Back before the internet age, trying to find the top 100 baby boy names meant poring over phone-book sized naming references, or possibly the Bible, and noting cast lists of your favorite television shows for inspiration. Sometimes it meant studying your family tree to discover a beautiful name to bring into the next generation. Today, the click of a button can reveal names and their meanings from across the globe. We even have access to yearly census data that provides information regarding the top 100 baby boy names and their trends in popularity. Similar to searching for the perfect wedding dress from the moment your beloved pops the question, picking out a baby name is often the best part of being pregnant. Once the doctor hands you your fuzzy sonogram picture, and convinces you that it is a boy (really, that's not a finger), deciding on the perfect moniker of which your infant will carry throughout his life will be of the utmost importance. Thankfully, the internet is there to help!
In bringing you the top 100 baby boy names from around the world, BabyBobbi.com has compiled a list of ten countries and their top ten baby boy names using 2006 census data. See which names took the crown in more than one country and which of your favorite baby boy names have topped the charts across the globe.
United States
In the United States, Jacob has been the #1 baby boy name since 1999. Jacob is followed by Michael, Joshua, Ethan, Matthew, Daniel, Christopher, Andrew, Anthony and William as the top baby boy names in 2006.
For music trivia aficionados, Elvis was number 761.
Jesus was number 74.
The trend of giving twins names that start with the same letter seems to withstand the test of time, as Jacob and Joseph ranked number one, followed by Matthew and Michael, and Daniel and David. This trend certainly reduces the amount of monogramming required in one household!
Australia
Australia breaks their ratings down by region. Overwhelmingly, the #1 baby boy name in Australia in 2006 was Jack, followed by Lachlan, a Scottish name meaning "warlike." Given the original settling of Australia as a British prison colony, this is not a surprise. Other top rankers were Joshua, Thomas, William, James, Ethan, Liam, Matthew and Cooper.
Scotland
Similar to Australia, Scotland placed Jack as the baby boy name that most new parents preferred, followed by Lewis (which is also a Scottish Isle), Callum, Ryan, James, Cameron, Jamie (a variant of James), Daniel, Matthew and Kyle.
Macedonia
The number one baby boy name in Macedonia in 2006 was Aleksandar. With a completely unique top ten listing, Macedonia's other top baby boy names included Zoran, Nikola, Boran, Dragan, Dejan, Llija, Igor, Petar and Ljupco.
Philippines
Would you believe that Michael, Ronald and Ryan were the top three baby boy names in the Philippines in 2006? Baby names in the Philippines were traditionally Spanish, but there has been a strong Anglo trend within their top 100 baby boy names. The remainder of their top ten was: Joseph, Joel, Jeffrey, Marlon, Richard, Noel and Jonathan.
Mexico
A few clicks of the mouse brings us to Mexico. Baby names that topped the list for boys were Alejandro, Juan Carlos, Miguel Angel, Eduardo, Fernando, Carlos, Rodrigo, Ricardo, Javier and Jose Luis. Interestingly, in 2006 the Mexican state of Chihuahua issued guidelines as to what you cannot name your baby! Names like Azul (meaning blue) and Kevin (which is Anglo Saxon in origin) are now not permitted. Although you can sneak Kevin in if you make his middle name of Spanish origin, like Juan or Javier. This was said to have been done to cut down on teasing and ridicule.
Canada
Canada compiles its yearly baby names lists by province, so let us do the work for you. The top ten baby boy names for English Canada (excluding Quebec) in 2006 were Alexander, Benjamin, Nathan, Ryan, Noah, Liam, Matthew, Joshua, Jacob, and the most popular name being Ethan.
The most popular baby boys name in Quebec was William.
Similar to Mexico, Quebec civil courts passed a law forbidding certain names to be given to babies: French-Canadian parents cannot name their daughter Spatule, meaning spatula.
Belgium
It is interesting to see just how many similarities there are in names around the world, proving that we are in fact a truly globalized planet. For example, the 2006 top 10 baby boy names in Belgium were Noah, Thomas, Nathan and Lucas, nothing incredibly different from North American names. The other names that finished off Belgium's top 10 baby boy names list were Louis, Arthur, Milan, Hugo and Maxime.
To demonstrate the changing demographics in Europe, the tenth most popular baby boy name in Belgium was Mohamed, after the Muslim prophet.
Sweden
In Sweden, the top 10 baby boy names started of with Lucas, Oscar and Willima followed by Elias, Filip, Hugo, Viktor, Isak, Alexander and Emil.
Jacob, the number one baby boy name in the United States, ranked #28 in Sweden.
The baby boy name Love ranked #64.
France
France, on the other hand, had a very eclectic set of baby boy names for their top ten: Enzo, Mathis, Lucas, Hugo, Mathéo, Nathan, Théo, Noah, Mattéo and Thomas. France is obviously fond of the many forms of the name Matthew.
Spain
As you can see from the various lists, Hugo has been a very popular baby boy name in Europe. In Spain, Hugo clocked in at #9 out of their top 100 baby boy names for 2006. The remainder of their top 10 was: Alejandro, Daniel, Pablo, David, Adrián, Ãlvaro, Javier, Sergio, and Diego.
All around the world, from East to West, across oceans and deserts, baby boys are being named every day. Gone are the Harveys and Barrys of yesteryear. Make way for Ethan and Mohamed! Those are the names you will now see on personalized key chains and other gift items. These are the trendsetting names that grandmothers will be embroidering on modern day baby blankets. And when Ethan and Mohamed are grandfathers themselves, there are likely to be new, even more unique, names vying for first place on 100 Top Baby Boy Names lists around the world.
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