Olivia and Arthur were the most popular names given to babies born in Flanders in 2019, according to the family organisation Kind & Gezin.
Every year the organisation reports on the most popular baby names. Last year’s winners were Mila for girls and Arthur for boys.
This year, Olivia tops the chart for girls, with 343 parents choosing the name for their newborn – two more than in 2018. The name has been in the top three since 2016.
Arthur was the most popular name for boys, with 338 choices, nine more than in 2018. The name has been in the top ten for seven years.
The runners-up were Mila for girls, knocked off of last year’s top spot, and last year’s winner Liam for boys. In third place Emma and Noah. Louise and Ella complete the top five for girls, while Leon and Louis take fourth and fifth place for boys.
Taking the names for boys phonetically, however, and the rankings look quite different. Then, Arthur/Artuur/Artur/Arthuur drops to third place with a combined total of 360 boys, behind Victor/Viktor (220/140) and Lucas/Lukas (272/108).
Under the influence of British royals, no doubt, four boys were given the name Archie. Popular culture stands behind the 12 girls named Elsa, 22 Selenas, 28 named Arya, 53 Arianas and only two Madonnas.
The poll refers to births up to 26 December only, and Kind & Gezin points out that births between then and New Year’s Eve could influence the annual rankings. That’s what happened last year, when Arthur seemed to be most popular at around Christmas time, only to be overtaken in the last few days by Noah.
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
