Olivia And Muhammed Named As Most Popular Baby Names Of 2019 So Far

A list of the most popular baby names for 2019 so far reveals Olivia and Muhammed are still the most favoured monikers for our little bundles of joy in the UK.

Published by British parenting site, Baby Centre, the list also highlights factors such as celebrity power couples, television obsessions and even the climate crisis being influential over our naming decisions.

Olivia sits at the top of the girls' chart for another year, followed by Sophia in the number two spot.

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Lily is now in third place, bumping Mia down a couple of places in the process. Meanwhile Freya has jumped up 15 places and is now in the top 10 at number eight. Isabella has also increased in its popularity, rising three places to number nine.

Muhammed is the most popular name for boys, then Noah and George.

These monikers are followed by Oliver in fourth, which has dropped by two places losing its number two spot the name has held for years.

Jaxon continues to increase in popularity as it's soared another 13 places to number 11.

The Baby Centre says politics are influencing parents' name choices, who are now opting for strong and stable alternatives with a 1980s twist in the uncertainty of Brexit and a change in prime minister.

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This has seen a rise in names like Michael, Maxine, Jason, John, David, Penny, Hannah and Emma all making a comeback. The site even saw an unusual name combination of Blair Margaret as "if to show politics is no longer divided on party lines".

The climate crisis could be behind the rise in the name David, after Sir David Attenborough and his tireless work to get people to urgently start looking after our planet. The name has risen 15 places to number 74, and registrations were also up for Greta, after teen climate change activist, Greta Thunberg.

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Animal and botanical names are also on the up - Willow is now in the top 20 and Ivy is now at number 16. Robyn, Raven, Rowan and Sage were also boosted in the ranks.

According to the Baby Centre, pop culture continues to be an endless source of inspiration for baby names.

There's been a rise in 'boxset' names, such as Otis, Evie and Maeve from Sex Education and plenty from Game of Thrones are also storming up the charts, such as Maisie (Williams) and Emilia (Clarke).

HBO

Eve from Killing Eve and Teddy as in Ted Hastings from Line of Duty also saw a rise in registrations.

Even Love Island's is providing us with baby names that are 100 per cent our type on paper. Kady (McDermott) Scott (Thomas), Nathan (Massey), Cara (Delahoyde), Amber (Davis), Kem (Cetinay), Camilla (Thurlow), Jamie (Jewitt), Chris (Hughes) Marcel (Somerville) and Georgia (Steel) all saw an increase in popularity.

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Our obsession with celebrities is also influencing our decisions, especially our favourite power couples. The Baby Centre reports a rise in Michael, which is the birth name of Stormzy, as well as girlfriend Maya (Jama).

Cara Delevigne and newly-confirmed girlfriend Ashley Benson's first names are also increasing in popularity, as are Joe and Jonas, Sophie (as in Sophie Turner), as well as Idris (Elba) and Sabrina (Dhowre).

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Here's the lists in full:

Girls:

1. Olivia
2. Sophia
3. Lily
4. Ava
5. Mia
6. Isla
7. Amelia
8. Freya
9. Isabella
10. Emily
11. Aria
12. Evie
13. Grace
14. Isabelle
15. Ella
16. Ivy
17. Sophie
18. Willow
19. Charlotte
20. Elsie

Boys:

1. Muhammad
2. Noah
3. George
4. Oliver
5. Charlie
6. Harry
7. Leo
8. Arthur
9. Jack
10. Freddie
11. Jaxon
12. Ethan
13. Jacob
14. Theo
15. Oscar
16. Alfie
17. Henry
18. Archie
19. Joshua
20. Thomas
    
    

Adorable.

Topics: Life News, Real, david attenborough, Baby Names

Rachel Andrews

Rachel Andrews is an NCTJ trained Journalist at PRETTY52. She specialises in Fashion and Beauty Journalism, and has experience at a range of online and print publications and joined the team in 2017. Contact her - [email protected]

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