Noah and Olivia are officially the most popular names for babies in England and Wales.
That’s according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which revealed Noah has replaced Oliver as the most popular boys’ name – knocking it off the top spot after a whopping eight years running.
Olivia is still the most popular girls’ name, followed by Amelia, Isla and Ava – proving there’s still a real trend for female names that end with ‘a’.
Ivy, Freya, Lily, Florence, Mia and Willow also feature in the top 10 names for girls, relegating the likes of Rosie, Sophia and Isabella from the list.
For the first time since 1996, Jack no longer features in the top 10 names for boys – and instead has been replaced by Henry.
In the boys’ list, Oliver is now in second place, followed by George, Arthur (a nod to Peaky Blinders, perhaps?), Muhammad, Leo, Harry, Oscar, Archie and Henry.
James Tucker, head of health and life events analysis at ONS, said: “While Noah and Olivia are enjoying their places at the top, some names could be in danger of falling out of favour.”
For instance, Leslie has had relatively little popularity in recent years with fewer than seven boys named that each year since 2018.
Others such as Clifford, Nigel and Norman have not fared much better with less than 10 boys being given these names each year.
Girls’ names such as Glenda and Kerry, which were more common before, have also become incredibly rare, with fewer than five girls being named these each year since 2018.
Choosing a name for a new baby is perhaps one of the most difficult decisions parents face. It’s got to stand the test of time, fit nicely with surname(s), but also stand out from the crowd.
In 2021 the largest movers in the top 100 names in England and Wales were Brody for boys, and Olive for girls, rising 36 and 25 places respectively since 2020.
New entries to the top 100 include Lara, Beatrice and Sara for girls and Blake, Brody, Kai, Rupert, Tobias and Nathan for boys.
“Popular culture continues to influence parents’ baby name choices,” Tucker added.
The names Luca and Raya are increasing in popularity, which statisticians suggest could be because of the release of children’s films such has Luca, and Raya and the Last Dragon.
Star Wars also seems to be influencing baby names, with more babies being called Kylo, Lando and Finn. Meanwhile the main characters of Netflix show Sex Education – Maeve and Otis – are also inspiring a new generation of baby names.
