Even if the trend is still towards short first names, the coronavirus epidemic and the environmental context might shape those of the years to come.

Once again this year, parents have given shorter first names to their children. This is confirmed by the new edition of the Officiel des prénoms.

An article from the radio station Europe 1 says that two-syllable names are at the top of the basket. For girls, they mainly have an “a” ending, like Léa, Léna and Mila. And it is Emma who is at the top of the ranking.

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The boys’ names are mostly with an “o” ending, like Léo, Hugo and Enzo. First place, however, goes to Gabriel.

As Stéphanie Rapoport explains to the newspaper Le Parisien, who co-authored the book with Claire Tabarly Perrin, the lockdown and the coronavirus epidemic also had an unexpected effect. “The themes of ecology and environmental protection, already very prominent in the news, have been boosted by the situation,” says the specialist who points out that many French people have turned to cycle.

Abriel, Cosmin and Automne

As a result, their projections show that names “evoking nature in the broadest sense, referring to plants, flowers or animals, but also recalling the passage of time, the cosmos and the universe,” may well skyrocket.

She notes, in anticipation of 2021, a breakthrough of the first names Abriel, Cosmin, Orion, Syrius and Zéphir for boys. For girls: Automne, Étoile, Cassis, Lune and Summer.

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This is the logical next step. As sociologist Baptiste Coulmont explained on the HuffPost website, “Today, first names should make it possible to identify people in a wide variety of everyday circumstances. […] You are called by your first name everywhere and your parents are well aware of this.”

The old-style first names, very popular according to the Officiel des prénoms, also have a good chance of coming back for good. “Claudette, for example, is today a first name associated with the image of a grandmother for parents,” says the researcher. “On the other hand, Suzanne, or other older names may sound like new, because the generation bearing it has died out. And, it recalls a memory.” To be continued.