撞衫不可怕，同名最尴尬 | Most popular baby names in 2018
"Zi" becomes the hottest character
Recently, the Public security bureau of Foshan, Guangdong, released a list of the most popular baby names in 2018. From the list we could see that "Zi" is the trendiest character, essentially occupying the top 10 names.
Among all the newborn babies registered in Foshan, "Ziyang" is the most common boy's name. Its popularity rose from sixth place in 2017 to the top in 2018, meaning that one boy out of 1,000 is called "Ziyang".
The second-hottest name is "Zixuan", which had been on top for the past two years. The third to the tenth were "Junyu", "Zirui", "Zihao", "Junjie", "Yuxuan", "Haoran", "Haoyu" and "Zirui".
The most popular girl's name is "Ziqing", staying on top for three consecutive years, followed by "Yutong", "Zhiqing", "Ziqi", "Zihan", "Ziyan", "Zilin", "Siyu", "Xiaotong" and "Siying".
The preference for the character "Zi" is not only obvious in Foshan, but also nationwide.
"Apparently their parents read too many romantic novels," a netizen said.
Others can't help picturing hilarious future scenes for these newborn babies.
Names reflecting times
Every name reflects its own time. In China, the 1950s saw a lot of people named "Jianguo" (the founding of the country), "Jiefang" (liberation) and "Yuanchao" (the Korean War (1950-53)).
"Yuejin" (big leap), "Weixing" (satellite) and "Hongqi" (red flag) emerged as common names for people from the 1960s and 1970s.
By the 1980s, single character names such as "Wei", "Jie" and "Yong" gained much popularity, along with an increase in names with repeating characters including "Fangfang", "Tingting" and "Lili".
Names became more unique and personalized among the post-1990 generation. Characters representing luck and happiness like "Zi", "Bo", "Yu" and "Xuan" are often seen in their names.
In the 21st century, parents have followed the trends when naming their babies, which is why you can find "Zixuan", "Yuxuan" and "Yuhan" everywhere.
People have joked that there is actually no difference between today's "Zixuan", "Zihan" and "Haoran", and "Jianguo", "Jianjun" and "Lanying" from decades ago.
Regional features in names
Names not only reflect the times but also convey typical regional features. Experts find that Jiangsu people prefer the character "Ying" and popular names in this region include examples like "Xiuying", "Guiying" and "Fengying"; Shanghai people are fond of characters such as "Bao" and "Mei".
Liaoning people use "Shu", "Feng" and "Zhen", while those in Shanxi prefer "Jian" and "Jun".
The most favored characters are "Qing", "Qiong", "De" and "Cheng" in Sichuan; "Ya" in Guangdong; and "Zhi", "Mei" and "Shui" in Fujian.
We've also searched for the most popular baby names in English-speaking countries. Have you already chosen one for yourself?
Top 10 girl's name
Olivia
Isla
Amara
Cora
Charlotte
Aurora
Amelia
Ava
Rose
Genevieve
Top 10 boy's name
Atticus
Milo
Jasper
Asher
Jack
Theodore
Silas
Wyatt
Henry
Finn
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