Luke and Maria remain most popular names

Luke and Maria were the most popular names given to babies last year, as in 2006, the National Statistics Office said.

A total of 3,871 live births were recorded in 2007, a decrease of 0.4 per cent over 2006.

53 per cent of these babies were boys.

Luke (or Luca) was chosen as the name for 4.8 per cent of the baby boys.

Matthew (with its variants) and Jake remained in second and third place, with 4.3 and 2.8 per cent respectively. Names that became more popular were Julian, Zach, James/Jamie and Jayden, while Michael, Kyle and Christian (and their variants) were significantly less popular than in the previous year.

Appearing for the first time in the top 20 boys' names in 2007 were Jeremy (including Jerome), Miguel, Mark (including Marco) and Dejan, while Jean, Andrew, Neil and Karl (and their variants) reappeared, having been absent in 2006. Tristan, Kurt, Leon and Sven, while all in the top 20 in 2006, fell from this range as of 2007.

As for the girls, Maria (including Mariah) topped the list for the fifth year in a row, the name having been given to four percent of girls last year.

In its wake was Martina with 2.6 per cent, which moved up from fourth place in 2006. Christina, including its variants, occupied third place in 2007, having been noticeably absent from the top 20 girls' names in 2006 as compared to previous years.

Also reappearing this year were Jade, Kylie and Elena, while Alexandra (including Alessia), Ella, Leah, Rihanna and Kiera were among the names appearing for the first time in the top 20.

Julia, Elisa, Nicole, Katrina and Aaliyah (and their variants) all increased in popularity between 2006 and 2007.

On the other hand, Emma, Maya, Amy, Michela/Michelle and Shania all registered drops between these two years.

Names present in the top 20 in 2006 but not in 2007 were Amber, Lara, Mireille, Naomi, Matthea and Kaylie.

Some interesting trends

The practice of naming babies after international celebrities is very much in evidence, with names such as Denzel, Shania, Aaliyah and Rihanna all appearing among the 20 most popular babies' names, the NSO observed.

The Maltese people's religious background is also apparent, with biblical names such as Luke, Matthew, Isaac, Maria and Sarah remaining consistently popular year after year.