The most popular names of 2023
Contents:
• Usually parents come up with a name for the baby before birth. And many try to choose something original in order to distinguish their son or daughter from the crowd of their peers. Sometimes it comes to the point of absurdity, for example, in Perm a boy is growing up, whom his parents named Lucifer.
• And here are the most popular names of 2023, and their meaning. The list is based on data from RIA Novosti, which refers to the press service of the Moscow Civil Registry Office.
10 most popular boy names
10. Daniel
• The tenth position of the ranking is occupied by a beautiful and ancient name of Jewish origin. That was the name of the prophet Daniel. Literally translated, it means "God is my judge" or, according to another interpretation, "God is a judge."
9. Dmitry
• Like most of the most popular names in 2023, the name Dmitry has Greek roots. Means "under the auspices of Demeter", the goddess of agriculture and fertility, who taught people to cultivate the land.
8. Matvey
• The etymological meaning of this name is a man given by God. The ancient forms of the name are Matthew and Matthias. In other countries, Matvei become Matthias, Matthias and Matteo.
7. John
• And the majestic John and the funny Ivasya and the familiar Russian ear Vanyusha – all these are derivatives of the Hebrew Ivan – "God's mercy." It is believed that Ivans are kind, disinterested, but too heavy to lift.
6. Artem
• For one year (2012), this name occupied the first line in the list of the most popular names for boys, but then again lost the palm to Alexander. Translated from Greek, Artem means “healthy, unharmed”. It is a colloquial form of the name Artemius, which, in turn, is associated with the name of the goddess Artemis.
5. Mark
• But this popular male name "came" from ancient Rome. And it is connected, presumably, with the god of war Mars. According to another version, the ancient Roman name Marcus, from which the name Mark came, means "born in March." Why are there multiple interpretations? The fact is that personal names in Rome were of such ancient origin that the Romans themselves had already forgotten their exact meaning.
• The modern etymological meaning of the name Mark is "hammer".
4. Leo
• The Greeks gave this name to newborns so that they would gain the strength of the animal of the same name. For a long time, the name Leo was not common, only at the beginning of the 20th century it was often given to children in honor of Leo Tolstoy.
3. Maxim
• Roman generic name meaning "greatest". And if this male name is among the most common, then the female version – Maxim – is almost never found in our country.
2. Michael
• In Hebrew, Michael means "who is like God." This is the name of the archangel who commands the heavenly host.
• This name is very popular among Christians, but not among Muslims, since some theologians consider it unacceptable to name children after angels.
1. Alexander
• The undisputed leader for many years, only in 2012 he lost the championship to Artem. The origin of this name is Greek, and consists of two parts:
- Defender – Alex.
- Man, man – andros.
• In Muslim countries, the name Alexander is changed as Iskander, and comes from the name of Alexander the Great. It is also included in the collection of Jewish names, and also in honor of Alexander the Great.
• Although such a traditionally popular name as Sergey did not enter the top ten, it still does not lose ground. But the names Stepan, Nikolai, Yegor, Grigory, Vladislav and Nikita, on the contrary, went out of fashion this year.
10 most popular names for girls
10. Barbara
• A selection of the most popular names of 2023 for girls is opened by Varvara, the one who "lays softly, but sleeps hard." It is no coincidence that this name is consonant with the word "barbarian", and translated from Latin means "cruel, rude." But in translation from Greek it means "foreigner".
9. Vasilisa
• It comes from an ancient Greek word meaning "basileus's wife", "ruler". It is believed that girls with this name have an imperious character, are distinguished by strong business acumen and good organizational skills. These characteristics make them related to the owners of another popular name – Catherine.
8. Alexandra
• The female version of the most popular male name. The meaning is "courageous protector".
7. Polina
• The feminine form of the French name Paul is derived from the Latin paulus meaning "baby" or "small". In Greece, in which, as you know, everything is there, and Polina is, or rather Apollinaria, that is, “solar”, in honor of the god of sunlight, Apollo.
6. Eve
• Beautiful female name of Jewish origin. Translated from Hebrew – "giving life." But the popularity of the name Adam is much lower than that of his biblical girlfriend, but it is still higher than in 2021.
5. Victoria
• In Roman mythology, Victoria is the goddess of victory. Not surprisingly, the name Victoria means "victory" or "victorious".
4. Alice
• If we take the ancient Germanic version, then Alice is “noble”, “generous”. And if Greek – then "truth." There is a version that this name is an abbreviation for "Adelaide".
3. Anna
• This biblical name occurs several times in the first book of Samuel. Hannah, translated from Hebrew – "grace" or "grace of God." Anna was the name of the mother of the Virgin, the grandmother of Jesus Christ.
2. Maria
• Another biblical name in the ranking. It is formed from the Hebrew word Miriam (Miriam) – "serene", "desired". There are also the following interpretations: “lady”, “sad”, “bitter”.
1. Sofia (Sofya)
• This is a relatively young leader of the top 10 most popular female names. It topped the list only in 2016, but since then it has remained in first place. The name Sophia is of Greek roots and means "wisdom" in translation.
10 most unusual names
10. Nestor
• A name of Greek origin meaning "one who has returned home." That was the name of one of the main participants in the Trojan War, King Pylos, as well as a monk who is considered one of the authors of The Tale of Bygone Years. And this is also the name of 6 newborn Muscovites, according to registry offices in 2022.
9. Prokhor
• Again, a Greek name. But his meaning is unusual – “sang” or “choir manager”. A wonderful and unusual creative name that 10 boys born in 2022 bear (data only for the capital).
8. Nikon
• It comes from the Greek word Νίκων – "conqueror"., this name is used both as a personal and as a monastic name. Another variant of the name is Nikos. There are as many newborn Nikons in Moscow as there are Prokhorov, namely 10 people.
7. Leo
• It is easy to guess the meaning of this name. And it comes from the Greek λέων. In 2022, only 16 boys from Moscow received the name Leo.
6. Theodore
• He is Fedor, he is Bogdan, he is Bozhidar. The names sound different, but mean the same thing – "God's gift." This name was given to 29 boys born in Moscow in 2022.
5. Seraphim
• The name is fire, literally, in Hebrew it means “flaming” or “fiery”. Six-winged seraphim angels descend to mortals in the form of fiery whirlwinds or lightning. Registry offices report that in 2022, not very many Seraphim were born in Moscow – 47 people.
4. Marseille
• A rare French guest among the most unusual baby names. Means "pertaining to Mars". But from Arabic this name is translated as "praising God." In 2022, the capital was replenished with 69 newborn Marseilles.
3. Tikhon
• Another name of Greek origin, which is used both as a personal and as a monastic one. Translated from the Greek Τύχων – "fate", "chance". In 2022, 76 babies were named Tikhonov in Moscow.
2. Daniel
• This name has the same meaning as the name of Daniel, namely, “Fight is my judge.” In 2022, 109 new residents of the capital were born, who were given the name Daniel.
1. Robert
• Translated from the Old Germanic name (H)rod-berht means "brilliant with glory." In 2022, according to the metropolitan registry offices, 161 boys named Robert are registered.
• If we take unusual female names, then in 2022 in Moscow maternity hospitals were born:
- 156 girls named Aurora
- 133 Gold,
- 83 Athens,
- 80 Mil,
- 78 Agnes
- and 71 Adele.
• Only a small number of parents opted for such rare names as Miroslava, Miya and Yesenia. However, their popularity increased by 18% compared to the previous year. And, as the press service of the Metropolitan Civil Registry Office said, the popularity of the name Angelina increased by 27%.
