Male and female first names

A wind of change is blowing across the landscape of male first names in Belgium, with Marc emerging as the new national leader, dethroning Jean. Although Jean retained its status in Wallonia, it gave way to Marc on the national stage. In 2022, there were 63,736 persons named Jean, compared to 62,754 named Marc. However, things have changed in 2023, with 62,023 Marc, surpassing the 61,456 Jean. The traditional first names that monopolise the top spots in the ranking are in constant decline. Of the seven most common first names, all are experiencing a decrease in frequency, while the last three in the top 10 are experiencing an increase: Mohamed, in 8th place with 36,218 occurrences (+777), David in 9th place with 36,129 occurrences (+230), and Thomas in 10th place with 34,923 occurrences (+18). However, the names in the top 10 are identical to last year's, with the only change being a one-place gain for Marc and Mohamed. For women, Maria remains first: 108,358 women bear this first name, compared to 112,382 in 2022 and 116,317 in 2021. The top 10 remains unchanged from last year, with the exception of Anna, which is the only first name to increase, taking over the tenth place from Isabelle. Top 10 of male and female first names: Men, Belgium, all ages: Belgium # 1 Marc 62,023 2 Jean 61,456 3 Patrick 50,011 4 Luc 47,402 5 Michel 44,434 6 Philippe 40,822 7 Jan 39,341 8 Mohamed 36,218 9 David 36,129 10 Thomas 34,923 Women, Belgium, all ages: Belgium # 1 Maria 108,358 2 Marie 88,519 3 Martine 39,897 4 Nathalie 39,888 5 Monique 37,591 6 Anne 36,681 7 Rita 33,703 8 Nicole 31,682 9 Christine 31,220 10 Anna 30,739