Nickname help!
We want to name our baby Penelope but we can’t decide on a nickname? Help!
Let’s face it: coming up with a definitive list of European baby names is a tall order.
From the glittering Mediterranean to the ice hotels of the Scandinavian north, Europe has more than 50 countries and over 24 languages.
But whether you’re after elegance and sophistication, a touch of tradition, or a nod to the great heroes and heroines of ancient myths, our list of European baby names for girls and boys will have something for you.
In this article: 📝
- What are the top European baby names?
- What are some more traditional European names?
- What are European names for a girl?
- What are European names for boy?
- What is the most common European name?
What are the top European baby names?
If you want a chic name for your little one that’s on-trend in Europe right now, you might want to start with the current chart toppers.
Belgium:
- Olivia
- Arthur
Bulgaria
- Victoria
- Alexander
Croatia
- Mia
- Luca
France
- Jade
- Gabriel
Germany
- Mia
- Noah
Greece
- Maria
- Giorgos
Ireland
- Grace
- Jack
Italy
- Alice (pronounced A-lee-che)
- Leonardo
Norway
- Norah
- Jakob
Poland
- Anna
- Antoni
Portugal
- Maria
- Francisco
Russia
- Sofiya
- Alexander
Spain
- Lucia
- Hugo
Sweden
- Alice
- Noah
The Netherlands
- Tess
- Sem
UK
- Olivia
- Oliver
What are some more traditional European names?
As you’ll see, there’s a lot of crossover between popular names in different European countries.
And many of the top names in Europe are also popular in the U.S.
So maybe a more traditional or classic-sounding European baby name is more in line with what you’re after?
Here are a few suggestions from different European languages that you might not have come across before.
Like a lot of European names, most of them have masculine and feminine forms as well as different versions in different countries.
So if you spot one you love, you’ll almost certainly be able to make it work for you.
What are European names for a girl?
When it comes to elegant European names for girls, no one does it quite like the French.
Here is a selection of French names with their meanings:
- Adeline: “Noble” or “of nobility”.
- Amélie: “To strive”.
- Anouk: “Favored by God”.
- Antoinette: “Priceless” or “flower”.
- Céleste: “Heavenly”.
- Chloé: “Blooming” or “fertile”.
- Françoise: “French one”.
- Georgette: Feminine form of George, meaning “farmer”.
- Giselle: “Pledge”.
- Jeanne: Feminine form of Jean, meaning “God is gracious”.
- Juliet/Juliette: “Youth”.
- Léontine: “Lion-like”.
- Marie Victoire: Combined name meaning “Mother of God” and “victory”.
- Margaux: One of the French forms of Margaret, meaning “pearl”.
- Seraphine: “Burning fire”.
- Thérèse: “Of the harvest”.
- Valentine: “Healthy”.
And for beauty, where else to look but Italy?
How about these European names for girls, in their Italian form:
- Alba: “White”.
- Alessia: “Defending warrior”.
- Aurora: “Dawn”.
- Chiara: “Light”.
- Donatella: “Gift”.
- Fabiana: “Bean grower”.
- Federica: “Faithful ruler”.
- Francesca: “French one”.
- Gianna: (Pronounced Gee-unna) “God is gracious”.
- Giulia: Italian form of Julia, meaning “youth”.
- Lorenza: “Laurel tree”.
- Luciana: “Light”.
- Margherita: “Daisy”.
- Michelangela: “Messenger who is like God”.
- Simona: “Listener”.
- Stefania: “Crowned”.
- Ylenia or Ilenia: “Torch” or “shining light”.
It’s not just the romance languages where you’ll find classic baby names.
Northern European girl names from Germany and the Scandinavian nations are equally striking.
- Alida: “Noble”.
- Anika: “Graceful”.
- Anja: “Favored by God”.
- Astrid: “Divinely beautiful”.
- Åsa: “Healer”.
- Beatrix: A name with two roots, meaning both “voyager” and “blessed”.
- Brigitta: “Exalted”.
- Dorothea: “Gift of God”.
- Ebbe: “Brave, strong”.
- Elsa: “Pledged to God”.
- Erika: “Eternal ruler”.
- Freja: The name of the Norse goddess of love and beauty.
- Freya: “Noble woman”.
- Frieda: “Peace”.
- Gitta: Shortened form of Brigitta.
- Greta: “Pearl”.
- Gretchen: “Pearl”.
- Heidi: (Short for Adelheid) “noble”.
- Ida: “Prosperous”.
- Ilona: “Joy”.
- Inge: “Guarded by the Norse god, Ing”.
- Ingrid: “Beautiful”.
- Kaya: “Pure”.
- Katinka: “Pure”.
- Katrin: “Pure”.
- Klara: “Clear”.
- Liesl: “God’s promise”.
- Liselotte: A unique mix of Liese (Elizabeth) and Charlotte.
- Linnéa: ”Lemon tree”.
- Maike: “Strength”.
- Minna: “Courtly love”.
- Miriam: “Beloved”.
- Roswitha: “Renown”.
- Saskia: “Woman of Saxony” or from the Slavic languages, “protector of mankind”.
- Sigrid: “Victory”.
- Siri: “Beautiful victory”.
- Tatjana: Uncertain origins, but still beautiful, right?
- Thyra: Referring to the mythological struggle of the god Thor.
- Tove: “Beautiful”.
- Ulrika: “Wealthy ruler”.
What are European names for boy?
The beauty of European names is that baby boys also get names with a sophisticated edge.
Let’s start with the French options again:
- Antoine: “Praiseworthy”.
- Armand: “Bold man”.
- Benoît: “One who speaks well”.
- Claude: “Stuttering”.
- Guillaume or Guilherme: French equivalent of William, meaning “protected”.
- Edouard: “Rich guard”.
- Etienne: French version of Stephen, meaning “garland”.
- Gaston: “Guest”.
- Laurent: “Bright one”.
- Jacques: “Supplanter”.
- Jean: “God is gracious”.
- Julien: “Youthful”.
- Michel: “He who is like God”.
- Rémy: “Oarsman”.
- René: “Rebirth”.
- Pierre: “Stone”.
- Thierry: “Ruler of the people”.
- Valentin: “Strong and healthy”.
- Yves: “Yew wood”.
And for European baby boy names with a passion and flair, how about choosing from Spanish?
- Afonso: “Noble and ready”.
- Alejandro: Spanish version of Alexander, meaning “defender”.
- Diego: “Supplanter”.
- Enrique: Spanish form of Henry, meaning “home ruler”.
- Francisco: “Free man”.
- Iago: “Supplanter”.
- Javier: “Castle”.
- José: “God will give”.
- Juan: “Gift of God”.
- Manuel: “God is with us”.
- Mateo: “Gift of God”.
- Pablo: “Humble”.
- Pedro: “Stone”.
- Rafael: “God has healed”.
- Raul: “Wolf counsel”.
- Ricardo: “Ruler”.
- Salvador: “Savior”.
- Sebastian: “Revered”.
- Tiago or Santiago: Spanish form of Saint James, meaning “God will protect”.
For a more northern European flavor, how about these traditional boys’ names?
- Anders: “Brave”.
- Axel: “Father is peace”.
- Barend: “Hard bear”.
- Bjorn: “Bear”.
- Bram: A Dutch name, meaning “father of many”.
- Christian: “Follower of Christ”.
- Dieter: “Army of the people”.
- Erik: “Ruler forever”.
- Ernst: “Serious”.
- Friedrich: “Peaceful ruler”.
- Gustav: “Staff of the gods”.
- Lars: “Crowned in laurel”.
- Luis: “Fighter”.
- Ludvig: “Famous warrior”.
- Mikka: Swedish version of Michael, meaning “he who is like God”.
- Nils: Scandinavian version of the Greek Nikolaus, meaning “victory of the people”.
- Per: “Stone”.
- Sven: “Young warrior”.
What is the most common European name?
Now for the top 10 most popular European names throughout the continent, according to recent data from Forebears:
- Maria: Meaning “of the sea”, Maria is by far the most popular European name in the continent, and probably around the world, too. Just under 13 million people in Europe are called Maria.
- Anna: Meaning “favored by God”. It’s a popular name in Europe mainly due to its religious connotation ‒ Saint Anna was Mary’s mother in the Bible.
- Elena: Meaning “ray of light”. Around 5.8 million people are called Elena in Europe.
- Aleksandr: Meaning “defender of men” in Greek.
- Sergey: Meaning “guardian” in Latin and Russian, a popular name in the Slavic regions.
- Olga: Meaning “blessed” in Scandinavian.
- Svetlana: Meaning “shining light” in Slavic, and Sveta also means “saint”.
- Tatyana: Meaning “fairy queen” in Russian.
- Peter: Meaning “rock” in Greek, from petros.
- Andrey: Meaning “manly” or “strong” in French and Russian, from the Greek name Andrew.
If none of these European baby names have quite grabbed you, why not zoom in on baby name ideas from a European country of your choice?