Luca and Mia were the most popular names given to newborns in Malta in 2022, according to figures issued by Identity Malta.

3,978 newborns were registered at the Malta Public Registry last year, - 2,016 (50.7%) boys and 1,962 (49.3%) girls.

That was 186 fewer registrations (4.7%) than in 2021.

The four most popular names for boys were Luca, Liam, Noah and Matteo while the most popular girls’ names were Mia, Emma, Nina and Giulia.

Luca has been a popular choice for the past few years - it topped the list of boys' names in Malta in 2010 and 2017 and was runner-up in 2018 and 2021.

Mia was the fourth most popular name for girls in 2020. 

The most popular Maltese names last year were Ġanni and Luċija. Thirteen  girls and 22 boys who were given a Maltese name with the use of Maltese diacritics last year. That was possible after legal amendments on the use of Maltese fonts came into effect in 2021.

The agency said that its registry office at Mater Dei Hospital is widely popular due to its convenience, with 90% of parents registering 3,592 babies there in 2022

Other registrations

60.6% of deaths (2,314) were also registered at the same office.

Registrations of births and deaths can also be done by post or online. 148 births and deaths were registered online in 2022, while only nine deaths were registered through the postal service.

Marriage registrations in 2022 reached 2,237, resulting in an increase of 240 couples when compared to 2021. There were also 31 cohabitations registered, 26 fewer than in the previous year. One registration was made for a civil union.