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Most "popular baby names" lists come from a registry: every birth in a country, counted once a year, published months later. Useful, and a little cold. This list comes from somewhere else: the names that real couples said yes to, ranked, starred and crowned while playing Baby Match since it launched. Nobody registered these babies yet. These are the names people are still arguing about, which makes them a better picture of what parents actually want than of what they eventually settled for.
This is the first edition of a monthly series. Every month we pull the ten boys' and ten girls' names that scored highest across all games, aggregated so no couple or game is identifiable, and write them up properly: meaning, origin, how each sounds in the five languages our families speak, where it sits in the official charts, and one thing you didn't know. Then, because a list is only half the job, what to do when the two of you can't agree on any of them.
voted by couples ✎
Ranked by an editorial score: a name earns points every time a player loves it, more when it wins a game, and more again when someone stars it to keep. Vetoes count against it. One thing stands out straight away: eight of the ten boys' names are Latin, Celtic or Nordic, and the classics with Hebrew roots, Noah included, sit further down than the official charts would predict.
Everyone hears lux, light, in Lucas, and that is the meaning it has carried for centuries. Strictly it is the Latin form of the Greek Loukas, "man from Lucania", the evangelist's name, and the light came later by association. Either way it is the name couples on Baby Match have loved most so far, and it was seventh in the Netherlands' 2025 count.
🗣 NL LU-kas · EN LOO-kus · IT/ES LU-kas · FR lu-KA (the s goes quiet)
Did you know: Luca, its Italian sibling, was third in the Dutch chart last year, so a Lucas and a Luca can easily end up in the same class. On Baby Match, Lucas is the name that most often gets a yes from both partners.
Rónán comes from the Irish rón, seal, plus the affectionate ending: a little seal. Irish legend has selkies, seals who shed their skins to become people, and a dozen early saints carried the name. And it wins games: when Ronan makes a couple's final round, it tends to come out on top.
🗣 NL/EN ROH-nan · IT/ES ro-NAN · FR ro-NAHN; spelled identically everywhere
Did you know: Ronan was almost unknown outside Ireland until the 1990s; Ronan Keating did for it what pop stars do. It remains rare on the Continent, which is exactly why couples looking for something familiar but uncrowded keep picking it.
Søren is the Danish form of Severinus, a Roman family name meaning stern or severe, which sits oddly on a name that sounds this soft. Denmark's most famous Søren is the philosopher Kierkegaard. Written without the slashed o it travels anywhere, and couples on Baby Match keep saying yes to it.
🗣 NL SOH-ren · EN SOR-en · DA SUR-en (the ø is closer to the vowel in "fur") · IT/ES/FR so-REN
Did you know: Soren has been climbing in American charts while standing still at home in Denmark, the same journey Liam and Finn made a generation earlier.
An anglicised Fionnlagh, from fionn, fair or white, and laoch, warrior. Finley is the long form of Finn, and it carries the same sound with a little more weight. It reaches the final five more often than almost any name here.
🗣 NL/EN FIN-lee · IT/ES FIN-lei · FR fin-LEE
Did you know: Finn was ninth in the Netherlands in 2025, so Finley gives Dutch parents the name they love with a spelling their child won't share with three classmates.
The popular meaning comes from Latin miles, soldier; the name's older root is the Germanic Milo, whose meaning nobody can quite agree on ("merciful" is the usual guess). What is not in doubt is the sound: one syllable, no ambiguity, and one of the highest rates of "both said yes" on Baby Match.
🗣 NL/EN MYLZ · IT/ES MI-les (two syllables, and rather lovely) · FR MEEL
Did you know: Miles Davis made the name cool in 1959 and it has never gone out of fashion since. In Dutch it reads like the plural of "mile", which has stopped nobody.
From Julius, the Roman family name, which the Romans themselves linked to ioulos, the first soft down of a beard, hence youthful. Julian is the version that works in every language without changing shape, and it is loved in most of the games it appears in.
🗣 NL YOO-lee-ahn · EN JOO-lee-un · IT ju-LYAH-no (Giuliano) · ES hoo-LYAHN (Julián) · FR zhu-LYAN
Did you know: The Julian calendar, the one Julius Caesar introduced in 45 BC, is still used by several Orthodox churches to set the date of Easter.
Oliver arrived in English from the Old French Olivier, and its origin is argued over: the Latin oliva, olive tree, or the Norse Áleifr (Olaf), "ancestor's heir". The olive branch won the popular vote. It is the steadiest name on this list: rarely anyone's first pick, almost never anyone's no.
🗣 NL OH-lee-ver · EN OL-i-ver · IT o-li-VYEH-ro (Oliviero) · ES o-li-VEHR (Óliver) · FR o-li-VYAY (Olivier)
Did you know: Oliver spent a decade as England and Wales' number one boys' name and is still near the top; Olivia, its sister, was second in the Netherlands in 2025. Couples on Baby Match liked both.
Riley is either the Irish surname Ó Raghailligh, whose meaning is lost but is usually glossed as valiant, or an English place name meaning "rye clearing". It is the one name that made both of this month's lists, which makes it the most genuinely unisex name Baby Match has seen.
🗣 NL/EN RY-lee · IT/ES RAI-li · FR rai-LEE
Did you know: In the United States Riley started life as a boys' name and is now given to more girls than boys, while staying in use for both. Couples who want a name that works whichever way the scan turns out keep landing here.
Leo is simply the Latin for lion, and it has been a pope's name fourteen times over, most recently in 2025. Two letters more than a syllable, spelled the same in every language, and pronounced almost the same too: that is why it keeps appearing in international top tens.
🗣 NL LAY-oh · EN LEE-oh · IT/ES LEH-oh · FR lay-OH (Léo)
Did you know: Leo is also the star sign for babies born between about 23 July and 22 August, which is why it spikes in name searches every summer, and why a surprising number of Leos have an August birthday.
The ark-builder's name, from a Hebrew root meaning rest or comfort. It was the most popular boys' name in the Netherlands in 2025 (SVB) and sits near the top in England, France and the United States. On Baby Match it does well, but not as well as the official charts would suggest; see the note on Ronan above.
🗣 NL NO-ah · EN NO-uh · IT no-EH (Noè) · ES/FR no-EH (Noé)
Did you know: Noah has been in the Dutch top three for over a decade, so a Noah born in 2026 will share the name with a few classmates. Couples who love the sound but not the company often move on to Noud, Nino or Ronan, which may explain why Ronan is number two on this list.
The girls' list is more varied than the boys': Latin dawns and rainbows, two Germanic queens, a French saint, and one name that also appears on the boys' side.
Aurora was the Roman goddess of the dawn, who drove her chariot across the sky ahead of the sun. The name gives its sound to the aurora borealis and its face to Disney's Sleeping Beauty. On Baby Match it has a habit of reaching the final round and then winning it, and someone starred it to keep.
🗣 NL ow-ROH-rah · EN uh-ROR-uh · IT/ES ow-RO-ra · FR o-RO-ra; the spelling never changes
Did you know: Aurora went from a rarity to a genuinely popular name across much of Europe within about fifteen years. In Italy it has been a fixture of the top ten for years, which makes it the rare name that is fashionable in Rome and unusual in Rotterdam at the same time.
From the Latin clarus: clear, bright, and by extension famous. Saint Clare of Assisi gave it to the Middle Ages; the girl in The Nutcracker gave it to every December since. Clara is one of the names couples see most often on Baby Match, and it converts that exposure into wins.
🗣 NL KLAH-rah · EN KLAIR-uh or KLAH-ruh · IT/ES KLA-ra · FR kla-RA
Did you know: Clara is the name that sounds equally at home in Amsterdam, Milan, Madrid, Paris and London without changing a letter, and it is one of the few names on this list that has never really gone out of fashion anywhere.
The French feminine of Charles, from the Germanic karl, a free man. Queen Charlotte, Charlotte Brontë, Charlotte's Web and, since 2015, a British princess: the name has had a public life in every century. On Baby Match it keeps reaching the final five, and it has been starred to keep.
🗣 NL shar-LOT-tuh · EN SHAR-lut · IT kar-LOT-ta (Carlotta) · ES kar-LO-ta (Carlota) · FR shar-LOT
Did you know: Charlotte has sat in the American top ten for a decade, but it is far less common in the Netherlands, so Dutch parents get an international classic that still feels uncommon at the daycare.
From adal, the Germanic word for noble, the root it shares with Adelaide and Alice. Adele was a royal name in medieval France before a singer from Tottenham made it a first name the whole world could spell. On Baby Match it wins the games it appears in more often than not.
🗣 NL ah-DEH-luh · EN uh-DELL · IT a-DEH-leh · ES a-DEH-la (Adela) · FR a-DELL (Adèle)
Did you know: The Adele spike after 2011 was real but short; the name has settled into the sweet spot where everyone recognises it and few children carry it.
The same Riley as on the boys' list, and with the same habit of winning. Irish surname or English rye field, take your pick; what couples respond to is a name that sounds cheerful and decides nothing in advance.
🗣 NL/EN RY-lee · IT/ES RAI-li · FR rai-LEE
Did you know: Riley is the only name to appear on both of this month's lists. If you and your partner are choosing before the 20-week scan, it is the obvious one to swipe.
The French feminine of Bernard, from the Germanic bern, bear, and hard, brave or hardy. Bernadette Soubirous, the miller's daughter whose visions made Lourdes a place of pilgrimage, is the reason it became a Catholic favourite. On Baby Match it is a rare sight, but when it appears it wins, and it has been starred to keep.
🗣 NL ber-nah-DET-tuh · EN bur-nuh-DET · IT ber-na-DET-ta (Bernadetta) · ES ber-nar-DEH-ta · FR ber-na-DET
Did you know: Long names with a built-in short form are quietly coming back: Bernadette gives you Bernie, Detta or Etta, and the couple who chose it presumably has one of those in mind.
Emma began as a short form of Germanic names starting with ermen, whole or universal. Jane Austen's heroine made it a first name in its own right, and it has been near the top of the charts in the Netherlands, France, Germany and the United States for most of this century (seventh in the Dutch 2025 count). It is shown in more Baby Match games than almost any other girls' name, and couples almost never say no to it.
🗣 NL/IT/ES EM-ma · EN EM-uh · FR em-MA
Did you know: Emma is one of the very few names that has been number one in the Netherlands, the United States, France and Germany at some point since 2000, without any of those countries copying each other.
From the Hebrew Elisheva, "my God is an oath", the name of the mother of John the Baptist and, later, of two English queens who between them reigned for over a century. On Baby Match it reaches the final five whenever it appears, and it has been starred to keep.
🗣 NL eh-LEE-zah-bet · EN ih-LIZ-uh-buth · IT eh-li-za-BET-ta (Elisabetta) · ES ee-sa-BEL (Isabel) · FR eh-li-za-BET (Élisabeth)
Did you know: No name has produced more nicknames: Liz, Beth, Betty, Eliza, Elsa, Elise, Lisa, Libby, Betsy and Ilse are all Elizabeth. Choose it and you get a dozen names for the price of one.
Shakespeare invented Olivia for Twelfth Night, from the Latin oliva, and four hundred years later it has become the girls' name of the age: second in the Netherlands in 2025 (SVB) and a fixture of the American and British top three. On Baby Match it wins its share of games, though fewer than its official ranking would suggest.
🗣 NL oh-LEE-vee-ah · EN uh-LIV-ee-uh · IT/ES o-LEE-vya · FR o-li-VYA
Did you know: Olivia and Oliver are both on this month's lists, which happens more often than you'd think: couples who love a sound tend to love it in both genders.
Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow, the messenger who ran between gods and mortals, and her name went on to the flower and the coloured part of the eye. Short, botanical, and pronounced almost identically across Europe. Couples on Baby Match love it and almost never veto it.
🗣 NL/IT/ES EE-ris · EN EYE-ris · FR ee-REES
Did you know: Flower names come and go, but Iris has the advantage of being a myth, a plant and a piece of anatomy at once, which keeps it from feeling like a trend.
Every couple has the same fight. One of you brings a list; the other says no to all of it and offers nothing. A name gets shot down because of an ex, a boss, a dog. The internet's advice is to "keep talking", which is how you got here.
What works is changing the format. Stop proposing names to each other and start reacting to the same names separately. In Baby Match's swipe mode you each go through the same deck on your own phone, and a name only becomes a match when you have both said yes, without seeing the other's answer first. Nobody has to defend a name out loud; nobody gets to sink one out of spite. The shortlist that comes out is the overlap, which is the only list that was ever going to work.
Two rules make it fair. In the tournament and ranking rounds each of you gets two vetoes, hard "no"s that remove a name entirely, so the one dealbreaker each of you has does not need a debate. And when a duel comes down to a genuine tie, the game decides by chance, so the result cannot be re-litigated afterwards.
The opposite problem: you agree on twelve names and can't get to one. Lists don't converge; brackets do. Baby Match has three ways to force a winner out of a shortlist: a tournament (score names in small batches, the top five advance, a champion comes out), a ranking round (put each batch in order; position is the score), and a duel (two names, tap the one you prefer, repeat until one is left). Play the same twelve names through all three and you will find the same two or three keep winning. That is your answer, and it took twenty minutes instead of a month.
Solo mode works the same way if you are choosing alone, or if your partner's contribution is "whatever you think is best": build the shortlist yourself, then rank it, then send them the final two.
Once you have the winner, the fun part is telling everyone, and a name reveal has quietly become the thing couples do instead of, or as well as, a gender reveal. The low-effort version that gets the biggest reaction: let the family guess.
Baby Match makes a reveal page from your result. You choose the real name plus a few decoys from your runners-up, share one link, and grandparents, friends and colleagues each pick the name they think you chose. Nobody sees your swipes, your vetoes or your real shortlist, only the shuffled candidates you picked for them. Reveal on the spot, or schedule it for the birth and let everyone come back for the confetti and the "7 of 12 guessed it" scoreboard. The guest page works in English, Dutch, Italian, French and Spanish, so a family spread over three countries plays the same game.
The result screen makes a share card: the winning name, optionally with the two runners-up, in your colours, sized for a story, a post or a square, ready for the family group chat or a print for the nursery wall. The reveal link and the card are the two things people actually forward, so they are the two things we made pretty. Nothing else about your game leaves your account, and either parent can delete the reveal page, guesses and all, at any time.
If you are a Dutch-Italian couple, or a British family in Amsterdam, the question is not "do we like it" but "can both grandmothers say it". Every Baby Match game can be filtered by the languages the name has to sound natural in, and by origin, length and gender, so the deck you swipe is already the deck that survives both families. The five-language sound check on every name above is the same idea done by hand.
This series exists to show off Baby Match, so let's say so plainly. The list is real: it is aggregated from the games and favourites that players chose to save to their account in the month, scored by an editorial formula (a love scores more than a like, a win more than a love, a star more still, a veto counts against), and published only as totals. No game, couple or partner is identifiable from it, and we never publish a couple's chosen name. The names on the cards are generated fresh for each game by an AI (Google's Gemini) with a curated built-in list as a fallback, so what you see here is what real couples liked out of what they were shown, not a census. Baby Match is free, has no ads, and is the front door to Baby Suite. Meanings and pronunciations above were written by us and checked against named references; where a statistic is quoted, the source is linked.