Matthew and Eliza were the most popular names given to newborns in Malta last year.
The National Statistics Office noted that a 1.2 per cent drop in live births was observed during the year when compared to 2011. Of the 4,231 babies born, 51.8 per cent were boys.
The most popular name given to baby boys was Matthew (including variations like Matthias and Matteo), given to 4.6 per cent of baby boys.
Jacob, including its variant Jake, rose to second place while Luke and its variants, which had held the first place for the most popular name for three consecutive years, fell to third place.
Names which rose in popularity last year include Zachary, John, Aiden, Nathan, Isaac, Liam, Benjamin, Nicholas, Joseph, Yannick and Jack.
Names which became less popular include Kaiden, Alexander, Michael, Jaden, Daniel, Andrew, James and Gabriel. Thomas, Mason, Julian and Denzel made their debut in the top 20 list but the name Keiran failed to make an appearance.
Eliza and its variants, including Lisa, Elsie, Elyse and Bettina, was the most popular name given to baby girls. Elena, which held this position for two consecutive years, moved down to second place. Julia also fell one place and ranked as the third most popular name given to girls last year.
New entrants into the girls’ top 20 list included Jade, Amber, Hailey and Faith.
Names which declined in popularity included Christina, Maria, Amy, Catherine, Sophia, Emilia, Alison and Aaliyah. Aaliyah went down the most, ranking twentieth in contrast to eighth place in the preceding year.
Big climbers included Maya, Lea, Mikela and Chloe, which all gained five places respectively in popularity.
The predominance of biblical names was once again apparent in the list of popular names given to new-borns.
Names like Matthew, Jacob, Luke, Zachary, John and Isaac for boys and Eliza, Helen, Maria, Anna, Catherine and Sarah for girls are all associated with biblical stories and saints.
Some popular names given to babies reflect characters in pop culture and sports. Examples include Mason, Denzel, Blake, Thiago, Gerrard and Zion for boys and Kendra, Khloe, Holly, Rihanna, Sienna, Norah, Kimora, Miley, Scarlett and Anouk for girls.