Names Parents now come up with names for their children on their own – The girls’ classic name dropped on the list of the most popular

For girls the most popular first names last year were Olivia, Lilja, Eevi, Sofia and Venla. The most popular name of 2020, Aino, is now in 6th place.

The boys’ most popular first names were Leo, Eino, Oliver, Elias and Väinö. The order of the names of the four most popular boys is the same as in 2020.

Olivian was first named 312 girls last year, and Leo was given first name to 397 boys.

Of the names the girls received, the five most popular were Maria, Aurora, Sofia, Olivia and Emilia. The five most popular names for the boy were Olavi, Juhani, Johannes, Oliver and Mikael.

“The list of top names shows a lot of names familiar from recent years, and boys’ name favorites in particular have held their ground. On the other hand, there are no individual big favorites visible, ”says the specialist Noora Riskilä The Digital and Demographic Information Agency reports in the press release.

For example, in the 1960s and 1970s, as many as 7 percent of the age group could get the same first name. Such very popular names were, for example, Mika and Sari in the late 1960s. Today, the most popular first names cover less than 2 percent of the age group.

Individuality the emphasis has been on name choices throughout the 21st century.

“More and more parents want to give their children special, even invented, first names. Many of them have natural names, such as Conifer, Raspberry, Autumn or Tyrsky. New names are also created on the basis of old names, such as Lumia, Lumiina and Lumitähti on the basis of the name Lumi, ”says the docent of onomastics research Minna Saarelma-Paukkala From the University of Helsinki.

According to Saarelma-Paukkala, natural names communicate, among other things, that environmental values ​​are important to Finns.

Old and traditional names are also popular. Saarelma-Paukkala thinks that uncertain times may increase the popularity of traditional names. For example, they want to give names that have passed through their own family, he says.

Another significant trend is the proliferation of international names. Many parents want to give their children names that flirt with other languages ​​easily.

There has also been a change in the number of children. Almost half of children are already given three names, whereas in the past children were often given only two names.

“It may even be explained by the fact that the number of children has decreased. Now we want to give one child all those beautiful names. ”