The Portuguese newspaper Diario Das Noticias had access to the list of the most popular names in 2020 in Portugal and unveiled the latest trends. The attribution of the first name of newborns is taken very seriously in Portugal which is one of the strictest countries in Europe on this subject, with a list of around 1,000 authorized first names, which explains why the same first names are often used. Lisbob, the expatriate assistant, tells you all about the ranking of the first names of Portuguese newborns in 2020.
The most popular names in Portugal in 2020: Maria widely in the lead among girls, a classic Francisco and João among boys - Photo by Tatiana Syrikova from Pexels
The Portuguese newspaper Diario das Noticias had access to the list of the most common first names for newborns registered at the conservatory until the second week of December 2020. As for the girls, the choice is final: Maria, the name given by his parents to 4,872 babies, clearly wins. Second, by far comes Leonor, with 1,310 newborns. The list of the most common first names continues with Matilde (1,255) and Carolina (1,008). Alice finishes the top 5, having been the choice of 968 parents this year.
On the boys' side, the battle is tighter, but remains classic. Parents registered 1,411 children in Francisco's name, 1,358 chose João and 1,306 Afonso. The top 5 is completed with "Tomás" (1,266) and "Duarte" with 1,261 babies. The rest is just as close with Gabriel (1.216), Santiago (1.167), Lourenço (1.119), Rodrigo (1.070) and Miguel (1.050), with more than a thousand children each.
Among the new trends Portugal records the popularity of Luana (275), Yara (192), Caetana (147), Noa (120) and Alana (103). On the boys' side, there are Enzo (355), Kevin (188), Noah (158) and David (141).
As a reminder, it is estimated that in Portugal there are 1,000 first names authorized for newborns. This list of course only engages children of Portuguese nationality, and there are exceptions for foreign parents. The attribution of the first name to children follows strict regulations in Portugal. The first names assigned to newborns who have Portuguese nationality must meet several criteria: be at most two, allow the sex of the child to be identified thanks to the 2 first names, respect the spelling and phonetics of the current Portuguese language and not be identical to the first name of a living brother or sister of the child.
The Conservatória dos Registos Centrais is responsible for civil status. It consults the Director-Geral dos Registos e do Notariado on the disputed names. It is this institution which maintains a list of first names having already been examined and having been admitted or refused. Some first names can be matched with particularities. For example, not appearing in the first position, appearing only in a set connected by a particle, or necessarily being part of fixed expressions (eg Domingos Sávio (m.) Or Fernanda dos Milagres (f.)).
