Rihanna, Arya, Daenerys, Shakira, Britney, Madonna and Miley: celebrity baby names become commonplace in Spain

Celebrity baby names are taking over from those of Catholic saints, as has long been a tradition in Spain, although the INE says the latter still remains in the lead.

Xena, Madonna with one 'n' – or 'Madona' – and 410 girls in Spain now named Letizia after the Queen have been recorded, with the name Rachel taking over from the more Spanish Raquel.

And boys named Elvis and Bart – for 'Simpson' – are on the rise, albeit in a very small minority.

Even now, girls named Mari Carmen, Carmen, María and María José, and boys named José, Juan, Pablo, Antonio and Francisco are still the most common, having been so since the 1930s, but the 21st century has brought a generation of Alejandros, Daniels, Álvaros, Valerias, Martinas and Irenes along with those of famous singers, film stars and characters, and even cartoon personalities.

Since the beginning of 2015, the most popular names across the board for new babies have been Hugo for boys and Lucía for girls, a trend which has continued into the start of 2017.

But the third- and fifth-most likely names for girls under two are currently Arya, with 214, and Daenerys, with 23, both named after characters from the historical fantasy cult series Game of Thrones.

Over 900 Spaniards are called Lisa, Maggie and Bart, the average age of whom is about 25, says the INE.

Another 92 girls of an average age of 11 are called Xena, after the Warrior Princess from the 1990s' serial played by Lucy Lawless.

Currently, Spain has 612 Shakiras, 107 Rihannas, 53 Mileys, 34 Madonas – with a single 'n' – 20 Britneys and, as for boys, 678 Elvis, 318 Harry, 101 Neymar, 100 Bruce, 69 Ricki and 42 Bob, named after Spongebob Square Pants.

Names are also becoming more international, following a long-running Latin American trend of giving children Anglophone names – at the moment, Spain has 8,119 girls called Jenifer, with just one 'n', plus 6,577 named Jesica, with one 's', 497 called Rachel and 29 named Sasha.

The average age of the 410 girls now called Letizia is just under 15, coinciding with the year in which TVE newsreader Letizia Ortiz announced her engagement to Crown Prince Felipe.

Now, Felipe is King of Spain, and newsreader Letizia is Queen.

The name 'Leticia' has been reasonably common in Spain for decades, but the international reporter-turned-Queen's own name is deliberately misspelt, since her parents decided to fly in the face of convention – a misspelling which has now been adopted by the parents of over 400 teenage girls.

For boys, some of the most common 'new' names are the English version of once-popular Spanish ones – Robert instead of Roberto, with 7,129 on record; Richard instead of Ricardo, at 2,974; George, instead of Jorge or the catalán Jordi, at 2,372; Frank instead of Francisco, at 1,609, and Anthony instead of Antonio at 1,646.

Names from generations gone by are now declining rapidly, although it is possible that, as is the case in the Anglo-Saxon world, they may come back into fashion in a future generation.

Women named Prepedigna, Afrodisia or Parmenia, and men named Progreso, Fumencio or Eusiquio on record in Spain are now all aged upwards of 76, the INE`reveals.