According to the latest reports from INSEE, many essential male references of the last two decades are experiencing massive disenchantment on the part of young parents. Here are the 20 boys’ names that have declined the most in 5 years.
If certain timeless classics like Louis, Gabriel or Raphaël continue to proudly sit at the top of the maternity rankings without aging, other male names are experiencing a real decline. The choice of a first name often follows ephemeral fashion cycles: a style imposes itself, peaks for around fifteen years to the point of invading all classrooms, then ends up boring new parents.
Thus, playgrounds are preparing to change their face. The first names that resonated everywhere at the beginning of the century are now experiencing a clear decline. By analyzing INSEE data between 2019 and 2024, for all first names having exceeded the symbolic threshold of 100 births, we have drawn up an overview of these ex-stars of maternity hospitals who are losing ground. It is the first name Tiago which embodies the most spectacular fall. A real darling of past years, it recorded a drop of 66%, collapsing from 2,720 births in 2019 to only 930 in 2024.
The disenchantment also affects other similar sounds: Enzo falls by 54% (from 1,833 to 845 attributions), while Lorenzo falls by 51%, with only 315 babies in 2024. The same goes for the Hugos who, if they were still at 1,710 births in 2024, also experienced a fall of 51%. Although these sounds remain in trends every year, certain first names ending in “o” are no longer so popular. This is the case for Timéo: the number of little boys named this way has decreased by almost half, with 46% fewer attributions compared to 2019. The so-called “modern classic” first names, which were popular at the end of the 90s and the 2000s, are also experiencing a dizzying decline.
Clément and Baptiste both show a net decline of 61%, falling below the 600 births mark. In the same vein, Thomas and Alexis are seeing their workforce shrink visibly, with 57% fewer allocations. As for Maxime, the flagship of Gen Z, its popularity has declined by 54% in just five years. We thought he was unbeatable, but Mathys collapsed by 60% to reach only 335 births. As do Nolan (-53%) and Tom (-44%), who lose hundreds of mentions each year. Even the colossi of maternity wards are wavering, like Nathan (-45%) or the timeless Lucas (-42%). If they remain above the milestone of 1,000 births thanks to their immense historical popularity, their curve indicates an undeniable decline. Finally, Evan and Alexandre bring up the rear with an identical decline of 41%.
This massive decline in key names marks the end of an era and opens the door wide to the inspirations of tomorrow. While these old leaders are slowly fading from French maternity wards, new trends, more retro or more confidential, are gradually taking hold to outline the contours of future classrooms.
