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DANISH TRADITIONS

Are any new baby names becoming popular in Denmark?

Statistics Denmark has released its half-yearly report on the most popular names for newborns in the first half of 2023. Are Emma and William still favourites among new Danish parents?

Published: 19 January 2024 15:59 CET

Are any new baby names becoming popular in Denmark?

A new report lists the 50 most commonly chosen names in the first half of 2023, shedding light on naming trends in Denmark. Photo: Colin Maynard, Unsplash

On Friday, Statistics Denmark, released its annual report on the 50 most commonly chosen names in the first half of 2023.

The new data revealed that Frida and Noah topped the charts for newborn boys and girls respectively.

Frida has moved up from fourth place in 2022 and takes over first place from Ella. The most popular girls’ names that follow Frida are Olivia, Alma, Ella, Agnes, Emma, Ellie, Luna, Sofia and Karla.

On the list of boys’ names, Noah is at the top, followed by William, Alfred, Carl, Aksel, Emil, Oscar, Malthe, Oliver and Arthur. Noah has moved up from sixth place in 2022, pushing William down to second place.

Most popular names

In the first half of 2023, 217 newborn girls were named Frida, accounting for 16 out of every 1,000 baby girls born. Meanwhile, 253 newborn boys were named Noah, representing 17 out of every 1,000 baby boys. However the name William wasn’t far behind with 244 newborn boys given this name.

William’s consistency as a popular choice of name for boys is evident, having previously ranked first in 2019 and 2020, third in 2021, first in 2022 and now second in 2023.

The name Frida has had a recent surge of popularity, rising from 18th position in 2021 to fourth place in 2022 and now top place in the first half of 2023.

Alfred and Arthur are the only names new to the top ten from last year but they weren’t far behind at rankings 12 and 15 in 2022. The top ten girls’ name are also not unfamiliar. The name Emma is consistently ranked in the top ten and was the most popular name among girls aged 1-9 last year. The name Ellie has had the biggest rise from 17 in 2022 to 7 in 2023. Karla also moved up from 15 to 10.

If you want to learn more about baby naming practices and rules in Denmark, make sure to read The Local’s deep-dive article on the issue, which covers registering a child’s name and the relevant naming law.

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What's open and what's closed in Denmark on Ascension Day?

Kristi Himmelfart, literally “Christ’s journey to heaven day”, is the Danish word for the festival of Ascension, which Christians believe marks the day that Jesus ascended into heaven.

It is always 40 days after Easter Sunday, and ten days before the Pentecost, which means that its exact date varies from year to year. The earliest possible date is April 30th, and the latest possible date is June 3rd.

But it always falls on a Thursday, offering the opportunity of a klemmedag, or “squeeze day“, when only one work day falls between a public holiday and a weekend, meaning if workers take one day off of holiday, they can enjoy a four-day break.

The day falls on May 9th this year.

Who gets a four-day weekend?

As Ascension falls 40 days after Easter and Easter always falls on a Sunday, Ascension always falls on a Thursday, meaning many people in the country take the Friday (May 10th) off as well,

Schools in Denmark are closed on May 10th, so many parents are effectively forced to take the day off as well.

What’s closed?

Shops

Denmark is strict with shop opening times on public holidays, with the Lukkeloven, or closing law, requiring most shops to remain shuttered on Ascension Day.

This includes all major supermarkets, with only smaller local grocery shops with a turnover of less than 43.4 million kroner a year allowed to stay open.

Those that can stay open are likely to include smaller convenience stores from the Dagli’Brugsen and Brugsen chains, as well branches of COOP’s discount chain 365discount, and smaller shops in the Kvickly and Superbrugsen chains.

The closing law allows the Danish Business Authority to grant some grocery stores in rural areas and holiday home areas to stay open on public holidays on a case by case basis, but if you’re travelling out to a rural area, don’t bet on anything being open.

Petrol stations are also allowed to stay open, as are shops selling bread, dairy products and newspapers, garden centres, second-hand shops and pawnbrokers, and market stalls selling food and household products.

But even smaller shops selling durable goods like clothes, shoes, or other items other than groceries must remain closed.

If you’re planning on buying a more upmarket wine or snaps, you should be aware that specialist wine merchants will also be closed.

All shops will, however, be open on Friday May 10th.

Municipalities

Your local borgerservice, the public-facing service desk at your local town hall, will be closed on Ascension Day itself and some, but not all municipalities also close their borgerservce on May 10th as well, to give all employees a long weekend, so if you need to pick up a new driving license, for example, leave this errand until next week.

Health

Most Danish primary care centres are closed on May 9th, and many will also be closed on May 10th. If you urgently need a doctor, you should ring the number of your local on-call doctor (lægevagt), emergency dentist or emergency psychiatrist, which you can find listed for Denmark’s regional health authorities here.

The person on the phone will then decide whether you need to come into a hospital or emergency clinic for treatment or examination.

What’s open?

Museums and galleries pretty much all remain open on Ascension Day, even those that close over the Easter period, as do restaurants, hotels and the like.

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