Male and female first names

Marc and Maria are the most common first names in Belgium

Population
Marc and Maria are the most common first names in Belgium

The year 2023 marked the advent of the first name Marc as the new national leader, dethroning Jean. Once again this year, Marc remains number one, with 61,231 men bearing this name on 1 January 2024. Jean remains very close to first place with 59,366 people.

As in previous years, most of the names in the top 10 are still in constant decline. Seven of the most common first names experience a decrease in frequency, while the last three in the top 10 register an increase: Mohamed in 8th place with 37,002 occurrences (+784), David in 9th place with 36,253 occurrences (+124), and Thomas in 10th place with 34,946 occurrences (+23). However, the names in the top 10 remain the same as last year.

For women, Maria remains first: 104,494 women bear this first name, compared to 108,358 in 2023 (-3,864). The top 10 remains unchanged from last year, with the exception of Nathalie, which is the only first name to increase, taking over the third place from Martine.

Top 10 of male and female first names:

Men, Belgium, all ages:

Belgium # Evolution 2024/2023
1 Marc 61,231 -792
2 Jean 59,366 -2,090
3 Patrick 49,546 -465
4 Luc 46,798 -604
5 Michel 43,352 -1,082
6 Philippe 40,309 -513
7 Jan 38,766 -575
8 Mohamed 37,002 +784
9 David 36,253 +124
10 Thomas 34,946 +23

Women, Belgium, all ages:

Belgium # Evolution 2024/2023
1 Maria 104,494 -3,864
2 Marie 86,356 -2,163
3 Nathalie 39,786 +102
4 Martine 39,543 -354
5 Monique 36,651 -940
6 Anne 36,232 -449
7 Rita 33,337 -366
8 Nicole 31,140 -542
9 Christine 30,983 -237
10 Anna 30,493 -246
Top 10 women
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First names of women in 2023 (top 10)

Belgium Flemish Region Walloon Region Brussels-Capital Region
1 Maria 108,358 1 Maria 80,436 1 Marie 40,226 1 Maria 10,383
2 Marie 88,519 2 Marie 41,188 2 Nathalie 20,512 2 Marie 7,105
3 Martine 39,897 3 Rita 29,359 3 Isabelle 18,685 3 Fatima 6,150
4 Nathalie 39,888 4 Ann 24,625 4 Anne 18,406 4 Anne 4,057
5 Monique 37,591 5 Martine 23,437 5 Maria 17,539 5 Sarah 3,734
6 Anne 36,681 6 Marleen 22,309 6 Françoise 14,925 6 Anna 3,341
7 Rita 33,703 7 Monique 21,140 7 Christine 14,832 7 Nathalie 2,857
8 Nicole 31,682 8 Anna 20,864 8 Martine 14,257 8 Laura 2,742
9 Christine 31,220 9 Linda 17,912 9 Véronique 14,152 9 Sophie 2,650
10 Anna 30,739 10 Hilde 17,796 10 Monique 14,048 10 Sara 2,611
Source: Statbel (Directorate-general Statistics - Statistics Belgium)
Women per municipality
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Top 10 men
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First names of men in 2023 (top 10)

Belgium Flemish Region Walloon Region Brussels-Capital Region
1 Marc 62,023 1 Marc 43,148 1 Jean 32,990 1 Mohamed 13,506
2 Jean 61,456 2 Luc 38,212 2 Michel 27,090 2 Jean 5,582
3 Patrick 50,011 3 Jan 37,551 3 Philippe 26,189 3 Mohammed 4,954
4 Luc 47,402 4 Patrick 33,398 4 Pierre 19,343 4 Ahmed 4,157
5 Michel 44,434 5 Dirk 30,975 5 Nicolas 19,099 5 David 3,887
6 Philippe 40,822 6 Peter 30,899 6 Alain 18,923 6 Philippe 3,805
7 Jan 39,341 7 Johan 29,458 7 Olivier 16,107 7 Nicolas 3,782
8 Mohamed 36,218 8 Bart 28,520 8 Christian 16,106 8 Michel 3,749
9 David 36,129 9 Tom 24,631 9 Marc 15,697 9 Daniel 3,730
10 Thomas 34,923 10 Paul 23,863 10 Christophe 15,671 10 Adam 3,639
Source: Statbel (Directorate-general Statistics - Statistics Belgium)
Men per municipality
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