Noah & Julia were the most popular children's names in 2023, Riley most gender neutral

Noah and Julia were the most popular children's names in 2023, according to data from the SVB, the Dutch government organization that implements national insurance schemes. In 2023, a total of 888 boys were given the name Noah, making the originally Hebrew name the most popular for boys for the fifth year in a row. When it comes to girls' names, Julia tops the list: 681 babies were named Julia.

After Noah, Luca and Lucas were the names given to boys most often. However, if the different spellings of Mohammed are taken into account, the Arabic name comes in second place. Last year, 721 children were named Mohammed, Mohamed, Mohammad, Mohamad, Muhammed, or Muhammad.

A newcomer in the top 10 of most popular names is Noud. Last year, 567 boys were named Noud, most of whom (120) were from Noord-Brabant. Levi has also gained in popularity, rising from ninth place to fifth. Olivia and Mila were the most popular names after Julia.

There are regional differences. For example, Hidde and Lieke were Friesland's most popular children's names, while Jan and Hailey topped the list in Flevoland. Daan and Lotte were most popular in Drenthe.

Riley was the most gender-neutral name, according to the SVB. It was given to 84 girls and 82 boys and, therefore, not bound to one gender. The most gender-neutral names after Riley were Sky, Jonne, Charlie, Sasha, Mexx, River, Jaël, Jessy, and Skyler. The SVB emphasized that it is not about the most popular names, but about names that occur almost equally often in boys and girls.

According to Gerrit Bloothooft, an onomastics professor at Utrecht University, the first names in the top ten are given to only 7 percent of all newborn babies. "Approximately 13,000 different girls' names and 11,500 different boys' names are given each year," he said.

"When we look at Julia's brothers and sisters, we often come across the top names Emma, ​​Sophie, Olivia, Noah, and Lucas. For Noah, these are Julia, Mila, Yara, Liam, Luca, Levi, and Sem. There is a certain group of parents who like and choose all these names, and that has a major influence on the top lists. Names that smaller groups of parents prefer do not make it to the top names."