María is no longer the most popular name for newborn girls in Malaga province: this one has replaced it
An official study of the 'Top Ten' names in Andalucía has also revealed that the province in the only one in the region where Manuel doesn't head the list for baby boys
The reign of the Marías is over in Malaga province, at least for now. In 2024, this was no longer the most frequent name chosen among newborn girls. Sofía has dethroned it, rising two positions in the onomastic ranking at a stroke. Along the way, Sofías have also overtaken Lucía, who until last year occupied second position.
According to the Junta de Andalucía's institute of statistics and cartography, Malaga differs from other provinces in the region when it comes to naming babies, not only because it is the province where the fewest names are inherited from parents (6.4% compared to the regional average of 9.4%) but also because, together with Almeria, they are the only two provinces in Andalucía where María was not the name most frequently chosen by parents in 2024. It is also the only province where Manuel was not the most frequent name for male babies, having been replaced by Hugo for two years now.
Here are the ten most common female names in Malaga province, currently trending: Sofía, María, Lucía, Lola, Vega, Mía, Martina, Manuela, Olivia and Carmen. As can be seen, there is a mixture of tradition and modernity, but there is a greater presence of recently popularised names compared to other provinces.
The top 10 most frequent boy names in Malaga are Hugo, Manuel, Mateo, Leo, Alejandro, Pablo, Martín, Álvaro, Lucas and Daniel.
By municipality
The statistics compiled by the IECA also show how onomastic preferences vary in municipalities. Sofía is number 1 in Malaga city, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola and Estepona, but not in Marbella and Coín (where Lucía reigns), Mijas (Lola), Vélez-Málaga (María), Rincón de la Victoria (Carmen), Antequera (Alma), Cártama (Jimena), Alhaurín el Grande (Vega).
The ranking of male names is even more unusual, as Hugo is only the most frequent in Benalmádena, Antequera and Ronda. In Malaga city it is Manuel; Mateo in Vélez-Málaga; Alejandro in Rincón de la Victoria and Mijas; Leo in Cártama, Alhaurín de la Torre and Fuengirola; Daniel in Torremolinos; and Pablo in Estepona.
Trending names
According to the ranking, certain foreign names have grown in popularity in just one year. In addition, some traditional names are coming back into fashion. Teresa, for example, has gone from position 331 to 93.
Other female names on a clear upward trend are Layan (up 92 positions to 65th), Bianca (+68), Dayana (+66), Arabia (+54), Naomi (+50), Lia (+47), Natalia (+46) and Briana (+41).
In the case of boys, the two names that have gained the most popularity are of biblical origin: Benjamin (+99) and Ezekiel (+66). Also trending are Jairo (+64), Elian (+51), Iker (+47) and Kai (+48). In addition, the traditional name Juan has climbed to the 17th position.
