The 2023 first name official, to be published on Thursday September 1, reports on the trends that will be at work next year in the naming of newborns. Short, retro, inspired by nature or biblical: they will be between 5 and 7 letters. Here are the top 20 names that will be in fashion next year
[Mise à jour du 29 août 2022 à 13h00] For the publication of “The official of first names 2023”, on September 1, 2022 by First editions, the opportunity is given to take stock of the names that have made the trend this year, and which will still arouse the same enthusiasm in 2023. After years of having monopolized the top of the rankings, the first names Emma for girls (stayed number one for 16 years!), and Gabriel for boys, are no longer the darlings of parents, who now prefer them Jade and Leo. In 2022, the latter were the most chosen first names for naming newborns, and are likely to continue to attract the favor of parents in 2023… And if the arrival at sixth place in the ranking of ‘”Alba” does not prevent the decline of first names in “a”, great fashion of the 2000s, short first names are popular. The top 20 for girls has an average of 5 letters; 7 for boys. Vintage first names (Louis, Leon, Marceau, Magdalene and Josephine) are making a comeback, as are religious first names, with the revival of “Adam“, “Aaron” and “Noah“. Finally, the news also seems to have an influence on the choice of first names. So the name “Elon” (in reference to Elon Musk, boss of Tesla and SpaceX) was awarded to 500 boys, a 50% increase in three years. “Archie”the first name worn by the son of Meghan and Harry has also inspired many parents.
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The top girl names in 2022
In the top 3 female names for 2022we find : Jade, Emma and Louise. Thereby, first name Emma present for almost 16 years and which was in the lead last year, lost its place in 2022 to move into third position, followed by Amber, Alice and great novelty, Alba.. The authors of l’Officiel des Prénoms also bet on the short first names, with a few syllables (like Inès, Léa, Romy, Iris, or Anna). Another trend that should make an impression in 2023, as in 2022: retro first names with Madeleine and Joséphine. Eva and Manon for their part have lost their splendor, preceded by Anna and Rose who continue their ascent, just like the first names Victoire and Victoria.
Top 20 female names for 2023:
- Jade
- Louisa
- Emma
- Amber
- Alice
- Alba
- Pink
- Anna
- Romy
- Mia
- Julia
- Lina
- Lou
- Iris
- Chloe
- Agatha
- Leah
- Lena
- charlie
- Ines
Top boy names
On the boys’ side, Leo, which means lion in Latin, obtains the first place in the ranking and walk past the name Gabriel (until then unbeatable in Paris for 14 years). In third place, first name Raphael could make many followers in 2022, followed by Arthur, and Louis. Retro first names seem to be making a comeback once again. Among the boys, we will find boys named Louis, Léon and Marceau, but also Paul, or even Gabin.
Top 20 male names expected in 2023:
- Leo
- Gabriel
- Raphael
- arthur
- Louis
- jules
- Mael
- Adam
- Gabin
- Noah
- Hugo
- Lucas
- Liam
- Sasha
- Aaron
- Leon
- isaac
- Paul
- Nathan
- Noah
First names in A, short first names and “chameleons”
After years of success, first names in “a” or “ia”, in vogue since the beginning of the 2000s, “continue to ebb” according to the authors of the Official First Names Stéphanie Rapoport and Claire Tabarly Perrin, according to BFM. Short first names are preferred, like Liam, Sacha or Leoand the Old Testament proves to be a privileged source of inspiration, with an abundance of Raphaël, Eden, and others Gabriel or Aaron.
First names from nature: a trend that will continue in 2023
According to Stéphanie Rapport, we note an effect of Covid on the choice of baby namesand there is “a link with the emergence of ecological awareness“, she confided to the Journal des Femmes. “During the confinement, there was a desire to return to nature, in the countryside. We then imagine a boost effect that will increase this type of rare first names like Zephyr (the wind), or even the already trendy first names like Jade, Amber, Agate, Rose, and Iris“. In 2022, this nature trend dominates again with Jade, Rose, Ambre, Iris and Agathe, which are in the top 20.
Amongst others nature inspired nameswe can also mention: Aurora, Autumn, Star, Cassis, Summer, Sun, Dawn, Moon or Nour (meaning light), for girls and Abriel, Zephyr, Wolf, Sailor, Cosmin, Orion, Syrius, or Bosco (which means “the wood”) without forgetting Lucas which means “light” in Latin, Léo (lion), Côme (Cosmos) and Loup.
Ancient first names: a tribute to elders
According to the First Names Official, the old or retro first names should continue to be popular with future and young parents. Thus, we could soon find more and more small Alfred, Lucien, Emile, Félix, Lucien, Marcel, Marius, Pierre, Victor and Jacques in nurseries. And in girls, Colette, Louise, Alice, Angèle, Hélène, Madeleine, Marguerite, Suzanne or Nicole may well make a comeback. On the other hand, the first names Marie and Jean should be assigned less. “They are unclassifiable, still the most worn in France because they remained number one from the beginning of the last century until the end of the 1960s. But while they could legitimately come back, they are victims of their success and their too religious connotation”specifies the Parisian Stéphanie Rapoport.
What about compound names?
In general, the compound first names, those worn by our parents like Jean-Baptiste or Jean-Jacques are down. Nevertheless, some personalities like Lily Rosethe daughter of Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp or the singer Louanne have allowed compound first names to come back to the fore and in different spellings. “We thus find Lili-Rose, always in first place of compound first names, with a multitude of variations. Same thing for Louane, which is also written Lou-Anne, or Lou-Ane“. Parents also enjoy composing their first names themselves, to create an original, unique first name that sometimes also allows them to reconcile their different cultures: babies are born named Lily-Nour, for example.