What is clear from the survey published on Friday by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), is that baby names, like fads in general, are cyclical – that is, they come and go in waves of popularity.

In 2023, Noah, Liam and Matteo were the most frequently given first names to newborn boys. For little girls, Mia, Emma and Sofia were the favourites.

But look: Noah retained the first place in 2023, after having already held it in 2010 and 2011; from 2013 to 2017; and then again in 2021 and 2022.

Mia had already been the most popular first name in 2013, 2015, 2016, as well as from 2019 to 2021.

Jumping (and slipping) in the ranks

Vera for girls and Kiyan for boys have seen the greatest climb in ranks between 2022 and 2023.

During the same period, the first names Thea and Maxime suffered the steepest drop, while Amaya, Lily, James, and Jaro made it to the top 100 first names for newborns.

What about surnames?

The FSO study also ranked the most widespread family names in Switzerland.

Unlike first names, which are subject to fashion trends, many surnames have remained steadfast for generations.

Therefore, Müller remains the most common surname among the permanent resident population. It is followed by Meier and Schmid.

Still, even though they form a group of 53,170 people, the Müllers (Meier: 32,657 people, Schmid: 30,332 people) represent only 0.6 percent of the the country’s population of nearly 9 million people.

While Müller is also the most frequent surname in German-speaking Switzerland (49,137 people), in French-speaking regions, da Silva is the most frequent (10,287 people), reflecting the high number of people of Portuguese descent that have settled in these cantons.
 
This is also the case for Bernasconi (2,250 people) in Italian-speaking Switzerland, and Caduff in the Romansh region (230 people). 

It’s a free country, but…

In case you are expecting a baby and plan to give your son or daughters an unusual name, keep in mind that – depending on just how “unusual” it is – it may not be approved by your local civil registry office.

That’s because Swiss law forbids parents to give their offspring bizarre names.

Years ago, new parents had to pick a name for their newborn from an official list.

The rules are more relaxed nowadays, with the only one being that a name can’t be so wacky that the child’s well-being could be damaged.

In considering this, Swiss authorities will look at whether “the child will be exposed to ridicule because of its name”.

Based on this, among actual names Swiss authorities have rejected over the years (and for a good reason) were Satan, Cain and Lucifer.

Grandma, Rose Heart, Prince Valiant and Puhbert were also turned down.

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