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 the Basque Country for boys and girls, also detailing their meaning.
Most popular boy names in Basque Country
1. Markel : Basque name derived from Marcelo, name of Latin origin relative to the God Mars.
2. Martin : comes from the Latin form Martis, which means “Mars” or “consecrated to the god Mars”.
3. Julen : Basque variant of the name of Julián, name coming from the Latin that means “of strong roots” and “belonging to Julio”.
4. Oihan: Basque name, frequent especially in Guipúzcoa, which could be translated as “forest”
5. Jon : Basque equivalent of Juan, name of Hebrew origin meaning “God forgives”.
6. Aiur: it is a Basque name that is especially frequent in the province of Vizkaya.
7. Aimar : Basque name that derives from the Germanic Haimhard, whose meaning is “strong”.
8. Ibai : means “river” or “water”
9. Luka: Basque version of the name of Lucas, a name of possible Hebrew origin whose meaning is “hurricane”, or from Latin, whose meaning would be “light”.
10. Danel : Basque version of Daniel’s name, name of Hebrew origin meaning “God is my judge.”
MartÃn, a popular name also in the Basque Country
The name of MartÃn -the most popular in national statistics- is also the second name most given to children born in the Basque Country.
The rest of the names that occupy the top 10 are all of empty origin, although some like Danel and Jon , in their Spanish version, are also the most chosen in all of Spain, occupying positions 7 and 33 respectively.
Most popular girl names in Basque Country
1. Ane : Basque equivalent of Ana, name of Hebrew origin meaning “compassionate”, “merciful”.
2. Laia : diminutive of Eulalia, which comes from “eu-lalos” and means “well-spoken”, “eloquent”. It is one of the most popular girl names also in the Balearic Islands.
3. June : Basque name of medieval origin equivalent to the name of Juncal, whose meaning is “place of the reeds”.
4. Nahia: It is a modern name that could be derived from the Greek root “to flow”, as well as Nais or “naiad”, Greek nymphs of streams and freshwater springs.
5. Maddi : equivalent in Basque to the name of Mary, of Hebrew origin whose meaning is “the chosen one”, “the one loved by God”.
6. Malen : diminutive of Madalen, the Basque equivalent of Magdalena, of Hebrew origin and means “tower of God”.
7. Nora : name of Greek origin, means “beautiful as the sun”.
8. Irati: Basque name meaning “fern field.”
9. Izaro: Basque name meaning “star.”
10. Sara : name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is “Princess”, “lady”, “sovereign”.
Ane, a short and pretty name especially popular among Basque girls
The name of Ana (Ane, in its Basque version), is one of the most popular names for girls that never goes out of style. It is a short and pretty name, which occupies number 30 in the national ranking and is also one of the most chosen names in the province of Navarra.
The rest of the most popular names in the Basque Country are almost all of Basque origin, except for Sara , a Hebrew name that is especially popular throughout Spain (it ranks 13th), and which is also one of the most common names for girls born in Basque. Galicia, Murcia, La Rioja and the autonomous city of Melilla.
