Emilia?

Emilia!

Wasn't that the name of a girl from our son's kindergarten group?

So then we would have an expert on the name of success.

Because Emilia, it became known this week, is the most popular first name for girls in Germany.

According to the Society for the German Language, no other first name was given to newborn girls more often in the past year.

Emilia is followed by Hanna (h), Emma, ​​Sophia / Sofia, Mia, Lina, Mila, Ella, Lea (h) and Clara / Klara.

So why this front runner?

Let's ask the expert.

Alfons Kaiser

Responsible editor for the section “Germany and the World” and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Magazin.

  • Follow I follow

    Hello Emilia, how are you?

    “I'm doing great.” What class are you in now?

    "In the sixth, I'm eleven years old now." And do you also know why your parents called you Emilia?

    “They just loved the name.

    My grandma suggested Felicia as well.

    Fortunately, my name is Emilia. ”So you like your name?

    "Yes very.

    It sounds good and harmonious.

    Emilia comes from Latin and means "the zealous", "the ambitious".

    And people often tell me that I like to set a goal. “So you're good at school?

    “My last average grades were 1.7 and 1.4.” And do you know any other Emilias?

    "Yes, there is another one in my class, we are friends too."

    Nomen est omen: this Emilia really seems like an eager girl. As if by the way, she also explains why the name was able to make such a career: Her parents thought it was “simply beautiful”. Her mother Adrijana confirms this: Emilia sounds good, is easy to pronounce and is widely spoken in many languages ​​- this is an important motive for a family with an international background who lives in the international city of Frankfurt.

    The euphony is crucial today when looking for a name for the child. You can tell from a curious detail: the ten most popular girls' names all end in a. That sounds soft, feminine, peaceful, nice, downright “stereotypical”, as the Mainz linguist Damaris Nübling thinks. But it seems to be a very strong movement: Even Marie, usually always at the front, was pushed to eleventh place. But Lea came upstairs, of course with a at the end and even sounding letter by letter: The only consonant, the L, is a soft flowing sound.

    The trend towards the catchy can no longer be stopped. It took a couple of centuries, but now it's fully there. And this is how it happened: in the past, the choice of name wasn't really one, family and church determined everything. First names, almost like family names, were passed on over generations. This led to a stable feeling of togetherness, but also: to monotony. In the 19th century it was not so rare that every fifth man in a city was called Johann and every fifth woman was Elisabeth. There were constant mix-ups, as was the case with the Austrian composers Johann Strauss father and Johann Strauss son. Who knows who of the two composed the “Radetzky March”? (The father.)

    That changed only after the Second World War. The Germans became world champions in travel, guest workers came, popular culture became mainstream, the church, grandparents and godmothers slowly lost their authority. First names became more diverse: In 2020, more than 65,000 different names were registered in Germany. First names have become more international: think of Nicole and Nadine, Matteo or Mohammed. First names became stranger: The many Kevins get to feel it again and again. They are late descendants of the great football player Kevin Keegan and the actor Kevin Costner. Kevin Kühnert's mother also admired Keegan, who played for Hamburger SV from 1977 to 1980 (then still the first division).

    But even the great idols are no longer what they used to be.

    Today euphony reigns: eufonia fills the void that the disappearance of old ties has left.

    Which brings us to the boys.

    Because they have developed even more strongly than the girls in the past few decades.

    On their way from tradition to euphony, they ran into the girls' arms, so to speak - because they too now sound soft, clear and catchy.

    Noah is the most popular boy's first name

    For example Noah, the most popular boy's first name last year, as the Society for the German Language found out in a survey of more than 700 registry offices. He is followed by Leon, Paul, Mat (h) eo / Matt (h) eo, Ben, Elias, Finn, Felix, Henry / Henri, Louis / Luis. So why this front runner? Let's ask an expert named Noah, who went to kindergarten with our son - as luck, or rather probability, would like it.

    Hello Noah, how are you?

    "All right." How old are you now?

    "16." And why did your parents call you Noah?

    "It's a short name that is easy to pronounce." Are you happy with it?

    "Very.

    One of the advantages: You can't belittle it with an i at the end. ”Did you know that it's the most popular boy's name right now?

    "Really?

    No.

    It's an honor.

    Incidentally, without an h, it is also a girl's name. "

    After all: the Old Testament is still in this name.

    "It's a biblical name that doesn't sound old-fashioned," says Noah's mother.

    With the construction of his ark and through his piety, the forefather from the Book of Genesis saved his name from the flood: 3000 years, survived intact.

    Perhaps with all eufonia there is still a hint of the old.

    Or is that just a pious wish? In fifth-placed Ben, you can barely recognize the Old Testament Benjamin. Those who name their son Paul tend not to think of the apostle Paul. And will a boy named Elias ever find out that there was once a prophet with the same name? Hardly likely. It should just sound nice. But that also makes it all sound kind of sterile. In the end, the short syllables and the soft vowels seem almost monotonous. Is that still good sound then?