Choosing the name that our children will bear is one of the most important things we will have to do as parents. Although there are classic or traditional names that never go out of style, trends are also changing and more and more parents are choosing names for their children that were not heard a decade ago.
Thus, if we look at the INE statistics of the most used boy and girl names for those born in 2020 and compare them with the most used in 2010, we see that there are currently a series of new names that were not heard before, as well as names that have been gaining more and more popularity in the last decade.
Popular names today that were not heard a decade ago
Here we show you what are the most popular names today that were barely heard a decade ago . These are boy and girl names that, in the most recent statistics, occupy the top part of the ranking of the most chosen by parents.
boy names
– Dylan : this name is currently one of the most popular in certain autonomous communities, and has become a trending name in 2022. However, just a decade ago it was not among the statistics of the 100 most popular names. posts. In fact, the average age of the children who wear it is 5.8 years . It is a name of Welsh origin meaning “sea”.
– Enzo : in 2010, Enzo’s name was not in the table of the 100 most used names for boys in Spain, but it is currently one of the most listened to, with an average age of 5.2 years . It is an Italian name meaning “the lord of his home or his country”.
– Gael : Gael is one of those short names that start to sound stronger and stronger. Not in vain, in 2020 it was among the 30 names most given to children, but a decade ago it did not even appear in the ranking of the 100. The average age of the children who wear it is 6 years old . It is a name of Breton origin, and means “generosity, generous sir”.
– Leo : in the top 5 of the most used names in 2020 is this short name that has been gaining more and more popularity. With an average age of 5.4 years , in 2010 barely 600 newborns were given this name, compared to almost 3,000 children in 2020.
Leo is the short form of names like Leonardo (meaning “one who is strong like a lion”) and Leonel (a name of Greek origin that could be translated as “little lion”).
– Liam: This short and sonorous name was not heard a decade ago. In fact, the average age of the children who wear it is 4.9 years. Currently it is one of the names that has gained greater popularity around the world, being one of the favorites in Spain, the United States, Argentina or Portugal.
It comes from the Irish, and it is a short version of Guillermo that means “firm protection”.
– Luca: this short name is currently popular among boys, but a decade ago it was not even heard. It is the Italian form of Lucas, a name of Latin origin whose meaning is “he who stands out for his brilliance”.
– Marco : it is a name that has gained great popularity in the last 10 years. In 2020 it was among the 20 names most given to children, compared to the 67th position it occupied in 2010.
Currently, the name of Marco is one of the most popular in Asturias and Cantabria. It is a variant of Mark from the Latin meaning “Hammer” and is related to the god Mars.
– Oliver : the name of Oliver occupies the 16th position of the most popular boy names for those born in Spain in 2020. It has been gaining great popularity in the last decade. It is a name of Scandinavian origin that means “blessed by the olive tree”.
– Thiago : Thiago’s name is among the 20 names most given to children born in 2020. But a decade ago this name was hardly heard; in fact, the average age of the children who wear it is 5.3 years. Thiago is a variant of Santiago, which means “God will reward”.
Girl’s names
– Adara : the average age of girls who currently bear this name in Spain is 6 years. In 2020 it was put on almost 400 newborns, but a decade ago it was not heard. It is a name of Hebrew origin that means “beauty”
– Amira : Amira’s name was unheard of a decade ago. In fact, the average age of the almost 5,000 girls who currently wear it is 7 years old. It is a name of Arabic origin that means “princess”.
– Arlet : the name of Arlet was given to 310 newborns in Spain in 2020. It is a short name that has been gaining more and more followers, and that 10 years ago it was barely heard. In fact, the average age of the girls who wear it is 6.2 years.
It is a name of Hebrew origin, it means “Lion of God or Altar of God”
– Cayetana: despite being a classic name, Cayetana was barely heard a decade ago, nor was it included in the ranking of the 100 most popular girl names in our country. In 2020, 420 newborns were baptized with this name of Latin origin that refers to people from Gaeta, Italy.
– Chloe and Chloe : Chloe’s name is one of the most popular today, and in recent years it has been climbing positions. In 2021, in Spain there were 9,978 girls registered with this name and an average age of 5 years . Its Cloe variant was released in 2020 to almost 400 newborns, with the average age of the girls who wear it being 6.6 years old .
It is of Greek origin, and means “grass” or “green shoots”.
– Gala : it is a name that has been climbing positions in the last ten years. According to the latest statistics, this name is carried by 5,673 girls with an average age of 9.7 years . It is a name of Latin origin that refers to those born in Gaul.
– India : Currently, 2,666 girls with an average age of 4.5 years bear this beautiful name, which derives from the Sanskrit “indus”, which means river.
– Juliet : despite being a classic and traditional name, the name of Juliet has come back in force in the last decade. Almost 400 girls born in Spain in 2020 were baptized with this name that did not appear in the ranking in 2010. It is a variant of the name Julia, which means “the one who is strong from the roots”.
– Lía : it is a modern and original name for a girl that is gaining more and more popularity and in 2020 it was among the first 50 names most chosen by parents in Spain. In 2010 this name did not appear in the ranking of the 100 popular names. It is of Hebrew origin and means “bearer of good news”.
– Mía: it is one of the most popular names in recent years, with an average age of the girls who wear it of 4.8 years. This name was given to 1,493 newborns in Spain in 2021, ranking 18th among the most popular names. However, just a decade ago this diminutive name of Hebrew origin of Mary was not even heard.
– Nour : the average age of girls who currently bear this name in Spain is 6.3 years , which shows that just a decade ago it was not heard. It is a short name of Arabic origin that has been gaining more and more popularity. Its meaning is “light”.
– Ona : it is another super short name for a girl with great popularity in recent years. It is currently in 64th place, but 10 years ago it did not even appear in the ranking of the 100 most popular names. Not surprisingly, the average age of the 7,358 girls who wear it is 9.4 years.
– Vera: its popularity has increased more than one hundred percent in the last five years, and it was a name that was not heard ten years ago. It comes from the Latin “verus”, which means “true”. Also related to its Russian origin, whose meaning is “faith”.
– Zoe : 8,495 girls bear this name in Spain and the average age is 8.7 years . It is undoubtedly one of the most chosen short names for girls, climbing positions in recent years. Of Greek origin, it means “to give life”.
Names that have been climbing positions in the last 10 years
Among the boy and girl names that have been gaining more and more popularity we find those that, although they were already sounding a decade ago, were not part of the most chosen by parents for their newborns.
However, in the last ten years these names have been gaining more and more followers, to the point of becoming “trending names” today.
child’s name
– Ander, Axel and Alan : The popularity these three names have gained in the last decade is amazing. And it is that they have gone from not being included in the statistics of the most placed in 2010, to currently position themselves as three of the short names most chosen by parents for their babies.
Ander is the Basque variant of Andrés, which means “strong man”. Axel is a name of Scandinavian, Danish or German origin, meaning “universal fighter”. And Alan is of Scottish Gaelic origin and means “handsome.”
– Ian : Ian’s name was ranked 52nd among the most popular boy’s names in 2020, while in 2010 it was at the bottom of the table. In fact, the average age of the children who wear it is less than 12 years old , which shows that it is a name that has been gaining popularity in the last decade. It is of Scottish origin, and means “compassion of Yahweh”.
– Julen : it is a name that has been bursting with force in the last decade, until it has become a trend today. It is very popular in some autonomous communities such as Navarra, and its meaning is “man of strong roots”.
– Luka: Russian form of Lucas, name of Latin origin whose meaning is “he who stands out for his brilliance”, “he who was born at dawn”. It is one of the fashionable names today that did not sound a few years ago. Not surprisingly, the average age of children who wear it is 6.3 years .
– Max : another of the short names that has broken into the current scene with force and that was not heard a decade ago. It is diminutive of Máximo or Maximiliano. From its Latin origin derives its meaning, “the greatest”.
– Neizan: name of Hebrew origin that means “gift of God”. It is also one of the newer names judging by the average age of the children who wear it at 4.7 years .
– Noah: it is a unisex name that in our country is more used for boys. It is worn by 5,174 children with an average age of 6.7 years. It is the second most popular name in the United States for newborn babies, and increasingly used in Latin America and in Spain. A decade ago it was not even considered in the ranking of the 100 most placed names.
– Matías : although it is a classic name that has never stopped ringing, in the last decade the name of Matías has once again gained popularity and climbed the ranks. In 2010 it did not appear in the ranking of the 100 names most given to newborns, but in 2020 it ranks number 70. It is of Hebrew origin and means “faithful to God”.
– Teo : it is one of the super short three-letter names favorite by Spanish parents. The average age of children who wear it today is 7.5 years old , which shows that it is a very new name. It is the short form of Teodoro, which means “gift of God”.
girl name
– April : 1,215 girls born in 2021 were baptized with this name, compared to just over 600 in 2010. In fact, the average age of the name of April in our country is 8.1 years . It is a name of Latin origin, and comes from “Aprilis” name of the month of April.
– Alma : In 2020, Alma’s name was in the top 15 of the most popular. But this short name that triumphs today was barely heard a decade ago. In fact, the average age of the girls who wear it is 7.3 years old and in the statistics of popular names of the years 2010 it was ranked number 80.
It is of Latin origin, it means “Kind”, “Gentile”, “All spirituality”.
– Emma : currently, the name of Emma is one of the most used in communities such as Madrid, Cantabria or the Canary Islands, being one of the girl’s names that has been gaining more and more popularity. But a decade ago, Emma’s name was not registered in the top 30 of the most used names.
It is of Germanic origin, it means “Great”, “Strong”, “Immense”, “Powerful”.
– Jimena : this name is currently carried by 20,158 girls with an average age of 9.7 years . A clear example of its growing popularity is that in 2010 it was ranked 41st, compared to 23rd in the 2022 ranking. It is a medieval variant of Simeona, which is of Hebrew origin and means “the one who listens”. .
– Lara : this fashionable short name was not even registered among the 50 most used names in 2010. It has two possible etymologies. One indicates that it is a Russian diminutive of the name Larisa. The other indicates that it comes from Roman mythology and was the name of one of the water nymphs.
– Lola : Lola’s name is one of the hypocoristic names that have gained more popularity in recent years, unseating its classic version, Dolores. In the 2020 statistics, the name Lola was ranked 23rd among the most popular names for newborns, while in 2010 it was ranked 40th. The average age of the girls who wear it is 10 years old.
– Manuela : In 2010, the name Manuela was given to 400 newborns, compared to almost 1,000 in 2021. Without a doubt, this classic name has gained great popularity in the last decade. It is of Hebrew origin and means “God is with us”.
– Olivia : in the year 2020, the name of Olivia was given to almost 1,500 newborns in our country, occupying the 20th position of the most popular names. But if we compare it with the data from 2010, we see that this name was only given to 500 girls, then occupying the 76th position.
Currently, it is one of the most popular names in Madrid or Galicia. It is of Latin origin, and means “fruit of the olive tree”.
– Triana : in 29th place in 2020, it is one of the names most chosen by parents in recent years, and it did not enter the popularity ranking in 2010. In fact, the average age of the 10,033 girls who wear it is 6.4 years old.
It comes from Arabic, where it is written Atrayana. Its meaning is ‘beyond the river’ and it is also a well-known neighborhood in Seville.
– Valeria and Valentina : according to the latest statistics, Valeria is ranked number 5 of the most popular girl names in Spain, while Valentina is ranked 21. But both names were barely heard 10 years ago. In fact, Valeria was not even in the top 30 of the most chosen, while Valentina was ranked 93.
Both are names of Latin origin whose meaning is “courageous”.
– Vega : as happens with the name of Alma, Vega is one of the most popular today, which was barely heard ten years ago. in fact, the average age of the girls who wear it is 6.4 years . In 2020, it occupied the 16th position of the names most given to newborns, while in 2010 it was in the 77th position.
It is of Christian religious origin, due to the Marian advocation of the Virgen de la Vega, venerated in many localities of Spain.
