Exclusive: INSEE Reveals 1,096 Unique Baby Names You’ve Never Heard Before!

Choosing a name for their newborn is one of the major challenges new parents face. Within couples or even among family members, this topic often sparks extensive discussions, with everyone offering their suggestions which sometimes leads to more confusion than clarity. Many parents are keen on choosing unique, rare, and original names for their children, moving away from traditional names like Louise or Gabriel – which remained the most popular names for girls and boys in France in 2024 – and embracing creativity. Here is a list of 1096 new names (532 for boys, 564 for girls) registered by the Insee last year.

New Boys’ Names Recorded in 2024:

New Girls’ Names Given in 2024:

To come up with a completely new name, sometimes all it takes is a tweak in spelling: Gabriella becomes Gabryela, while Felix is transformed into Feliks, for example. Even more uniquely, Giuliano turns into Djoulyano. Some opt to change just one letter to completely alter the original sound: Ismaël becomes Isnaël, Gaëlle becomes Faëlle, Lauren becomes Laren, Maëlys becomes Haëlys… Others blend two well-known names to create something entirely new. In 2024, we see Gaëlan, a mix of Gaël and Gaétan, and Célyanna, a combination of Célia and Anna.

Among the new names of 2024, there is also a notable influx of Anglicisms, some already considered names in the United Kingdom or the United States, and others merely words from the dictionary that have become a way for French parents to stand out. We see names like Rivers, Light, Sweden, Goodness, Fallonn, and Holden for boys, and Meadow, Blair, Bliss, Progress, and Alaska for girls. Many names introduced to France last year also originate from Arabic, Persian, or Turkish backgrounds, such as Tabassum, Maheera, or Öykü; as well as Indian and Sri Lankan, like Rudransh, Mithran, or Pranavi; or Hebrew, such as Ovsanna or Dishan. For Francophone names, some of the most original include Lourdesse, Miloé, Cielle, Enée, Aristée, Léantine, Soëlle, and Sagesse.

Could some parents have even drawn inspiration from fictional characters? It’s hard not to think of the famous Walt Disney character when seeing the name Mulan, or the adorable little bear from Brother Bear with the name Koda. And Potterheads will surely have noticed the name Albus, undoubtedly reminding us of the wizard Albus Dumbledore, a key character from the Harry Potter series. Coincidence or a true source of inspiration? It certainly wouldn’t be the first time pop culture has made its way into French households. Recall the name Khaleesi, which arrived in France in 2013 during the peak of the Game of Thrones series; and Arwen, listed since 2002, shortly after the release of the first installment of the Lord of the Rings saga.