The official lists of most popular names of 2009 are starting to come in, and one of the most intriguing is from Quebec, the Canadian province where French is an official language and baby names have a distinct style.

　　The most popular names in Quebec are very different from those in the U.S. and other primarily English-speaking places, but different too from France.

　　While some choices on the Top 50 most popular names for each gender are familiar, others are wildly divergent. Emma, number 1 in the US, is number 3 in Quebec, for instance, with Chloe, Sarah, and Emilie (as opposed to Emily) also in the Top 25. The international William is Number 1 for boys, with U.S. most popular Jacob in 11th place and Zachary, Benjamin, Noah, Anthony, and Justin in the Top 25.

　　But then you have other names near the top of the list that are unusual or virtually unknown in the U.S. and the U.K. Lea, usually with an accent as Léa, is the Number 1 girls’ name, with such exotic choices as Maika, Noemie, Coralie, Laurence, Maelie, and Oceane in the girls’ Top 25. For boys, the Top 25 includes Olivier, Alexis, Felix, Antoine, Emile, Loic, and Mathis, pronounced Mat-TEES.

　　Here are the Top 100 most popular names, 50 each for boys and girls, in Quebec in 2009. For even more choices, go here.

　　1. LEA, WILLIAM

　　2. FLORENCE, OLIVIER

　　3. EMMA, THOMAS

　　4. ROSALIE, NATHAN

　　5. JADE, ALEXIS

　　6. JULIETTE, FELIX

　　7. CAMILLE, GABRIEL

　　8. GABRIELLE, SAMUEL

　　9. MAIKA, ANTOINE

　　10. MIA, XAVIER

　　11. NOEMIE, JACOB

　　12. OLIVIA, RAPHAEL

　　13. ZOE, MATHIS

　　14. CHLOE, ZACHARY

　　15. CORALIE, ALEXANDRE

　　16. SARAH, BENJAMIN

　　17. LAURENCE, EMILE

　　18. ALICE, NOAH

　　19. ALEXIA, ANTHONY

　　20. CHARLOTTE, JUSTIN

　　21. ALICIA, VINCENT

　　22. MAELIE, EDOUARD

　　23. OCEANE, NICOLAS

　　24. EMILIE, LOIC

　　25. ANNABELLE, LUCAS

　　26. MEGANE, CHARLES

　　27. ANAIS, TRISTAN

　　28. MARIANNE, JEREMY

　　29. ELODIE, ADAM

　　30. EVE, MAXIME

　　31. ARIANE, LIAM

　　32. CHARLIE, ETIENNE

　　33. ROSE, SIMON

　　34. LAURIE, ALEX

　　35. AURELIE, VICTOR

　　36. ELIZABETH, ZACK

　　37. VICTORIA, ELLIOT

　　38. JUSTINE, DAVID

　　39. EMY, JULIEN

　　40. RAPHAELLE, MALIK

　　41. MAEVA, GUILLAUME

　　42. MAYA, PHILIPPE

　　43. LEANNE, LOUIS

　　44. MEGAN, LEO

　　45. DELPHINE, MATHIEU

　　46. MELODIE, ZACKARY

　　47. CLARA, LUDOVIC

　　48. SOFIA, DYLAN

　　49. BEATRICE, LOGAN

　　50. JASMINE, THEO