Olivia and Noah are also in first place in West Flanders, which accounts for 17% of all newborns in Flanders. The rest of the top five girls’ names look completely different with Juliette, Anna, Ellie and Renée. The top five boys’ names follow the Flemish top five with Arthur, Jules, Leon and Louis.
Declining birth rate
In 2024, 62,631 babies were born to mothers living in the Flemish Region. Since 2011, the birth rate has mainly shown a downward trend, with the 5% increase in 2021 as a major exception. The decline in 2024 left the birth rate at its lowest level in 20 years. It is still slightly above the birth rates of the period 2001-2003, when fewer than 62,000 children were born. A look at the births in the first eleven months of 2025 shows that the birth rate for 2025 is slightly higher than for 2024. This year too, more boys were born than girls. This concerns 51.3% boys and 48.7% girls respectively.
If you want a longer list of popular names: click here