Cristina and Ion were most common names during 20 years

[Info-Prim Neo article from the Series “Moldova-20! Whereto?”] During the last 20 years, the most common name given to girls was Cristina. After 1991, over 16,000 girls were called Cristina. The most frequent name in the case of boys was Ion. Almost 24,000 boys had been given this name during the last 20 years, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the State Information Resources Center “Registru”. During the first five years of independence (1991-1995), the most popular name for boys was Ion. It was the most common name during the next ten years as well. In the case of girls, the first decade of independence was dominated by the name Cristina, while the second by the name Anastasia. Over the last five years (2006-2011), the most popular boy name was Maxim. Among other widespread names were Andrei, Alexandru, Daniel, while among girls – Elena and Valeria. The least popular names after 1991 were August, Grafina, Rozita, Agrina and Samson. More than 840,000 children have been born in the country since Moldova proclaimed its independence on August 27, 1991. The yearly average was 42,000. As many as 2 264 children were born on August 27 between 1991 and 2010.