Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1093354
14 MATTHEW VELLA PARENTS who choose special names gleaned from television celebrities, Hollywood stars and music artists tend to steal the show when the annual list of baby names makes it to the Na- tional Statistics Office. But these outliers are the do- main of just a few children every year, because in the main part the most popular names are tra- ditional ones. Take for example the domi- nance of Biblical names: New Testament favourites Luke and Matthew have occupied the top two names for boys over an eight-year period since 2010. The Hebrew name Jacob en- joyed third position throughout the same decade, only to fall to fifth position in 2018 as names like Nicholas made a mercurial surge to third position, followed by the classic Alexander. Ensconced between the tradi- tional Hebrew and Latin names that tend to dominate European names, was the apparent outlier Kaiden, fourth most popular in 2010, falling eighth position in 2014, and finally dropping to 27th place in 2018. The name could be an American spelling variation of the Gaelic "cadáin" from the surname MacCadain, but of course it is all pure sound, a name that abbreviates itself nicely as 'Cade' or 'Kade'. Even girls' names follow the same pattern: Helen and its var- iations, such as the popular Ella, was in top place in 2010 and 2014, and fell to second in 2018 as the popular Julia climbed from seventh place in 2010 to top in 2018. All top five names are equally from the book of classic fore- names: Elizabeth, Maria (but perhaps unsurprisingly, never Mary), Christina and all its vari- ants, and Emma, the top third favourite of 2018. The great climbers are names such as Kat- rina and Catherine, or Emily, Valentina and Nina. The dominance of these names only serves to illustrate how the Maltese 'howlers' of names such as Dnegel or Tneder (ana- nyms of Legend and Redent, the Maltese for 'Redeemer') are extremely unique, and because such anagrammatic reversals tend to be used in works of fic- tion, perhaps unfair for children to have to carry. The Dnegel 'affair', which prompted the Children's Com- missioner to caution expectant mothers against exposing their children to unwanted attention and bullying, also opens ques- maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 MARCH 2019 NEWS Luke / Luca / Lucas 98 Matthew / Matthias / Matteo 97 Jacob / Jake 77 Zachary / Zak / Zack 59 Michael / Miguel / Mikhael 53 Liam / William 51 Benjamin / Ben 50 Kaiden / Kayden / Kai 46 Andre / Andrew / Andrea 45 Joseph / Josef / Beppe 40 Jack / Jackson / Jacques 35 Nathan / Nathaniel 34 Nicholas / Nick / Nicholai 34 Daniel / Daniele / Danny 33 Thomas / Tommas / Tommy 32 Aiden 31 Yannick / Yan 31 James / Jamie 29 Julian / Julien / Guiliano 29 Noah 29 Samuel / Sam 27 Adam 25 Leon / Leonardo / Lionel 24 Jaden / Jayden 23 Luke / Luca / Lucas 196 Matthew / Matthias / Matteo 97 Nicholas / Nick / Nicholai 57 Alexander / Alessandro / Alejandro 56 Jacob / Jake 53 Noah 51 Michael / Miguel / Mikhael 49 Andre / Andrew / Andrea 41 Liam / William 41 John / Giovanni / Jean / Juan 33 Benjamin / Ben 27 Isaac / Izaak 26 Jack / Jackson / Jacques 26 Adam 25 Zachary / Zak / Zack 24 Joseph / Josef / Beppe 24 Thomas / Tommas / Tommy 24 Nathan / Nathaniel 23 Louis / Luis / Luigi 19 Daniel / Daniele / Danny 18 Samuel / Sam 18 James / Jamie 17 Yannick / Yan 17 Dale 16 Aiden / Ayden / Aden 15 Jaden / Jayden 12 Kaiden / Kayden 11 year, because in the main part the most popular names are tra- ditional ones. Take for example the domi- nance of Biblical names: New tional Hebrew and Latin names that tend to dominate European names, was the apparent outlier Kaiden, fourth most popular in Luke / Luca / Lucas 98 Matthew / Matthias / Matteo 97 Jacob / Jake 77 Zachary / Zak / Zack 59 Luke / Luca / Lucas 123 Matthew / Matthias / Matteo 91 Jacob / Jake 68 Kaiden / Kayden 57 Isaac / Izaak 55 Michael / Miguel / Mikhael 50 Nathan / Nathaniel 48 John / Giovanni / Jean / Juan 44 Jaden / Jayden 42 Aiden 38 Zachary / Zak / Zack 37 Alexander / Alessandro / Alejandro 34 Nicholas / Nick / Nicholai 31 Andre / Andrew / Andrea 31 Kyle 30 Keiran / Kyren 29 Joseph / Josef / Beppe 27 Liam / William 26 Daniel / Daniele / Danny 25 James / Jamie 23 Benjamin / Ben 22 Traditional names stand test of time 2010 2014 2018 Boys Zany 'latter-day' names can be eye-watering, but classical names remain the most popular, as this eight-year comparison shows Andre / Andrew / Andrea 41 Liam / William 41 John / Giovanni / Jean / Juan 33 Benjamin / Ben 27 Benjamin / Ben 27 Isaac / Izaak 26 Jack / Jackson / Jacques 26 Jack / Jackson / Jacques 26 Adam 25 Zachary / Zak / Zack 24 Zachary / Zak / Zack 24 Zachary / Zak / Zack 24 Joseph / Josef / Beppe 24 Joseph / Josef / Beppe 24 Joseph / Josef / Beppe 24 Thomas / Tommas / Tommy 24 Nathan / Nathaniel 23 Louis / Luis / Luigi 19 Daniel / Daniele / Danny 18 Daniel / Daniele / Danny 18 Daniel / Daniele / Danny 18 Samuel / Sam 18 Samuel / Sam 18 Samuel / Sam 18 James / Jamie 17 Yannick / Yan 17 Yannick / Yan 17 Dale 16 Dale 16 Aiden / Ayden / Aden 15 Aiden / Ayden / Aden 15 Aiden / Ayden / Aden 15 Jaden / Jayden 12 Jaden / Jayden 12 Jaden / Jayden 12 Kaiden / Kayden 11 Kaiden / Kayden 11 Jaden / Jayden 12 Kaiden / Kayden 11 Jaden / Jayden 12 Jaden / Jayden 12 Kaiden / Kayden 11 Jaden / Jayden 12