Only a few generations ago, everyone in the Basque Country had, officially, Spanish or French names, an imposition of the Church and State. I’ve done some genealogy and this is the case going back centuries. I’ve heard that people often had unofficial Basque names or nicknames, but on their birth certificate or in the priest’s book of births, it was always Spanish or French. That changed after Franco’s death, when the resurgence of Basque culture also led to people giving their children names of Basque origin. Names like Itxaso, Aritz, Egoitz, Iratxe, and Ekain. That new reality is reflected in this list of the most popular names in Bizkaia, as collected by the agency INE and reported by the newspaper Deia. I often get queries about Basque names and maybe this list will serve as some kind of inspiration. For more context on Basque first names, check out this post.

• Names for girls: By far, Ane dominates the list. Ane has been the most popular name for girls since the 90s. Of course, not all of these names are of Basque origin. Lucia, Martina, and Sofia are not, I’m less sure about Maddi.

Rank	Name	Frequency
1	Ane	243
2	June	187
3	Izaro	182
4	Laia	179
5	Nahia	149
6	Lucia	137
7	Irati	133
8	Malen	126
9	Alaia	117
10	Martina	115
10	Naia	115
12	Uxue	111
13	Maddi	109
14	Noa	107
15	Elaia	106
16	Haizea	105
17	Nora	103
18	Izadi	92
19	Sofia	90
20	Jare	87

• Names for boys: The top name right now is Markel, though Oihan and Jon are not so far behind – the disparity between the most popular names isn’t nearly as great as it is for girls. Further, over the years, there has been more movement in the most popular name. Jon and Iker used to be at the top of the list and, while Jon is still near the top, Iker has dropped near the bottom of this list. The only name that isn’t Basque on this list is Martin, though not all of the other names are native to Basque.

Rank	Name	Frequency
1	Markel	237
2	Oihan	213
3	Jon	208
3	Julen	208
5	Martin	194
6	Ander	167
7	Aimar	164
8	Luken	160
9	Aiur	155
10	Oier	152
11	Ibai	142
12	Danel	139
13	Izei	133
14	Mikel	128
15	Luka	123
16	Unax	112
17	Amets	106
18	Peio	103
19	Iker	91
19	Izan	91

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary source: Los nombres clásicos en euskera triunfan entre los niños vizcainos, Deia.eus