Sophie and Max: German classics top baby name list
There's little change in the 2015 list of new parents' favourite baby names, with some German classics holding on to the top spots.
More than 3 percent of girls and 1.5 percent of boys born in 2015 were named Sophie and Maximilian respectively, the Society for the German Language (GdS) found in statistics released on Thursday.
Hot on their heels were Marie – given to 2.99 percent of baby girls – and Alexander, chosen for 1.48 percent of all the boys.
Few of the entries on the top ten lists for either sex were new, with Jonas the only one to clamber up from 12th to 10th among boys, bumping Lukas out of the front-runners.
Percentages of babies given the top ten names for boys and girls in 2015. Their placement in the 2014 rankings is given in brackets. Image: GdS
Meanwhile, there was little regional variation for girls, with Sophie and Marie taking the top two places in the northern, southern, western and eastern regions of the country.
Among boys, Maximilian and Alexander topped the lists in the south and west. Northerners' favourite boys' names were Elias and Paul, while easterners picked Paul and Alexander.
When the researchers looked only at first names – rather than all given names – the picture was a bit different.
Image: GdS
Maximilian reached second place while Sophia – not Sophie – only managed fourth.
At the top of the table were Mia and Jonas, which had jumped up from second and seventh place respectively.
Photo: DPA
For the first time, the GdS also looked at how common Turkish and Arabic names were in Germany.
They found Elif the highest-placed Middle Eastern name for girls in Germany at 64th most common overall, while Muhammed reached 41st among boys' names.
Parents in Germany chose from a total of 60,000 names for roughly 940,000 babies covered by the GdS survey.
Researchers collected data from 650 registry offices to compile their table, which covers around 90 percent of all the babies born in the country.
SEE ALSO: Germans turn to Star Wars for baby names
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More than 3 percent of girls and 1.5 percent of boys born in 2015 were named Sophie and Maximilian respectively, the Society for the German Language (GdS) found in statistics released on Thursday.
Hot on their heels were Marie – given to 2.99 percent of baby girls – and Alexander, chosen for 1.48 percent of all the boys.
Few of the entries on the top ten lists for either sex were new, with Jonas the only one to clamber up from 12th to 10th among boys, bumping Lukas out of the front-runners.
Percentages of babies given the top ten names for boys and girls in 2015. Their placement in the 2014 rankings is given in brackets. Image: GdS
Meanwhile, there was little regional variation for girls, with Sophie and Marie taking the top two places in the northern, southern, western and eastern regions of the country.
Among boys, Maximilian and Alexander topped the lists in the south and west. Northerners' favourite boys' names were Elias and Paul, while easterners picked Paul and Alexander.
When the researchers looked only at first names – rather than all given names – the picture was a bit different.
Image: GdS
Maximilian reached second place while Sophia – not Sophie – only managed fourth.
At the top of the table were Mia and Jonas, which had jumped up from second and seventh place respectively.
Photo: DPA
For the first time, the GdS also looked at how common Turkish and Arabic names were in Germany.
They found Elif the highest-placed Middle Eastern name for girls in Germany at 64th most common overall, while Muhammed reached 41st among boys' names.
Parents in Germany chose from a total of 60,000 names for roughly 940,000 babies covered by the GdS survey.
Researchers collected data from 650 registry offices to compile their table, which covers around 90 percent of all the babies born in the country.
SEE ALSO: Germans turn to Star Wars for baby names
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