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REVEALED: The baby names gaining popularity in Germany

How popular is your name - or your baby's name - in Germany? New data from the Society for German Language reveals what parents are calling their children.

Published: 7 May 2024 13:42 CEST
Updated: 7 May 2024 15:40 CEST
Noah and Sophia were the most popular names in Germany last year.
Noah and Sophia were the most popular names in Germany last year. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Hendrik Schmidt

Sophia and Noah topped the list of the most popular baby names in Germany last year, new figures show. 

This means long-standing favourite Emilia has been replaced as the most popular girl’s name – albeit by a very narrow margin, the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache or Society for German Language (GfdS) revealed on Tuesday.

According to the Wiesbaden-based organisation, Sophia has taken the top spot for the very first time, with the name having worked its way up the rankings in recent years. The race for first place among the most popular girls’ names was extremely close. The number of babies named Sophia or Sofia was only four higher than the number of new-borns named Emilia.

Emma came in third place for girls, Mia was in fourth and Hanna or Hannah took the fifth spot. 

Noah has been at the top of the boys’ list since 2019, followed by Mattheo (in various spellings) and Leon in 2023. The rising stars of the year include Lia/Liah for girls and Liam for boys. These names made it into the top 10 most popular names for the first time. In contrast, Finn, which took fourth place in 2022, dropped out of the top 10.

READ ALSO: What Germany’s most popular baby names have in common

Of course, depending on the region, the most popular names can vary. 

For instance, in Berlin last year – as in five of the past six years – the most popular boys’ first name was Mohammed, reflecting a more diverse population. Alternative spellings such as Muhammad or Mohammad are also taken into account. 

Noah was in second place in Berlin, followed by Adam, Luis, Liam, Leon, Mateo, Luka, Emil and Oskar. Sophia topped the list of girls’ names, followed by Emilia, with Charlotte and Mila sharing third place. Emma, Hanna, Mia, Klara, Lina and Mathilde were also popular in Berlin. 

Mohammed was also the top boys’ first name in Hamburg, Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein. In Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, it came in second place.

There are also some other interesting regional differences to note. For instance, Ella and Oskar were the most popular baby names in Thuringia. Meanwhile, according to the analysis, Oskar made it into the top 10 in all eastern German states, but nowhere in western Germany.

A baby's feet.

A baby’s feet. Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash

What trends are we seeing in Germany?

Overall, the first names list remains “stable” said GfdS Managing Director Andrea-Eva Ewels, signalling that there hasn’t been drastic changes in recent years.

But some naming trends are emerging. Around 63 percent of children are given only one first name by their parents, Ewels said. However, the percentage of babies with a middle name is rising – and now stands at more than a third. Three names or more are still the exception.

In the list of all boys’ middle names, a comeback of names popular in the 1970s and 1980s can be seen, with Michael, Johannes and Andreas proving fairly popular.

The Society for the German Language has been publishing lists of the most popular first names since 1977. Around 750 registry offices across Germany submitted almost 900,000 names for the 2023 evaluation. This means that more than 90 percent of all names given last year were recorded. Almost 70,000 different names were reported.

Here’s a look at the most popular baby names in Germany in 2023, with the previous year’s ranking in brackets:

Top 10 girls’ names:

1. Sophia/Sofia (2)

2.  Emilia (1)

3. Emma (3)

4. Mia (4)

5.  Hannah/Hanna (5)

6.  Mila (7)

7. Lina (6)

8. Ella (8)

9. Klara/Clara (10)

10. Lia/Liah (14)

Top 10 boys’ names:

1. Noah (1)

2. Mat(h)eo/Matt(h)eo (2)

3. Leon (3)

4. Paul (5)

5. Emil (7)

6. Luca/Luka (8)

7. Henry/Henri (10)

8. Elijah (6)

9. Louis/Luis (9)

10. Liam (15)

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INSIDE GERMANY

Inside Germany: Citizenship campaign, wedding bureaucracy and landmark cinema closure

From a campaign to encourage foreigners to apply for German citizenship and the clunky process of getting married in Germany to an East German cinema, here are a few of the things we've been talking about this week.

Published: 18 May 2024 07:43 CEST
Inside Germany: Citizenship campaign, wedding bureaucracy and landmark cinema closure

Inside Germany is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in Germany that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

Citizenship campaign to launch

With just over a month to go until Germany’s citizenship law comes into effect, many foreign residents will be getting their documents together. 

But for those who are unsure (and do qualify under the new rules), the German government wants to convince you to become a naturalised German. 

This week we learned that a campaign will kick off on the same date the new rules enter into force – June 27th – providing foreigners with guidance for their applications.

The campaign will be launched by the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration and aims to “inform those interested in naturalisation and those potentially entitled to naturalisation about the requirements and procedures for naturalisation”.

A website will go live when the reform comes into force. 

“It will contain information on the requirements for German citizenship, the application process and the naturalisation procedure, as well as a digital quick check, which interested parties can use to check whether they basically meet the requirements.”

People in Germany may also spot various adverts about the new on social media, including Instagram. 

A German citizenship certificate and passport.

A German citizenship certificate and passport. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez

Alongside cutting ordinary residence requirements from eight years to five, a previous ban on dual nationality for non-EU citizens will be lifted, allowing applicants to keep their existing passports after they become German – unless it is not permitted in their origin country. 

Meanwhile, we were also given some clarification over the exact date that German citizenship will come into force. After previously letting us know that the law would come into force on June 26th 2024, the government told us on Thursday it would be June 27th. 

There had been some confusion over this date, including among elected officials. 

Saying yes (or no) to marrying in Germany

Imagine meeting the person of your dreams in Germany – but then realising how difficult the bureaucracy requirements can be when you’re getting married. That’s the experience of many foreign residents.

Instead, a lot of couples choose to cross the border into neighbouring Denmark where the hurdles to wed are much lower, as Paul Krantz reported this week.

“Given our experience with German bureaucracy, it didn’t take much to convince us,” Sam Care, 32, who lives in Berlin told The Local.

There are, of course, some couples who stick with Germany and successfully get married here. Check out our article below to find out the steps you need to take. 

Germany in Focus 

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel this week announced more details about her upcoming memoir and when it will be released. We get into this on the new episode of the Germany in Focus podcast as well as looking at how politicians are getting on TikTok, why a row over pro-Palestinian protests at a Berlin university have sparked a nationwide row and fascinating facts about Cologne. 

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel on stage in Berlin on Tuesday.

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel on stage in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fabian Sommer

Berlin’s Kino International cinema shut for renovation

One thing I love about living in Berlin is the number of cinemas. I especially like the ones with a bit of interesting history attached to them, such as the Kino International. 

This cinema, which opened in 1963 in the former East Berlin, shut its doors on May 14th for a two-year renovation.

It was viewed as a gem of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), hosting film premieres up until German reunification in 1990. Interestingly, On November 9th, 1989, the day the Berlin Wall fell, the premiere of an East German film called “Coming Out” took place – this was the first and last queer film in a GDR cinema.

One of the last films to be shown this week at the Kino before it shut was (the German dubbed) Dirty Dancing. This film premiered there in 1987!

Last weekend I took a turn to the cinema’s iconic cafe-bar before it closed. Check out the video in this tweet if you’re interested in getting a last look (at least for now) inside the building. 

Let me know if you have some recommendations for cool cinemas to check out in Germany. 

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