Jade, Gabriel, Louise or Raphael... For several years, these names have regularly topped the rankings of the most given names of the year. Barring a reversal in the coming years, they should appear in the top names from 2020 to 2030. But between the 1980s and 1990s, Nicolas, Aurélien and Julien were the most given names. What is the situation today?
While INSEE published its annual ranking of the most given names in France for the year 2022 on Tuesday, Le Parisien looks at these star names of the 1980s that went out of fashion in 2022.
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During this decade, no less than 146,103 Nicolas were born, making this name the most given, of any sex, of the 1980s. If it was also much attributed during the following decade, the situation has changed today, even if this name is still far from disappearing. In 2022, 328 little Nicolas were born in France, making this name the 202nd most given of the year among boys.
Aurélie in danger of extinction
The other star name of the 1980s is Julien. Given 145,911 times in ten years, it had been awarded almost as much as Sebastien. On the other hand, it is less given today since it was given only 164 times in 2022, less than 343 other names. Among girls, the most common name of this decade was Aurélie. It was given about 11,300 times on average each year; It has only been awarded 15 times in 2022.
Émilie, the second most given female name of the 1980s, was given 224 times in 2022. Very popular forty years ago, Sébastien and Guillaume are now in distress. Respectively the third and fourth most common names among men, they were assigned only 60 and 81 times in 2022.
If 139 Céline were born last year, this is still relatively low compared to the more than 8,400 little girls named on average each year between 1980 and 1990. The same fate applies to the Sébastiens, with an average of 10,000 births in the 1980s, compared to only 60 in 2022.