National data agency Statistics Norway announced the most popular baby names of 2023, with Lucas and Olivia being the most popular names for boys and girls.
The other top girls' names were Emma, Ella, Leah, Sofie, Nora, Sofia, Maja, Alma and Ada. Maja, Alma and Ada were new entries in the top ten most popular baby names.
Olivia has consistently been in the top ten most popular baby names over the last decade after seeing a massive increase in popularity at the turn of the millennium.
Noah, Isak, Oliver, Kasper, Elias, Emil, Jakob, Oskar and Theodor were the most popular boys' names. Biblical names for boys have been trendy over the past couple of decades.
READ ALSO: Why are certain children's names banned in Norway?
The most popular boy's name being Lucas comes after many years where Jakob has been the most popular boys name. Jakob was extremely popular in the 19th century before falling out of favour by the fifties.
Since records began, Anna and Ole are the two most popular baby names in Norway.
Public broadcaster NRK has previously reported that traditional Norwegian names were back in fashion when it comes to parents naming their newborns.
"We see that old Nordic names are starting to come back. Names that were widely used 100 years ago, such as Einar, Ingrid, Olav, Sigurd and Astrid," Ivar Utne from the University of Bergen told NRK.
Despite that, Statistics Norway has also pointed to a trend of parents giving their children more unique names.
"Although there are not necessarily the biggest changes in the top lists, we see that more and more people are choosing less common names. It is not unnatural to assume that we are in a period where the individual gets more space," Anders Sønstebø from Statistics Norway said in 2023.
Meanwhile, the researcher from the University of Bergen, Utne, said that there had been a trend towards English and biblical names over the past two decades.
"It increased from the 1970s and 80s onwards. Most of the names that are given to children are names that we share with large parts of Europe, including the biblical ones," he explained.
A slew of names are also in danger of going extinct in the coming years, according to a slightly older Statistics Norway report. Halfrid, Berta/ Bertha, Hjørdis, Aagot, Thorbjørg, Borgny, Odlaug, Alfhild, and Vally were the names in danger of dying out.
Comments