The most popular baby names in La Rioja for boys and girls (and their meaning)

The INE (National Institute of Statistics) has announced the names that parents have chosen the most for their newborn babies in Spain in 2021. And in addition, it has specified, by autonomous communities, which names have been the most chosen.

After analyzing the trend of names most used in other communities, we continue with our list of the most popular baby names according to the autonomous community, and this time we talk about the most popular names in La Rioja for boys and girls, also detailing their meaning.

Most popular boy names in La Rioja (and their meaning)

The 10 names that parents in La Rioja have chosen the most for their newborn babies are, in order:

1. Martin : comes from the Latin form Martis, which means “Mars” or “consecrated to the god Mars”.
2. Mateo: means “gift of God”. It is also popular in the Catalan form, Mateu: Catalan form of Mateo.
3. Daniel: name of Hebrew origin that means “God is my judge”. In most English countries, this name is interpreted as Dannis, but the etymology is the same.
4. Hugo: of Germanic origin, it means “intelligent”, “lucid”, “insightful”.
5. Pablo: of Latin origin, means “small, humble”.
6. Alexander: comes from the Greek and means “protector or winner of men”.
7. Marco : is a variant of Marcos. It comes from Latin and means “Hammer” and is related to the god Mars.
8. Enzo – is an Italian given name, meaning “the lord of his home or his country”.
9. Lucas: of uncertain origin, it seems to come from the Hebrew and would mean “hurricane”, or from Latin, and would be translated as “light”.
10. Mario : comes from the Latin Marius, and its meaning comes from the Roman “Mars, the god of war”.

Less Leo and more Marco, popular boy’s name in La Rioja

Most of the boy’s names coincide with the most popular in the rest of Spain. Martín is the favorite name, although it is surprising that the fashionable name, Leo, and fourth in the national ranking, does not appear in the top 10 Rioja.

On the other hand, if we compare the most popular names in La Rioja with the most chosen names at the national level, we find Marco in seventh place, while in the whole of Spain it occupies the 20th position.

Most popular girl names in La Rioja (and their meaning)

The 10 names that parents in La Rioja have chosen the most for their newborn daughters are, in order:

1. Lucía : of Latin origin “lux”, its meaning is “She who carries the light” or “She who is born of light”, in reference to girls who are born at dawn.
2. Sofia : of Greek origin and its meaning is “wisdom” or “she who possesses wisdom”.
3. Martina : feminine form of Martín, of Latin origin and meaning “consecrated or related to the god Mars”.
4. Julia : of Latin origin “Iulus”/”Iulia”, name with which the members of the Roman Julia family were identified. It means “consecrated to Jupiter”.
5. Carmen – A traditional name that continues to ring. Of Hebrew origin, it means “Garden of God”. It is the most common female name in Spain.
6. Mary : of Hebrew origin “maryam”, its meaning is “the chosen one”, “the one loved by God”.
7. Valeria : of Latin origin and its meaning is “healthy and courageous”.
8. Alba : of Latin origin, and means “Aurora”, “Dawn”, “white and shining”, “she who was born with the first light of dawn”.
9. Sara : name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is “Princess”, “lady”, “sovereign”.
10. Carla : of Germanic origin, its meaning is “powerful”, “the one who is strong”.

Carmen, Alba and Sara, among the favorites of the people of La Rioja

Lucía, Sofía and Martina lead the ranking of girls’ names, as well as in the national statistics. But we also find less frequent names among the favorite girl names for parents in the rest of Spain.

Carmen, the most frequent female name in Spain for women of all ages, is ranked fifth in Rioja, while it is 14th nationally.

For their part, Alba and Sara, are located in the top 10 of the Riojan community, while at the national level we find them in positions 18 and 13, respectively.