Djoulyano, Light, Sagesse, Rukia, Mesk, Goodness, Nyx… You’ve probably never heard these names, and for good reason: they didn’t exist before 2024.
This is one of the big dilemmas for future parents: finding a name for their newborn. Within the couple or even the family, the question is often debated and everyone has their own suggestion, sometimes to the point of bringing more confusion than answers. And many young parents want to think outside the box to give their children unique, rare and original first names. Exit the classics Louise or Gabriel – which remain respectively the most given to French girls and boys in 2024 – and now room for imagination. Here is the list of 1096 new first names (532 for boys, 564 for girls) recorded by INSEE last year.
List of new male first names recorded in 2024:
List of new first names given to little girls in 2024
To find a completely new first name, it is sometimes enough to change an already existing spelling: Gabriella becomes Gabryela, while Felix becomes Feliks for example. Or, even more original, Giuliano transforms into Djoulyano. Some also choose to change a simple letter to completely modify the initial sound: Ismaël thus becomes Isnaël, Gaëlle becomes Faëlle, Lauren becomes Laren, Maëlys becomes Haëlys… And still others mix two well-known first names to create one from scratch. In 2024, we discover Gaëlan, a mix of Gaël and Gaétan, or even Célyanna, a mix of Célia and Anna.
Among the new 2024 vintage, we also spot a lot of anglicisms, some already being considered as first names in the United Kingdom or the United States, and others being only dictionary words which have become a way for French parents to stand out from the crowd. We thus find little Rivers, Light, Sweden, Goodness, Fallonn, or even Holden on the boys’ side, and little Meadow, Blair, Bliss, Progress, or Alaska on the girls’ side. Many first names that arrived in France last year are also of Arabic, Persian or Turkish origin, such as Tabassum, Maheera, or Öykü; but also Indian and Sri Lankan, like Rudransh, Mithran or Pranavi; or even Hebrew, like Ovsanna or Dishan. As for French-speaking sounds, we will note the most original ones like Lourdesse, Miloé, Cielle, Enée, Aristee, Léantine, Soëlle, or even Sagesse.
Would some parents even be inspired by fictional characters? It’s hard not to think of the famous Walt Disney character when seeing the name Mulan, or of the adorable little teddy bear from Brother Bear opposite the first name Koda. And Potterheads will of course have noticed the presence of the first name Albus in the list, which of course reminds us of the wizard Albus Dumbledore, a key character in the saga. Harry Potter. Coincidence or real source of inspiration? One thing is certain, this would not be the first time that pop culture has entered French homes. We remember the first name Khaleesi for example, who arrived in France in 2013, at the height of the series’ boom. Game of Thrones ; but also Arwen, listed since 2002, just after the release of the first opus of the saga Lord of the Rings.
