90s Baby Girl Names Now Plummeting – You Won’t Believe Which Ones!

Every year, name trends shift. Some names skyrocket due to cultural influences or celebrity endorsements, while others gradually fade into obscurity. These changes often sway the decisions of expectant parents. Drawn to trendy names or seeking uniqueness, they sometimes overlook common names from the past, which are slowly vanishing from birth records. Stéphanie Rapoport, author of The Official Guide to First Names (First editions), exclusively revealed this trend to us as she works on the upcoming edition of her widely recognized guide.

“In my research, I’ve noticed a decline in the use of traditional names like Cloé, Léa, Inès, and Léna, which were quite popular for decades starting in the 90s.” These names share a common feature: an accent on the letter ‘e’. “This is a new observation; I hadn’t noticed it before, but there’s a decline in accented names. In the 1980s, there were twice as many names with accents,” the expert noted. Specifically, the names Cloé, Léa, Inès, and Léna are seeing a downturn in French civil registries, and some are even dropping out of the national top 20.

So, what could explain the decline of these female names? According to Stéphanie Rapoport, it might be partly due to a trend towards international, accent-free names. Nowadays, “parents prefer names that are easily adaptable internationally, which aligns with the rise of names ending in -ia, like Olivia or Mia,” she explains.

Stéphanie Rapoport’s observations, as detailed in The Official Guide to First Names (First editions), pertain solely to female names. She has not noticed this trend with accented male names. Of course, these are still predictions, as the expert awaits the latest data from INSEE on names given in France since 1900 before drawing definitive conclusions, which will be detailed in her next book scheduled for release in September.