Most Popular 2026
Most Popular Baby Names in 2026 — 25 European Countries
The most popular first names registered in 2026 across 25 European civil registries, sourced from the official national statistics offices. Each country card below previews the year's top three boy and girl names; tap through for the full top-30 ranking, year-on-year trend, name meanings and a legality check.
European naming trends in 2026 lean short, soft, and historic. Old Norse names are rebounding in Scandinavia, Roman-era names continue rising in Iberia and Italy, and Slavic countries are seeing a quiet revival of pre-Christian names. Cross-border picks like Sofia, Emma, Leo, Noah appear in almost every national top-20.
All 25 countries
Top three boy and girl names per country — click for the full ranking.
Top boys
Hugo, Mateo, Lucas
Top girls
Lucia, Sofia, Martina
Top boys
Leo, Gabriel, Jules
Top girls
Emma, Jade, Louise
Top boys
Noah, Matteo, Leon
Top girls
Emilia, Sophia, Mia
Top boys
Leonardo, Francesco, Tommaso
Top girls
Sofia, Aurora, Giulia
Top boys
Francisco, Joao, Martim
Top girls
Maria, Matilde, Leonor
Top boys
Jon, Sigurdur, Gudmundur
Top girls
Gudrun, Anna, Kristin
Top boys
William, Liam, Noah
Top girls
Alice, Maja, Vera
Top boys
Lukas, Emil, Oliver
Top girls
Nora, Emma, Olivia
Top boys
William, Noah, Oscar
Top girls
Ella, Alma, Freja
Top boys
Leo, Eino, Onni
Top girls
Aino, Olivia, Ellen
Top boys
Noah, Liam, Levi
Top girls
Julia, Emma, Mila
Top boys
Louis, Arthur, Jules
Top girls
Olivia, Emma, Mila
Top boys
Noah, Matteo, Liam
Top girls
Mia, Emma, Sofia
Top boys
Maximilian, Jakob, Elias
Top girls
Emma, Hannah, Anna
Top boys
Georgios, Konstantinos, Dimitrios
Top girls
Maria, Eleni, Katerina
Top boys
Antoni, Jan, Aleksander
Top girls
Zuzanna, Julia, Maja
Top boys
Jakub, Jan, Tomas
Top girls
Eliska, Tereza, Anna
Top boys
Jakub, Lukas, Filip
Top girls
Sofia, Nina, Ema
Top boys
Bence, Levente, Mate
Top girls
Hanna, Anna, Zoe
Top boys
David, Andrei, Stefan
Top girls
Maria, Sofia, Ioana
Top boys
Luka, Lazar, Vuk
Top girls
Sofija, Dunja, Mila
Top boys
Luka, David, Jakov
Top girls
Mia, Ema, Sara
Top boys
Filip, Luka, Nik
Top girls
Zala, Eva, Mia
Top boys
Lukas, Jokubas, Nojus
Top girls
Emilija, Liepa, Urte
Top boys
Roberts, Markuss, Gustavs
Top girls
Sofija, Anna, Marta
Regional trends
Iberian — Spain, Portugal
Saint names and Marian devotion still drive Iberian charts. Maria, Lucia, Sofia, Hugo, Martim and Mateo lead. Compound first names (Maria Carmen, Joao Pedro) remain a cherished tradition.
Nordic — Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland
An Old Norse revival is in full swing. Freja, Astrid, Vera, Alma, Emil, Vidar and Sigrid have climbed national charts every year since 2020. Iceland alone still tops with traditional patronymic-friendly names Jon and Gudrun.
Romance — France, Italy
Classical and vintage names dominate. Leonardo, Francesco, Aurora, Giulia in Italy; Gabriel, Jules, Louise, Jade in France. Latin and Greek mythological names are gaining everywhere — see our Roman-Latin guide.
Germanic — Germany, Austria, Switzerland
Short, traditional, two-syllable names lead. Noah, Leon, Elias, Mia, Emma, Hannah, Sophia top all three Germanic charts. Maximilian and Alexander hold steady as long-form classics.
Slavic — Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia
Christian names sit alongside pre-Christian Slavic revivals: Jakub, Antoni, Luka, Vuk, Zala, Sofija, Eliska, Mila. Slovakia still picks names from the official name-day calendar; Serbia accepts both Cyrillic and Latin spellings.
Related sections
Legal guides
Baby name laws in 25 countries
Browse A-Z
Full European name database
Compare
Compare two countries side-by-side
Themed
Viking and Norse baby names
Frequently asked questions
What is the most popular baby name in Europe in 2026?
Sofia (and its variants Sophia, Sofija, Sofie) tops several European civil-registry charts in 2026 for girls, while Leo (and Lukas, Luca) lead for boys. Country leaders vary — Spain favours Hugo and Lucia, Sweden picks William and Alice, Iceland still tops with Jon and Gudrun.
Where do these rankings come from?
We aggregate official civil-registry data: Skatteverket (Sweden), INE (Spain), INSEE (France), ISTAT (Italy), Statistik Austria, Destatis (Germany), CBS (Netherlands), Statistics Iceland, Hagstofa Islands and 16 more. Each country page links the source release used.
How often are the top-name lists updated?
We update each country page once a year, as soon as the national statistics office publishes the previous year's births. Most registries publish in spring; the 2026 update wave runs February to June.
Can I find gender-neutral or unisex popular names?
Yes. Many top names work for either gender depending on country — Andrea (boys in Italy, girls in Spain), Robin, Sasha, Noor, Eden. Browse the full database in our A-Z name browser and filter by gender per country.
Check a popular name's legal status
Free legality checker covering all 25 European countries.
Check a Name →Last updated: 2026-05-13. Rankings sourced from official national civil registries; see each country page for the source release.