The popularity of baby names is usually country or even region-specific, with the top names in the US different from those in the UK, which are different again from those in Sweden or Spain.
But as the world gets ever more connected, there are a growing number of names that rank highly on the charts of a wide range of countries.
Using the most recent statistics from nations and provinces around the world, we have the most up-to-the-minute data on which names are the current global stars.
Top International Names
The rankings below are based on the number of times each name featured on a different Top 10 list from the countries we were able to analyze.
The countries we surveyed are: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, England and Wales, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal Puerto Rico, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
The regions we included are: The Australian state of New South Wales, the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Quebec in Canada, and the regions of Catalonia and the Basque Country in Spain.
It’s important to note that there are outstanding statistics — and many places don’t publish baby name data at all — so the lists below are not exhaustive and they do feature mainly European names.
Nevertheless, they do give us a fascinating insight into which names are the biggest international superstars of the moment!
Top Global Girl Names
Due to linguistic and cultural differences, many names are used internationally in alternative spellings or distinct yet closely related variants. Examples include Amelia and Amelija, or Matilda and Matilde.
In the statistics we studied, there were six different variations of the Number 1 international girl name, Sophia — and in some cases, multiple forms of the name featured in the same Top 10! To give a more accurate picture of the most popular global names, we have grouped variations together.
Top Global Girl Names
4. Maria – a name with many variants, this form appears in the Top 10 in Bulgaria, Brazil, Estonia, Poland, Armenia, Moldova, Spain, and Portugal. The related names Miriam, Marie, Merjem, Meryem, Mariam and Mariyam appear in the Top 10 in Israel, Austria, BH, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan.
7. Amelia – Top 10 in New Zealand, the US, NSW, EW, Ireland, Canada, N. Ireland, and Scotland. It features in Lithuania as Amelija.
If the list was to be extended, a Top 20 would included Lia, Emilia, Anna, Ava, Isla, Lina, Sara, Lily, Julia, and Eva.
Top Global Boy Names
A truly global choice, the Number 1 international boy name Noah is remarkably consistent in spelling around the globe. It only appeared in a different form twice in the Top 10 lists we examined and that was in Lithuania, where it became Nojus, and in Georgia, where Noe is used.
Other high-ranking international boy name families are much more varied, many being translations and variants of classic names like John, William, James, and Matthew.
As with the girl names, these global choices are grouped into name families, with some countries having multiple forms of the name in their Top 10 — Switzerland's favorites, for example, feature four different forms of the Leo- family.
7. Oliver – Top 10 in Australia, BC, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the US, Canada, EW, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, and Northern Ireland. This may feel more popular than it is when considered alongside the also highly ranking Olivia.
If the list was to be extended, a Top 20 would include David, Mark, Arthur, Adam, Gabriel, Henry, Daniel, Elias, Michael, and Omar.