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UK’s most popular baby names revealed: Statistics reveal the monikers at risk of extinction – while the most popular remain the same

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UK’s most popular baby names revealed: Statistics reveal the monikers at risk of extinction – while the most popular remain the same

The most popular baby names in the UK have been revealed, with Noah and Olivia once again topping the annual list.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has released the latest new name data for England and Wales, from births in 2022.

Olivia has once more been crowned the most popular baby girl name, its seventh consecutive year atop the ONS list. Meanwhile Isla, Ava and Amelia are still also flying high.

Meanwhile, boys name Oliver dropped to second place in 2021, having been the most popular moniker for eight years before Noah overtook it.

Data from the ONS also shows that the name Muhammed – which ranked 20th in 2012 – has soared in popularity in recent times, and now ranks at number two.

Oh baby! The most popular names in the UK have been revealed, with names like Noah, Muhammed and Olivia topping the list (stock image)

Other names taking a seat in the top five names for boys are George and Leo – while former champion Oliver has now dropped to fourth place.

Rounding out the top 10 for baby girl names are Lily, Ivy, Freya, Florence, Isabella, Mia and Willow.

More old fashioned names are becoming much rarer, says the ONS’ Dr James Tucker.

He explains: ‘Noah was the most popular name for boys in 2022, for the second year in a row, having replaced Oliver at the top in 2021. Oliver has now slipped to fourth most popular boys’ name, behind Muhammad and George.

‘Olivia remained the most popular girls’ name in 2022, having held the top spot since 2016. In second and third place for the girls it’s Amelia and Isla, both unchanged from 2021.

‘Theodore, Theo and Freddie are three new entries into the top 10 boys’ names in 2022. Isabella is the only new entry into the girls’ top 10.’

And if you need some inspiration for a new arrival? Look at who’s famous, says Dr Tucker. 

Olivia has once more been crowned the most popular baby girl name for the eighth year in a row, according to latest ONS stats

Olivia has once more been crowned the most popular baby girl name for the eighth year in a row, according to latest ONS stats

‘Popular culture continues to influence parents’ baby name choices. Today we have also published analysis exploring cultural influences that could be inspiring baby name trends, from hit TV shows to musical icons’.

According to ONS data of the most popular baby names in a generation from 1996 to 2021, monikers such as Lauren have been big fallers since 1996.

The list saw Lauren fall down from fifth to 567th, Megan down from tenth to 330th and Amy falling from ninth to 285th.

None of the boys’ top 10 since 1996 has fallen by such a rate, but the biggest droppers are Matthew, down from sixth to 123rd, and Ryan, down from seventh to 106th.

Half of the top 10 boys’ names for mothers under the age of 25 were shortened versions of traditional names. Of the top ten baby names for mothers aged 35 and over, only one was a shortened name.

Willow, Isabella, Harper and Delilah were girls’ names only seen in the top ten among mothers under 25, while Charlotte, Grace, Sophie and Sophia were more likely for mothers over 35.

The ONS said: ‘The long-running trend of older mothers giving their babies more traditional names and younger mothers giving more modern and shortened versions of traditional names continued.’

Top girls’ names 2022

1 Olivia

2 Amelia

3 Isla

4 Ava

5 Lily

6 Ivy

7 Freya

8 Florence

9 Isabella

10 Mia

11 Willow

12 Sienna

13 Poppy

14 Sophia

15 Elsie

16 Rosie

17 Grace

18 Millie

19 Emily

20 Sofia

21 Daisy

22 Evelyn

23 Evie

24 Phoebe

25 Ella

26 Charlotte

27 Harper

28 Maya

29 Matilda

30 Ruby

31 Aria

32 Penelope

33 Hallie

34 Luna

35 Bonnie

36 Ada

37 Emilia

38 Alice

39 Sophie

40 Esme

41 Isabelle

42 Maisie

43 Violet

44 Delilah

45 Mila

46 Eva

47 Arabella

48 Maeve

49 Aurora

50 Mabel

51 Ayla

52 Lottie

53 Eliza

54 Rose

55 Erin

56 Layla

57 Scarlett

58 Chloe

59 Margot

60 Elizabeth

61 Imogen

62 Eleanor

63 Orla

64 Thea

65 Harriet

66 Iris

67 Nancy

68 Emma

69 Jessica

70 Zara

71 Robyn

72 Gracie

73 Elodie

74 Olive

75 Maria

75 Maryam

77 Bella

78 Lola

78 Lyra

80 Lyla

81 Ophelia

82 Ellie

83 Ottilie

84 Molly

85 Lara

86 Myla

87 Eden

88 Eloise

89 Darcie

90 Lucy

91 Nova

92 Lilly

93 Clara

94 Jasmine

95 Edith

96 Summer

97 Amelie

98 Hannah

99 Fatima

99 Sara

Top boys’ names 2022

1 Noah

2 Muhammad

3 George

4 Oliver

5 Leo

6 Arthur

7 Oscar

8 Theodore

9 Theo

10 Freddie

11 Archie

12 Luca

13 Henry

14 Jack

15 Harry

16 Charlie

17 Alfie

18 Arlo

19 Thomas

20 Teddy

21 Finley

22 Jacob

23 Tommy

24 William

25 Lucas

26 Isaac

27 Mohammed

28 Alexander

29 Albie

30 Roman

31 Edward

32 Jude

33 Elijah

34 James

35 Joshua

36 Reuben

37 Max

38 Rory

39 Sebastian

40 Louie

41 Adam

42 Mason

43 Ethan

43 Hudson

45 Harrison

46 Ezra

47 Hugo

48 Louis

49 Reggie

50 Joseph

51 Benjamin

52 Ronnie

53 Daniel

54 Logan

55 Jaxon

56 Oakley

57 Albert

58 Hunter

59 Zachary

60 Samuel

61 Rowan

62 David

63 Toby

64 Dylan

65 Frederick

66 Jesse

67 Mohammad

68 Otis

69 Sonny

70 Gabriel

71 Grayson

72 Kai

73 Frankie

74 Caleb

75 Carter

76 Liam

77 Felix

78 Jasper

79 Riley

80 Bobby

81 Alfred

82 Finn

83 Elliot

84 Brody

84 Rupert

86 Ralph

87 Milo

88 Michael

89 Blake

90 Ellis

91 Chester

92 Stanley

93 Yusuf

94 Jackson

95 Leon

96 Elias

97 Myles

98 Tobias

99 Musa

100 Axel

100 Ibrahim

The ONS also said that famous figures and cultural influences were affecting babies’ names. It suggested the Disney Pixar film Luca may have increased interest in the main character’s name, which went from 1,323 in 2020 to 1,807 in 2021, making it the 28th most popular for boys last year.

The release of Disney animation Raya And The Last Dragon in 2021 also led to an increase in the number of girls being named Raya, which doubled from 110 in 2020 to 251 last year.

Meanwhile, the name Boris slipped down the rankings last year, from 745th in 2020 to 815th in 2021.

Let's call him Otis! Popular culture has a huge influence on the names list, say the ONS, with Asa Butterfield's character in Sex Education leading to a raft of boys named Otis

Let’s call him Otis! Popular culture has a huge influence on the names list, say the ONS, with Asa Butterfield’s character in Sex Education leading to a raft of boys named Otis

Further analysis showed many parents were inspired by the Royal Family, with eight girls named Lilibet in the months after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave their daughter the late Queen Elizabeth‘s nickname.

The birth of their son Archie in 2020 similarly led to a surge in popularity for that name, just as the Prince and Princess of Wales‘s choices of George, Charlotte and Louis were copied by hundreds of parents around the country.

But Netflix appeared to have a bigger influence, with hundreds of children given the unusual names of characters from the streaming service’s hit shows.

There were 737 boys named Otis and 654 girls called Maeve in 2021, possibly copied from characters in Sex Education, while Stranger Things is thought to have influenced a small rise in Dustin, and even three girls named Eleven after the main protagonist in the sci-fi series.

Modern pop stars George Ezra and Mabel also inspired many parents, while David Bowie’s death in 2016 led to a surge in boys named Ziggy.

The number of boys registered with the name Ziggy, a reference to his acclaimed 1972 album Ziggy Stardust, at birth in England and Wales rose from 49 to 136 between 2016 and 2021.

The number of boys registered with the name Bowie rose from 35 to 78 in the same period.

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