How Britain’s most popular baby names have changed in a generation: Ivy rises from 2,165th in the 90s to fifth and Noah soars from 225th to 1st but Lauren falls from 5th to 567th…so how fashionable is YOUR child’s name?
- Ivy is up from 2,165th in the 1990s to fifth most popular baby girls’ name, while Ava is up from 753rd to fourth
- Noah is now first for boys having risen from 225th, according to data from Office for National Statistics (ONS)
- Other names with huge rises include Freya, up from 118th to sixth for girls, and Arthur, up from 234th to fourth
- But Lauren is down from fifth in 1996 to 567th now, Megan from tenth to 330th and Amy from ninth to 285th
The name Ivy has shot up from 2,165th to fifth most popular baby girls’ name in a generation, while Ava has risen from 753rd to fourth, and Isla is up from 382nd to third – and Noah is now first for boys having risen from 225th.
Other names with huge rises include Freya, up from 118th to sixth for girls, and Arthur, which is up from 234th to fourth for boys, with the data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) comparing standings in 2021 to 1996.
Noah and Olivia are now the most popular names, while the ONS also found older mothers are more likely to give their babies traditional names compared with younger mothers who use shortened modern versions.
Oliver dropped to second place, having been the most popular boys’ name for eight years, while Olivia topped the girls’ list for the sixth year in succession. Ivy, now fifth, was 1,222nd in 1996 – but was as low as 2,165th in 1998.
However there have also been some big fallers since 1996, with Lauren down from fifth to 567th, Megan down from tenth to 330th and Amy falling from ninth to 285th. None of the boys’ top ten 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 ten 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.
This graphic shows the most popular boys’ and girls’ names in 2021, with the position in 2021 in brackets
Elijah and Arlo only appeared in the top ten boys’ names for mothers under 25, while more traditional names such as Alexander and Thomas were popular among those over 35.
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.
And 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.’
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.
Further analysis showed many parents were inspired by the Royal Family, with eight girls named Lilibet in the months after Prince Harry and Meghan gave their daughter the late Queen’s nickname.
The birth of their son Archie in 2020 similarly led to a surge in popularity for that name, just as Prince William and Kate’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.
Bowie, one of the most influential and revered musicians of recent times, died of liver cancer on January 10 2016, two days after his 69th birthday.
Recent years have seen his legacy continue, with his estate launching an NFT series and Bowie received a stone on the Music Walk of Fame in London.
Meanwhile there were 14 times the number of baby boys named Ezra in 2021 compared with a decade before.
The name was just outside the top 50 most popular names given to boys in 2021, with 1,226 registered that year.
It rose in prominence at around the same time the singer-songwriter found fame, with an 89 per cent increase in 2015 after his debut album Wanted On Voyage topped the charts.
The number of baby girls named Mabel also peaked in 2021 at 885 following large increases in 2018 and 2020.
The ONS said this may have been influenced by the success of pop singer Mabel, whose breakthrough single Finders Keepers was released in May 2017.
The success of recent Star Wars films may have also had an impact.
The number of newborn boys named Kylo rose more than fivefold to 54 in 2016 after Episode VII: The Force Awakens was released, introducing audiences to villain Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver.
The count peaked at 189 in 2020, after the Jedi hunter turned his back on the dark side.
The number of Landos has also risen since the appearance of Lando Calrissian, played by Donald Glover in the later Star Wars films, rising more than fivefold from 13 in 2019 to 74 last year.
The name Finn (John Boyega), one of the trilogy’s main characters, also rose in popularity from 512 registrations for boys in 2015 to 788 in 2021.
The ONS suggests this could also reflect the popularity of Peaky Blinders, in which Harry Kirton played the youngest son of Arthur Shelby named Finn.
Other families tried to keep up with the Kardashians by copying the reality TV stars’ novel baby names including Saint (59 last year), True (ten) and Psalm (six).
Data showed that Henry replaced Jack in the top ten names for boys, while Freya, Florence and Willow replaced Isabella, Rosie and Sophia for girls.
In total, 4,525 baby boys were named Noah in 2021, and 3,649 girls were named Olivia, up from 3,640 in 2020.
Noah was the fourth most popular boys’ name in 2020 and has risen 15 places since 2011.
Some 4,525 babies were named after the Biblical figure – who built an ark to survive a worldwide flood in a story told in the Old Testament – last year, up from 133 two decades earlier.
It is not clear why the name has risen so much in popularity. But one suggestion is that parents are naming their babies after actor Noah Schnapp, 18, who plays Will Byers in Stranger Things.
The name, of Hebrew origin meaning ‘rest’, has been rising in popularity since it was ranked 225th in 1996, when data began being published.
Fictional Noahs who could also have influenced the rise include the protagonist of The Notebook and Dominic West’s character in The Affair.
Olivia was the top girls’ name in every English region and Wales, except in the East Midlands, where Amelia was the most popular girls’ name.
Muhammad was the most popular boys’ name in four out of nine English regions.
Overall, the name Muhammad, with that specific spelling, stayed fifth most popular for boys, at 3,722.
New entries to the top 100 included Lara, Beatrice and Sara for girls, and Blake, Brody, Kai, Rupert, Tobias and Nathan for boys.
It is the first time Jack has not been in the top ten since the annual series began in 1996.
Brody and Rupert both entered the list of the 100 most common boys’ names for the first time, with 645 and 631 registrations respectively.
Names of Welsh origin featured among the most popular in Wales in 2021 – Alys, Ffion, Seren and Eira were among the top 50 for girls, and Arthur, Osian, Dylan and Elis were among the top 30 for boys.
James Tucker, of the ONS, said: ‘While Noah and Olivia are enjoying their places at the top, some names could be in danger of falling out of favour.
‘Leslie has had relatively little popularity in recent years with fewer than seven boys named each year since 2018. Others such as Clifford, Nigel and Norman have not fared much better with 10 or fewer boys being named.
‘Girls’ names such as Glenda and Kerry, that were more common before, are also becoming endangered and we have seen less than five girls being named each year since 2018.
‘Others such as Clifford, Nigel and Norman have not fared much better with ten or fewer boys being named.
‘Girls’ names such as Glenda and Kerry, that were more common before, are also becoming endangered and we have seen less than five girls being named each year since 2018.’
He added: ‘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.’