Oscar and Maja most popular names in Sweden
• Swedes have become 'older, heavier and greener'
Maja is back as the number one name for newborn girls who were given names in 2010 while Oscar took a step forward from third place in 2009 to the top name for boys. This is the third time during the last five years that Maja tops the list for the girls. Oscar was the most popular name for boys in 2005 and 2002. The name has been on the top ten list during all of the 2000s.
Maja was the most popular name for girls last year when 895 girls were given the name. This corresponds to 1.6 percent of all girls given names in 2010. In second place was Alice (number 1 the year before), and third place was Julia, which took a big leap upwards from seventh place in 2009. Ella and Emma dropped from third and fourth place in 2009 to sixth and seventh place in 2010. The only new name on the top ten list is Olivia at tenth place, advancing from 17th place in 2009, thus knocking Ebba from the list.
Oscar came in first with 1 108 boys given that name, corresponding to nearly 1.9 percent of the boys given names last year. William took second place, one step above the shared third place in 2009, closely followed by the previous number one name of Lucas. No less than three new names entered the top ten list for boys: Theo, Liam and Leo. The three having to leave the list were Erik, Viktor and Axel.
Newborns by first name given in 2010, top 10
| Rank* | Girls' names | Number | Rank | Boys' names | Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (2) | Maja | 895 | 1 (3) | Oscar | 1 108 | |
| 2 (1) | Alice | 867 | 2 (3) | William | 1 032 | |
| 3 (7) | Julia | 823 | 3 (1) | Lucas | 1 026 | |
| 4 (8) | Linnéa | 750 | 4 (2) | Elias | 888 | |
| 5 (9) | Wilma | 742 | 5 (6) | Alexander | 887 | |
| 6 (3) | Ella | 737 | 6 (5) | Hugo | 873 | |
| 7 (5) | Elsa | 724 | 7 (7) | Oliver | 810 | |
| 8 (4) | Emma | 722 | 8(16) | Theo | 804 | |
| 9 (6) | Alva | 711 | 9(15) | Liam | 782 | |
| 10(17) | Olivia | 703 | 10(14) | Leo | 764 |
*Place for 2009 in parentheses.
Maja and Oscar not popular in the entire country
The most common names for our children vary across the country. The top names Maja and Oscar that are the most popular nationally do not share the same popularity throughout the country. Among the 21 counties, Maja is number one in seven counties while Oscar tops the list in six counties. Meanwhile, Lucas also tops the list in six counties. Julia and Alexander are popular in Greater Stockholm, while Oscar and Alice are well-liked in Greater Gothenburg. Parents in Greater Malmö think like the rest of the country on the whole, and both Oscar and Maja take first place there.
Most common first names for newborns given a name in 2010 by region
| Region | Girls' names | Number | Boys' names | Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Stockholm | Julia | 219 | Alexander | 290 | |
| Greater Gothenburg | Alice | 102 | Oscar | 133 | |
| Greater Malmö | Maja | 77 | Oscar | 97 | |
| Central Sweden | Maja | 149 | Lucas | 171 | |
| Western Sweden | Alice | 99 | Oscar/William* | 112 | |
| Southern Sweden | Maja | 160 | Elias/Lucas* | 153 | |
| Northern Sweden | Alice | 179 | Oscar | 197 |
*In Western Sweden besides Greater Gothenburg and in Southern Sweden besides Greater Malmö, first place is shared among the boys.
Many creative parents
Today's parents choose among an increasing number of names and different spellings of names. Last year 56 513 girls were given 6 245 different names, if every spelling alternative is counted as one name. The 59 783 boys were given 5 714 different names. Of those newborns given names in 2010, 4 092 girls and 3 775 boys were given names, or at least spellings of names that were completely unique to them.
Tove and Frank climbing quickly
Tove, Minna and Novalie are those girls' names that are rising the most in popularity on the top 100 list since 2009. Kajsa, Emelie and Cornelia are the girls' names that have dropped the most at the same time. Among the boys we find Frank, Elvin and Milo the most rapidly increasing. Meanwhile Carl, Marcus and Jonathan have dropped the most.
New on the top 100 we find the girls' names Tove, Minna, Majken, Annie, Juni, Hedvig and Novalie, while new for the boys' names are Frank, Ebbe, Elvin, Julian and Ivar. Leaving the list are Malva, Victoria, Fanny, Alexandra, Rut, Miranda and Johanna among the girls and Dante, Mattias, Jesper, Dennis and Ruben among the boys.
Definitions and explanations
The name statistics have been produced from Statistics Sweden's Total Population Register. The statistics refer to given names most commonly used (or first names ) given during 2010. First names for newborns are to be registered with the Swedish National Tax Board within three months of the child's birth, so the statistics here refer to newborns during 2010 as well as the end of 2009. The names in the top lists are presented according to the most common spelling, but all spelling variations are included in the reported numbers.
Those names that have increased or decreased the most on the top lists for 2010 are calculated as a percentage increase between the top 100 lists for 2009 and 2010.
Source: Statistics Sweden
Last Updated (Thursday, 20 January 2011 10:09)
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