Revealed: The most popular baby names for boys and girls right now
Choosing a baby name can be tricky, especially if you're indecisive.
But it might help to see which names are currently the most popular among new parents.
The Office for National Statistics has just revealed the most popular names for boys and girls in 2021 - and the lists might surprise you.
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For the first time in eight years, the name Oliver has dropped to second place on the popularity charts, meanwhile Olivia is still top of the list for girls' names, for the sixth year in a row.
Henry and Archie have also made the top 10 names for baby boys, meanwhile Freya, Florence and Willow have made the cut for girls', replacing Isabella, Rosie and Sophia.
In total, 4,525 baby boys were named Noah in 2021, and 3,649 girls were named Olivia.
You can see the full lists below:
Top 10 names for baby boys
- Noah
- Oliver
- George
- Arthur
- Muhammad
- Leo
- Harry
- Oscar
- Archie
- Henry
Top 10 names for baby girls
- Olivia
- Amelia
- Isla
- Ava
- Ivy
- Freya
- Lily
- Florence
- Mia
- Willow
There has been some new entries in the top 100, too, including Lara, Beatrice and Sara for girls, and Blake, Brody, Kai, Rupert, Tobias and Nathan for boys.
James Tucker, of the ONS, said: “Noah has replaced Oliver as the most popular name for boys in 2021, moving Oliver into second place and ending an eight-year reign at the top.
“Olivia remained the most popular girls’ name in 2021, having held the top spot since 2016. Interestingly, Noah was not top in any of the English regions, but has risen up the ranks in most regions since last year to take first place overall.
“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.
“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.”
Lucy Devine