Catalan names
Catalan names are not a regional accent on Spanish, they are their own tradition with their own saints, their own spelling and their own chart. In Catalonia the top of the list belongs to them: Biel, Nil, Marc, Jan and Martí for boys, with Júlia and Ona leading the girls. Many are short by design, one syllable and no decoration, and several are ordinary Catalan words carried straight into use, like Ona for wave and Pau for both Paul and peace.
Aina grace (Catalan and Balearic form of Anna); light, short, and especially loved in Mallorca
Aleix defender (Catalan form of Alexis); a Catalan classic kept visible by racer Aleix Espargaró
Ariadna most holy (Catalan form of Ariadne, the Cretan princess of the labyrinth); far more common in Catalonia than the English Ariadne is anywhere
Arnau eagle power (Catalan form of Arnold); a medieval Catalan name carried by Arnau de Torroja and revived into the modern top ranks
Bernat brave as a bear (Catalan form of Bernard); a medieval name tied to Bernat Metge, the father of Catalan prose
Berta bright, famous (Catalan and Spanish form of Bertha); a steady Catalan classic rather than a trend
Biel God is my strength (Catalan short form of Gabriel); Catalonia's #1 boys' name in 2025, and a short form that long ago became a name in its own right
Bru brown, dark-haired (Catalan form of Bruno); one syllable, and a modern Catalan favorite
Carla free woman (Catalan and Italian form of Carla); a long-running favorite across Catalonia
Ferran bold traveler (Catalan form of Ferdinand); a royal name in the crown of Aragon, still steadily used
Jan God is gracious (Catalan and Dutch form of John); a Catalonia top-5 boys' name, pronounced with the soft Catalan j
Jordi farmer, earth-worker (Catalan form of George); the name of Catalonia's patron saint, celebrated every April 23 with books and roses
Júlia youthful, downy-haired (Catalan form of Julia); the #1 girls' name in Catalonia in 2025, written with the accent
Laia well-spoken (Catalan short form of Eulàlia, the patron saint of Barcelona); a modern favorite that has crossed into the Basque Country too
Marc dedicated to Mars (Catalan form of Mark); held the #1 spot in Catalonia from 1997 to 2021, twenty-five years, before slipping in 2022, and third again in 2024
Martí warlike, dedicated to Mars (Catalan form of Martin); the most popular boys' name in Catalonia in 2024, and the accent is what distinguishes it from the English Marti
Mireia the Catalan form of Mirèio, the heroine of Frédéric Mistral's 1859 Provençal poem; carried into the modern era by swimmer Mireia Belmonte
Nil the Catalan form of the river Nile, also read as a form of Neil; a Catalonia top-3 boys' name in 2025
Ona wave (Catalan); a top-5 girls' name in Catalonia in 2025 and one of the purest Catalan-word names in use
Oriol golden, from the oriole bird; borne by Saint Joseph Oriol of Barcelona, and about as distinctly Catalan as a name gets
Pau small, humble (Catalan form of Paul), and separately the Catalan word for peace; the double meaning is why it endures
Pol small, humble (a Catalan form of Paul); a short modern pick that travels well beyond Catalonia
Queralt from the Marian shrine above Berga in the Catalan Pyrenees; a place-name that stays almost entirely within Catalonia
Roc the Catalan form of Rocco, traditionally read as rock; short, hard-edged, and unmistakably Catalan
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