Matthew, Nicole lead in names popularity

Matthew and Nicole were the most common names given to babies in the Maltese islands between January and June 2002, the National Satistics Office said.

In that period, just over 1,700 babies were born.

Of these, 91 per cent were born in state hospitals, the others were born in private facilities.

Two babies were born at home.

The NSO said that in 2001, six per cent of baby girls were named Nicole.

Although this name retained first place in the first half of this year, it lost some of its popularity.

The second most popular name was Maria or Mariah.

The name which placed third in the listings - Michela or Michaela - went down seven places in the first half of 2002.

The biggest drop was registered by Martina, Naomi and Kimberly.

The longest jumpers were Amy, Kylie and Rachel.

Matthew and variations of it were the most popular names for baby boys in 2001 as well as in the first half of 2002, rising to 6.5 per cent of total newborn males in the first half of 2002.

Also in 2002, Luke replaced Owen as the second most preferred name for boys. Jacob or Jake does the honours in third place.

Other popular boy's names are Shaun or Sean, Zak or Zachary, Josef or Joseph, and Thomas.

Nicholas increased considerably in popularity, while James registered the largest drop.

The NSO said that naming babies provided significant pointers to seasonal, cultural and fashionable influences. Nathan or Nathaniel was the name given to 5.5 per cent of all baby boys last December.

Italian names remain high in the popularity stakes, constituting 17 per cent of all baby names throughout 2001 and unto June 2002.

Biblical and Hebrew names have also latched on to a significant extent.

Andrea, Mattea and Dale are three names given to Maltese babies irrespective of their sex.