Most popular children's names: now come the “star

Jasko and Teddy, Anjela and Ximena – what sounds unusual at first may be heard on the playgrounds soon. A hobby researcher looks the trends under the first names. He is currently particularly looking at the new "Star Wars" film.

Mia displaces Emma, Ben defends his position and Mila and Milan are the promoters of the year. These are the most important insights from the this year’s first name statistics from Knud Bielefeld. The hobby name researcher from Ahrensburg near Hamburg evaluated 183,396 birth announcements from Germany for 2015 and thus claims to have recorded more than a quarter – around 26 percent – of baby names. "Little changes from year to year," says Bielefeld of the German press agency in Hamburg. For him, the promoters and trends are more exciting, he explains. And there he is currently looking especially at the new "Star Wars" film.

Finn already in fifth place before "Star Wars"

"I’m excited to see what the name Finn looks like," says Bielefeld. The name of the new hero, namely Finn, is now on everyone’s lips. "I am very excited to see whether this is more of a deterrent or more of a promotion of the name," says the expert. In the current ranking Finn – along with the Y variant Fynn – is fifth. The old "Star Wars" hero Luke has not yet made it into the top ten, but according to Bielefeld, he is a rising star. He also has sympathy for Kylo. That’s the name of the new villain in the seventh episode of the Star Wars saga. "The sound fits into the fashion name scheme, and ‘y’ is trendy for young parents," says Bielefeld. But whether the villain serves as the name sponsor?

First names in Germany are also recorded by the Society for German Language (GfdS) in Wiesbaden. For 2014, she determined with the registry offices as favorites for the first names Hanna / Hannah and Luis / Louis. It presents its evaluations in the following year. Bielefeld relies primarily on maternity hospitals and information from ten registry offices.

Shakira and Piqué as trendsetters?

The model for the shooting star of the year for the boys – Milan – could have been Latin pop queen Shakira and the Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué. They named their firstborn in 2013 that way. "It has been the most ambitious name ever since," says Bielefeld. “When a name appears in the media, it becomes more and more popular. When we hear something we like, we like it even more afterwards – a psychological effect, ”he explains.

"I don’t know whether the meaning of a name is conscious or important to the parents," says Bielefeld. For the girls, Mila made it to tenth place for the first time. "It goes by the name," says the hobby name researcher. "Mila is a Slavic name, and milo means sweet or pleasant." It also sounds something like Mia, this year’s top-placed, or Lina (7th place).

"The sound of the name is important to the parents," says Bielefeld. He also hears this from the other pushing forward: Elias and Emil, Ella and Tilda. And Eleano, a newcomer to the boys, sounds "simply beautiful" to Bielefeld. In addition, Jasko and Teddy and the girls Anjela appeared as a variant of Angela, Floriana and Ximena for the first time.

Short name trend continues

Again dominate the 2015 hit list short Name. Mia replaces Emma at the top. The runner-up had stopped Mia’s five-year winning streak alongside Ben in 2014. Now this favorite double harmonizes again. Ben is followed this year by Jonas and Leon, who swapped places with Paul and Luis / Louis in the top ten compared to the previous year. The “L” names were still popular ten years ago: Lukas / Lucas, Leon and Luca / Luka set the tone for the boys in places 1 to 3, while for the girls it was Leonie who took first place. Lea / Leah, Lena and Laura followed at a distance.

Speaking of a change of throne: It also happened again in Bavaria, where Maximilian regained his traditional place at the top of last year’s winner Lucas / Lukas. And curiosity is also there this year. As with the newborn, who should at least find its name in the Grimm fairy tale world: Gretchen Snow White is her officially registered name, says Bielefeld.

Picture: Lucasfilm / Walt Disney / dpa

See also: Blockbuster 2015 – sweeter the cash registers never ring!

Most popular children’s names: now come the “star

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