Most popular Latino baby names for 2016: Sofia, Mateo
BabyCenter en Español has released its list of top Latino baby names for 2016. Credit: Dreamstime
Sofia continued to be the most popular Latino baby name for girls in 2016, and Mateo unseated Santiago to take the No. 1 spot for boys, according to information collected from 150,000 babies born to parents registered on BabyCenter en Español in the United States, Latin America and Spain.
Santiago had been the top choice since 2007, when BabyCenter en Español first published its annual list of popular baby names. Lucas made it into the top 10 names for the first time, at No. 9, bumping out Samuel.
According to the center, Parents responding to a survey said the most important reason for choosing their baby’s first name was “I just like it” (22 percent). In second and third place, respectively, were: “The meaning of the name” (16 percent), and “The name represents something significant or has a history behind it” (11 percent).
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
