The top baby girl names and top baby boy names in England and Wales have been revealed for 2024. While there was no change when it came to the top baby names in 2024 for girls, there was a new name at the top of baby boy name list for 2024.
Olivia remained the top baby girl name for the eighth year in a row, and was given to 2906 baby girls.
The name Muhammad is now the most popular name for boys in the UK, given to 4661 boys. Muhammad has overtaken Noah as the top name for baby boys in England and Wales, with the name Noah now in second place, followed by Oliver at number three.
Muhammad was the second most popular name in 2022 and has been in the top 10 most popular names for baby boys in England and Wales since 2016.
The 2024 list was recorded by the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) from baby name data captured in 2023, the latest full year of recorded UK births.
Changes To The Top 10 Baby Names In The UK
While the top baby girl name remained the same this year, there were changes in the top 10 baby names for girls. Willow reappeared in the top 10 names for girls, and the name Mia dropped out of the top 10.
As well as a new top name for boys, there were also changes in the overall top 10 baby boy names. The names Luca and Henry now appear in the top ten, replacing Theo and Freddie, which dropped out of the top ten names for boys.
New Entries To The Top UK Baby Name List
When it comes to new entries for the top baby boy names, the names Jax, Enzo and Bodhi appeared in the top 100 list of baby names for boys in 2024.
For girls names, new entries to the top 100 list included Hazel, Lilah, Autumn, Nevaeh and Raya.
Regional Differences In The Top UK Baby Name Lists
In terms of regional naming differences, Olivia was the most popular girls' name in five out of nine regions in England and the most popular name in Wales.
Muhammad was the most popular boys' name in four out of nine regions in England and was ranked 63rd in Wales.
Baby Name Trends In 2024
In terms of new baby name trends, names with a hyphen were more popular for girls and less popular for boys.
For baby girls, names of days of the week such as Sunday and Wednesday also increased in popularity. Popularity of the name Wednesday may be influenced by character Wednesday Adams from the Netflix series Wednesday.
Following blockbuster films Barbie (starring Margot Robbie) and Oppenheimer (starring Cillian Murphy), in 2023 there were an additional 215 baby girls named Margot and 14 baby boys named Cillian, compared with 2022.
The new list suggests that music and popular culture continues to influence the popularity of baby names. Names of musicians including Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey, celebrity baby names from the Kardashian-Jenner family such as Reign and Saint, all feature this year.
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.
How Is The UK Top Baby Name List Compiled?
The UK top baby name lists are compiled by the ONS (Office of National Statistics) from statistics of first names recorded when live births are registered in England and Wales each year. It is a legal requitement to register your baby’s name within 42 days of them being born.
To protect the confidentiality of individuals with uncommon baby names, the UK baby name lists only include names given to three or more babies in England and Wales as a whole.
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