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CHILDREN

REVEALED: The most popular baby name in each Swiss canton

Want your kid to fit in? Or stand out? Here are the most popular boys and girls names in Switzerland - including each linguistic region and canton.

Published: 19 August 2021 10:03 CEST
Updated: 23 February 2022 09:06 CET
REVEALED: The most popular baby name in each Swiss canton
What are the most popular boys and girls names in Switzerland? Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash

Each year for more than three decades, the Federal Statistical Office has been publishing the first names of infants born in Switzerland.

The most popular names in 2020 for girls were Mia, followed by Emma and Mila.

Emma ranked first in 2019, but Mia reclaimed the top spot in 2020 after being top of the pops in 2013, 2015 and 2016. 

Revealed: Switzerland’s most popular baby names in 2020

In total, there were 461 Mias born in Switzerland last year, followed by 407 Emmas and 350 Milas. 

For boys, Noah took the top spot, ahead of Liam and Matteo.

While Liam was top in 2019, Noah reclaimed pole position that he held in 2010, 2011 and from 2013 to 2017.

Switzerland saw 507 Noahs born last year, followed by 372 Liams and 359 Matteos. 

But as anyone who lives in Switzerland knows, nationwide trends mean very little, given the four large linguistic regions – and the remarkable diversity among the country’s 26 cantons. 

What are the most common names in each linguistic region? 

Switzerland’s domestic diversity when it comes to names is highlighted by the fact the two most popular names on a national basis are not the most popular in any one linguistic region other than the German-speaking part. 

Mia and Noah are the most popular names in German-speaking Switzerland as well as in the country as a whole, which is of course helped by the fact that around 60 percent of Switzerland speaks German. 

French-speaking Switzerland, also known as Romandie, saw Gabriel and Emma top the charts in 2020. 

There were 156 Gabriels born in French-speaking Switzerland and 131 Emmas. 

Sofia claimed top prize in the Italian-speaking part of the country, while Leonardo was far and away the biggest winner among the boys. 

If you really want to be unique, then heading to the Romansh region in the canton of Graubünden is the place to be. 

The most popular girls’ name is a five-way tie between Daria, Laura, Lea, Lorena and Yuna, with two of each born in 2020. 

For the boys, Nic and Levin top the charts. 

18 interesting facts about Romansh, Switzerland’s fourth official language

What about at a cantonal level? 

While there were some outliers – we’re looking at you Ticino and Graubünden – linguistic regions tended to coalesce around the same boys and girls names in Switzerland. 

Where more than one name is provided, it represents a tie between the names in top place. 

Zürich (ZH) 

Girls: Mia

Boys: Noa

Aargau (AG) 

Girls: Mia

Boys: Noah

Bern / Berne (BE) 

Girls: Mia

Boys: Luca

Luzern (LU) 

Girls: Lina

Boys: Matteo

Thurgau (TG) 

Girls: Emilia

Boys: Noah

Uri (UR) 

Girls: Laura, Lorena

Boys: Luca

Schwyz (SZ) 

Girls: Lea

Boys: Leon

Obwalden (OW) 

Girls: Alina, Fiona, Mia, Leonie

Boys: Livio, Noah

Nidwalden (NW)

Girls: Lynn, Lia, Elin

Boys: Luca, Nevio, Timo

Glarus (GL) 

Girls: Fiona

Boys: Mauro

Zug (ZG) 

Girls: Mia

Boys: Matteo

Solothurn (SO)

Girls: Emilia, Lina

Boys: Noah

Basel Stadt (BS)

Girls: Emilia

Boys: Leon

Basel Land (BL)

Girls: Elena, Lina, Lia

Boys: Matteo

Schaffhausen (SH) 

Girls: Alina, Aurora, Emma

Boys: Matteo

Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR) 

Girls: Lea

Boys: Ben, Laurin, Mattia, Silas

Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI)

Girls: Gianna, Malea

Boys: Noah

St Gallen (SG) 

Girls: Mia

Boys: Noah

Graubünden (GR) 

Girls: Emilia

Boys: Elia

Ticino (TI) 

Girls: Sofia

Boys: Leonardo

Vaud (VD) 

Girls: Emma, Zoe

Boys: Gabriel

Freiburg / Fribourg (FR) 

Girls: Emma

Boys: 

Valais / Wallis (VS) 

Girls: Emma

Boys: Gabriel

Neuchâtel (NE) 

Girls: Emma,

Boys: 

Genève (GE) 

Girls: Emma

Boys: Gabriel

Jura (JU)

Girls: Emma, Luna

Boys: Liam

What about the most popular names overall? 

The same report didn’t only look at newborns, but also all names in Switzerland – providing a top 20 of both men and women. 

The list was compiled according to figures available on the 31st of December 2020, meaning that people born in 2021 have not yet been taken into account. 

In the men’s column, the name Daniel just beat out several other biblical names including Peter and Thomas, while Hans made an appearance in fourth. 

Christian came in fifth. 

Urs, the quintessential Swiss men’s name, came in 15th on the list. 

Names of Christian origin also dominated the women’s list, with Maria a clear winner of the first place award. 

This was followed by Anna and Sandra, with Ursula and Elizabeth rounding out the top five. 

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QUALITY OF LIFE

‘Pleasantly constant’: Why Switzerland ranks as the ‘world’s best country’ — again

For the sixth time, Switzerland wins the coveted title of the world’s top country in an international ranking. Why does the nation make it to the no.1 spot —time after time?

Published: 6 September 2023 11:31 CEST
'Pleasantly constant': Why Switzerland ranks as the 'world’s best country' — again

It’s official: Switzerland has been ranked ahead of 87 other countries analysed by the US News & World Report for its 2023 ranking, which was released on Wednesday morning. 

It is the sixth time that Switzerland tops the rankings, which measure a country’s global performance based on 73 categories. They include entrepreneurship; quality of life; adaptability and progress; social purpose; and other attributes listed here. 

What exactly makes Switzerland the best in the world?

The country “snags the top spot for business-friendliness and education, “and ranks in the top 10 for quality of life, social purpose and cultural influence,” according to study authors. “Among attributes, it was considered No.1 for being economically stable, safe and least corrupt.”

“And while people may not see it as the sexiest place, they would like to live there.”

One of Switzerland’s top qualities, the study showed, is ‘consistency.’

Unlike the political and economic volatility of many other countries, “there is something pleasantly constant about Switzerland,” the survey found.

It is true that change of any kind is slow to come here.

Part of the reason for this sluggishness is cultural: the Swiss don’t like spontaneity (unless it’s planned) or doing anything on a whim. 

They believe that rushing things and making hasty decisions will have disastrous results, which is why they prefer to take a cautious — even if painstakingly slow — path.

As a general rule, the Swiss have a penchant not only for planning, but for pre-planning as well. They like to thoroughly examine each aspect of a proposed change and look at it from all possible angles.

Another reason (besides the cultural one mentioned above) contributes to Switzerland’s notorious slowness in decision-making — the country’s political system.

Due to Switzerland’s decentralised form of government, the Federal Council must consult with cantons before a decision can be made at the national level.

That, as you can imagine, could take a while as each of the 26 cantons may drag their individual feet, and there could be no consensus among them.

READ ALSO : Why are things so slow to change in Switzerland? 

While some may see this ‘consistency’ as a negative, the US News & World Report considers it to be a definite plus.

How did Switzerland rank in major categories?

‘Open for business’

In this category, the country is in the first place (100 points out of 100).

Simply, this means  the country  is ‘business friendly’ because the government has created a good environment for businesses to thrive. 

“Switzerland has low unemployment, a skilled labour force and one of the highest gross domestic products per capita in the world,” the report relates. 

‘Educated population’

Here, too, Switzerland excels (100 points, first place).

Switzerland not only has an excellent and accessible education system, but according to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), well over 80 percent of the country’s population have an upper secondary education or above.

This proportion is higher than the OECD average of 75 percent.

READ ALSO: How can foreigners get into a Swiss university?

‘Quality of life’

Here, Switzerland also got a high score ( 96.7), which places it in the fourth place.

This particular category, which includes essentials such as broad access to food, housing, quality education, healthcare, and employment, also comprises “intangibles such as job security, political stability, individual freedom and environmental quality.”

This is not exactly a surprise, as Switzerland often ranks highly in this category in other international surveys as well. 

In which categories does Switzerland rate poorly?

‘Power’

Switzerland’s score here is 26, which lands it in the 20th place.

But this is actually good news, if you consider criteria for this category:

“The world’s most powerful countries also are the ones that consistently dominate news headlines, preoccupy policymakers and shape global economic patterns. Their foreign policies and military budgets are tracked religiously.”

Needless to say, Switzerland has no interest in wielding global power.

Besides (unintentionally) invading neighbouring Liechtenstein on three occasions, Switzerland is not at all power-hungry.

This is not only because it is neutral, but also because its politics is based on peaceful coexistence.

(The number 1 spot in this category was snagged, not surprisingly, by the United States).

‘Movers’

This too is not a major surprise, since the sub-category here is ‘dynamic’, for which Switzerland was given a low score of 29.1.

The country did a bit better in the ‘distinctive’ and ‘unique’ sub-category, with scores of 43.5 and 42.1, respectively.

Overall, Switzerland is in the 26th place.

You can see details of each category here.

What is the Swiss reaction to the report?

Overwhelmingly positive, of course.

“What people love about us is our reliability and our predictability,” said Jacques Pitteloud, the Swiss ambassador to the U.S.

“With us, you know what you get, which is rare nowadays,” Alexandre Edelmann, head of Presence Switzerland, a government agency that promotes the country abroad, pointed out.

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