The most popular baby name for girls in the world
Many parents, when naming their children, are keen to ensure their name of choice is going to make their child stand out from the crowd. They want to go for something a little more unique. So if you're one of those kinda people, you'll want to steer clear from this: the most common girl's name in the world.
It was revealed earlier this year that the most common girl's name in the UK is Olivia. But when compared with the rest of the world, Olivia doesn't get a look in. In fact, Sofia (and all variants of it, including Sophia) is the most popular baby name for girls worldwide.
According to Live Science, baby name suggestion website babynamewizard.com are the folks behind the research. Expert in the field Laura Wattenberg, who compiled the information, discovered Sofia/Sophia came top of the female baby name lists in nine of the countries she analysed - including Italy, Russia and Mexico. It comes in second or third place in a further 20 regions.
In the USA, which has one of the largest populations in the world, 17,327 baby girls were named Sophia in 2015, with a further 9,650 being called Sofia. Together, they make the most popular name of choice.
In the UK, however, it's bumped much further down the list, with data from the Office of National Statistics revealing it was only the 29th most popular moniker for parents to give their baby girls during 2015 (the most recent results we have).
The name Sofia/Sophia means "wisdom", which is one of the reasons Wattenberg thinks it's so popular. Another reason is that you can pronounce it in a range of languages. "It just blew me away that so many different languages and cultures would arrive at the same sound at the same time," the baby name expert told Live Science.
But while it might be at the top of its game now, there might not be quite so many little Sofia/Sophias running around in ten years' time. Just a decade ago, the name didn't rank particularly highly in baby name lists, which means there's every chance the favourites could evolve again.
I mean, personally I'd vote 'Catriona' for the next most popular name, but I'm not quite sure that one will stick.
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