Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) has published a study of the most common Christian names over the past one hundred years. In Mallorca and the Balearics, a change started to emerge some fifty years ago, brought about by immigration from the mainland.
Up to the 1970s, the most common names for boys were Antonio, Juan, Miguel, José, or Jaime; for girls, Maria, Catalina, Margarita, Antonia, and Francisca.
During the 1980s, new names began to become popular - David and Daniel for boys, and Cristina and Laura for girls. In the 1990s came Alejandro, Joan (the Catalan for Juan) and Marc, while Marta and Marina appeared for girls. By the turn of the century, traditional names had lost a great deal of ground: Joan remained for boys, and Maria for girls.
In the current decade, none of the traditional names are among the most popular. Antonio, Juan, Miquel, José, and Jaime have given way to Marc, Pau, Hugo, Leo, and Lucas. Girls are typically no longer named María, Catalina, Margarita, Antònia, or Francisca; now they are Martina, Julia, Emma, Sofía, and Lucía.
Pau Riera of the University of the Balearic Islands onomastics unit says this change in names is due to the gradual disappearance of the tradition of naming children after their grandparents, but he also notes that the immigration boom from mainland Spain brought about a radical shift.
Riera explains that the most common name throughout Mallorca's history is Juan or Joan, depending on the era, and Juana or Joana for women. He points out that although there have been changing trends in the naming of children, certain traditional names remain prevalent among the population as a whole.
INE figures indicate that 30% of men are called Antonio (the Catalan alternative is Antoni). This has been one of the most common names since the 13th century and is linked to the arrival of the monks of the Order of Saint Anthony following the conquest of 1229. Catalina also dates back to the 13th century and is common due to the veneration of Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Santa Catalina).
Other dynamics include the names of famous people and the adoption of non-Spanish names, the latter at least in part attributable to a different type of immigration - from other countries. There are, for instance, 3,600 Kevins.