Rooney,
Anastasia, Shakira, Troy and Russlana were among the
names given to Maltese babies
by Paul
Cachia, di-ve news (pcachia@di-ve.com
VALLETTA,
Malta (di-ve news) -- October 20 2004 - 1320CET--
Matthew and
Maria have been revealed as the most popular
forenames for Maltese babies in 2003. Both names
sustained pole position up to June 2004.
The results, from the National Statistics Office,
mean that Matthew has topped the boys' table for the
third year in a row, while in 2003 Maria and
variations of it replaced Nicole which had topped the
popularity rankings for girls' name since 2001.
Maria and variations of it was the most popular name
for girl babies with six per cent of total newborn
females in 2003.
Matthew was the most popular name for boy babies
dropped to five per cent of total newborn males in
2003.
Jacob replaced Luke as the second most preferred name
for boys.
The top third boys' names for 2003 included also Luke
or Luca. New entries included Damian, Jaden, Jordon
and Denzel. With regard to Gozo in 2003, Nathan was
the most popular name given to boys.
For the girls, Julia and variations of it made
appreciable inroads, while Sarah and Naomi dropped
considerably in the rankings.
Kimberely seems to be regaining some of its
popularity while a crop of 'new' names - among them
Elena, Chantelle, Chanise and Kaya made an appearance
among the 20 most popular girls' names.
Christian first names continue to be highly popular,
with 56 per cent of total names between January and
June 2004. Children given Arabic names increased by
three percent in 2003.
A wide spectrum of cultural influences in the shape
of celebrities - characters in reality shows, pop
singers and football players is increasingly evident
in name selection. These include names such as
Cluivert, Ruud, Rooney, Anastasia, Shakira, Troy and
Russlana.
There seems to be no gender divide regarding names
such as Andrea, Lee, Nelly, Jamie and Sasha.
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