Statbel, the Belgian statistics office, has published a list of the top 10,000 names in Belgium on 1 January 2021.
The rankings, which charts first names, surnames, and baby names, are calculated based on population statistics throughout 2020 for baby names and on 1 January 2021 for adult names.
From Jules to Janssens, here are the top ten names from newborns to adults.
Babies: Welcome Olivia & Arthur
The most popular name for newborn girls in 2020 was Olivia, with 548 newborns given the name, followed by Emma (529) and Mila (489).
One of the greatest improvements in the popularity in the top 100 was the name Alba, which was given 87 times, an increase of 142%.
| 1 | Olivia | 548 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Emma | 529 |
| 3 | Mila | 489 |
| 4 | Louise | 432 |
| 5 | Lina | 411 |
| 6 | Alice | 361 |
| 7 | Sofia | 359 |
| 8 | Mia | 353 |
| 9 | Anna | 350 |
| 10 | Juliette | 332 |
For baby boys, Arthur topped the ranking with 587, followed by Noah (564) and Jules (543). Otis (210 +68%), Oliver (158, +34%) and Charles (123, +31%) saw the biggest increase compared to 2019.
| 1 | Arthur | 587 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Noah | 564 |
| 3 | Jules | 543 |
| 4 | Louis | 499 |
| 5 | Lucas | 467 |
| 6 | Liam | 467 |
| 7 | Adam | 443 |
| 8 | Victor | 412 |
| 9 | Gabriel | 384 |
| 10 | Mohamed | 345 |
Adults: Keeping It Traditional
In comparison with baby names, of which the less common or more international sounding names have become more popular, the most popular adult names are still slightly more traditional.
However, according to results, the "classical Belgian names" are declining in popularity, despite remaining prominent in January 2021.
For men, Jean ranks first, with 65,886 Jeans in Belgium on 1 January 2021. New this year is Mohamed, which pushed André out of the top 10.
| 1 | Jean | 65,886 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Marc | 63,436 |
| 3 | Patrick | 50,917 |
| 4 | Luc | 48,479 |
| 5 | Michel | 46,522 |
| 6 | Philippe | 41,742 |
| 7 | Jan | 40,536 |
| 8 | David | 35,748 |
| 9 | Mohamed | 34,862 |
| 10 | Thomas | 34,851 |
The leading name among women is Maria (116,317), despite a drop from 121,316 in 2020. The top 10 remains unchanged compared to last year, except for Nathalie which took 4th place, bringing Monique down to number 5.
| 1 | Maria | 116,317 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Marie | 92,827 |
| 3 | Martine | 40,550 |
| 4 | Nathalie | 40,131 |
| 5 | Monique | 39,389 |
| 6 | Anne | 37,602 |
| 7 | Rita | 34,329 |
| 8 | Nicole | 32,721 |
| 9 | Christine | 31,678 |
| 10 | Anna | 30,819 |
Surnames: Peeters, Janssens and Maes
When it comes to surnames, traditional Belgian names also remain prominent, with Peeters, Janssens and Maes being the most common in Belgium.
| 1 | Peeters | 31,079 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Janssens | 28,532 |
| 3 | Maes | 24,594 |
| 4 | Jacobs | 19,077 |
| 5 | Mertens | 17,906 |
| 6 | Willems | 17,747 |
| 7 | Claes | 15,798 |
| 8 | Goossens | 15,269 |
| 9 | Wouters | 14,999 |
| 10 | De Smet | 13,484 |
At the very bottom of the list of the 10,000 most frequent family names, we find, with only 181 persons bearing them, names such as d'Oultremont, Preudhomme, Kohl, Maison or D'Hulst.
While a degree of regional variation can be seen, some names appear consistently high across the country.
