In 2021, Noah was the most popular name given to baby boys born in Quebec, declassifying for the first time Liam and William, who had been at the top of the list for more than 10 years.
In the girls’ category, Emma takes back her title taken from the little Leas in 2015, but that the Olivia had conquered in 2019 and 2020. The Leas had dominated this ranking for 10 years, until 2014, except for one year Emma in 2012 .
In 2021, there were 521 new Emmas, but 519 Olivia’s — it was a close fight. Little Alice, Florence and Charlie were not far behind.
Among the boys, the Williams had been first 14 times from 2002 to 2018, years interspersed with Samuel and Thomas. Liam had taken over in 2019 and 2020, but it is Noah who overtakes William in 2021, at 717 occurrences against 709.
In 2021, Liam drops from first to fifth place, and Jacob rises from ninth to sixth; Leo, Nathan, Arthur and Edward are still popular.
In the news, the names Zoé and Félix are back in the top 10, displacing little Clara and Logan from the list in 2021.
The “most popular names” list is published every year by Retraite Québec. In addition to administering the Quebec Pension Plan and public sector pension plans, Quebec Retirement also administers the Family Allowance measure.
— This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 5, 2022.