don’t just say the opposite, but when we see that the famous Gabriels are called Matzneff or Attal, it makes you want to move on.
12. Leo
If you’ve been planning on calling your kid Leo, you already know you’re not an original person at all. It’s short, it’s not so pretty and half the kids in France are called that.
13. Raphael
It’s a pretty name Raphaël and the advantage is that the Raphaëls are very often handsome. All young parents play the innocent, telling themselves that they will always find their children beautiful, but if you want a guarantee, call him Raphaël.
14. Louis
Louis has been a classic for a long time, so much so that we all had several Louis in our school classes. In 2021, 3715 new Louis came into the world so we already advise you to find him a nickname for kindergarten.
15. Arthur
Do you never get tired of giving your children names that have been in fashion for 35 years? I hear that the classics are timeless but Arthur frankly, it’s starting to be too much.
16. Jules
Unlike Julien, which is suitable for all ages, Jules is typically a child’s first name. Just like for Titouan or Timothée, it is hard to imagine an adult Jules who pays his taxes and drops off his kids at school. If you call your kid Jules, he’ll be an eternal child and you’ll have looked for him.
17. Mael
The supremacy of first names in four letters has been imposed for more than 10 years and Maël is probably the prettiest of all. It’s harmonious to hear, easy to learn to write in kindergarten and there’s a little umlaut to add a touch of fun.
18. Noah
Noah is the first name with the biggest increase between 2020 and 2021, there are 573 more children named Noah compared to last year. After all why not. It’s simple and pretty but it means “rest” in Hebrew so you have to expect a lazy kid.
19. Adam
Biblical first names have been back in fashion for a few years and Adam is one of those who are making the most progress. It is the second most given name in Paris in 2021, proof that the sores of East Paris influence the world.
20. Lucas
Lucas, Lucas, what can I say about this first name… it’s classic, boring and rather ugly. Sorry Lucas, it was free but it came from the heart.
There are quite a few first names that are not in the top 10 but have increased enormously, which means that they have been given a lot more this year than in previous years. In the batch, there are many first names in “O” like Malo, Alessio, Elio and Nino (it reminds us of the 2000s with the heyday of the Enzos) but also Maé, Mahé and Maylone, probably because of the kid from the reality stars Jessica and Thibault Garcia.
On the girls’ side, we find first names in “A” like Ava, Alma, Ella and Giulia but also the more classic Albane and Celeste, good first names for kids from the Parisian bourgeois.
Sources : INSEE – The Parisian