Muhammad replaces Noah as most popular boys' name, Olivia holds on to top spot for girls

5 December 2024, 12:07 | Updated: 5 December 2024, 12:28

Muhammad has replaced Noah as the most popular boy's name in England and Wales while Olivia held on to the top spot for girls in 2023, new figures show.

Muhammad had been the second most popular boys' name in 2022, up from fifth place in 2021, and has been in the top 10 since 2016.

Olivia, Amelia and Isla held the top three spots for baby girl names for the second year in a row, with Olivia having been the top-ranked name since 2016.

The data, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also shows that Muhammad was the most popular boys' name in four out of nine regions in England and 63rd most popular in Wales.

Meanwhile, Olivia was the most popular girls' name in five out of nine regions in England and the most popular in Wales.

Hazel, Lilah, Autumn, Nevaeh and Raya, were among the new entries to the top 100 for girls while Jax, Enzo and Bodhi appeared for boys.

The full top 10 for girls and boys names are below.

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The ONS found that pop culture continues to influence the popularity of baby names including music artists such as Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey.

Celebrity baby names from the Kardashian-Jenner family such as Reign and Saint, and film stars such as Margot Robbie and Cillian Murphy, also saw their names rise in the rankings.

Some names were more popular depending on the time of year; in December, Holly, Robyn and Joseph were more popular, whereas names like Summer and Autumn were popular in their respective seasons.

The ONS found that parents are choosing from a smaller pool of names for boys than girls, increasing the prevalence of each boys' name.

The data showed that for girls, there were 35,000 unique names and spellings compared with 29,560 for boys.

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Top 10 most popular baby names for girls

1. Olivia
2. Amelia
3. Isla
4. Lily
5. Freya
6. Ava
7. Ivy
8. Florence
9. Willow
10. Isabella

Top 10 most popular baby names for boys

1. Muhammad
2. Noah
3. Oliver
4. George
5. Leo
6. Arthur
7. Luca
8. Theodore
9. Oscar
10. Henry