Luke, Elena most popular babies' names last year

Luke and Elena remained the most popular babies’ names in Malta last year, according to the National Statistics Office.

The NSO said in a statement there were 4,283 live births last year, 7.1 per cent more than in 2010. More than half the births were boys.

Well over 100 boys were named Luke, the most popular boys' name in Malta for the third consecutive year. Matthew remained in second place while Kaiden replaced Jake (now fifth) in third place. Michael was fourth, up two places from 2010.

There was a large drop in the popularity of Isaac, which fell from fifth to 13th place. Nathan and

Kyle both fell three or more places. Moving in the opposite direction by three or more places were

Benjamin, Liam, Zachary, Daniel and Alexander, while coming in were Gabriel, Jacob and Jack.

Elena was the most popular girls' name. Julia, up from seventh, was second, followed by Maria and Elizabeth.

Hailey, Jade, Keira, Thea, Faith, Francesca and Shania dropped out of the top-20.

Hannah lost five places. Sophia made a strong move, joining the top-20 in equal 11th place. Other new entries were Karla, Alexandra, Alice and Chanel.

The appeal of names with a biblical connection was reflected in names such as Luke, Matthew, John, Eliza, Maria, Sarah and others.

Naming babies after international celebrities remained popular, with a prevalence of names such as Rihanna, Miley, Adele, Blake, Axel and Deniro.