Baby Name Capitals
Having a child is one of the most special moments of our lives, but finding the perfect name can sometimes feel overwhelming. Many of us find inspiration from baby books, family names, celebrities and even our favourite songs.
We wanted to see which names are the most popular across the UK, which names are growing in popularity and which names are slightly uncommon. To do this we analysed the recent ONS report and here are the results.
Which names are the most uncommon in the UK?
Many parents want to name their children something unique – in fact uncommon names are rising across the globe as parents are hoping the name they give their children will help them stand out.
To discover the most uncommon, we looked at which names rank 100th and below. One of the most uncommon names for boys is Myles, followed by Nathan, Tobias, Jackson, Ollie, Harvey, Yusuf, Rupert, Charles and Kai.
The most uncommon names for girls are Sara, followed by Beatrice, Lara, Anna, Lilly, Holly, Clara, Elodie, Jasmine and Eden.
So if you’re looking for a unique name for your child why not try one of the above?
The most popular names in UK towns and cities
Across the UK the most popular names are Noah and Olivia but what are the most common names in different locations?
Interestingly, many cities share the same most popular names – for instance the most popular names in Cardiff and Leeds are both Amelia and Noah. Whereas some cities, like Bristol have a completely different top boys name to the rest of the UK.
Discover below which cities are similar in naming their children and which have a different favourite name.
London & Stoke-on-Trent
In London and Stoke-on-Trent the most popular girls name is Olivia, with 164 children being born in London and 18 in Stoke-on-Trent in 2021 with the name. The most popular name for boys was Muhammed, where in London 338 boys were given the name and 47 in Stoke-on-Trent.
Birmingham, Sheffield, Leicester & Nottingham
Birmingham, Sheffield, Leicester and Nottingham all share the same popular baby names. The most popular name for boys is Muhammad. In Birmingham, 407 baby boys were given the name – the most in any city in the UK.
The most popular name for girls is Amelia where 68 children were given the name in Birmingham – nearly three times the number of girls given the name in the neighbouring city of Nottingham.
Liverpool & Sunderland
The letter O is very popular in Liverpool and Sunderland as the most popular names are Oliver and Olivia. Interestingly, Sunderland has two top names for girls as 23 Rosies and Olivias were born in 2021.
Bristol
Jack is the most popular boy name in Bristol, the only city where Jack tops the list! 35 Jacks were born in 2021. The most popular girl’s name is Lily where 29 children were given the name.
Leeds & Cardiff
Leeds and Cardiff share the same most popular names. Amelia (which features in the top spot for many cities) takes the top spot for girls, and Noah takes the top spot for boys.
Manchester
Following the trend of many other cities, the most popular boy’s name in Manchester is Muhammad. However, parents in Manchester are making their own trends when it comes to girls, as the names Ava and Fatima were given to the most children in 2021 – the only city in the top 15 where these names appear!
Coventry
Coventry may have a big fanbase of the film Titanic or Italian painters, as the most popular name in the city given to boys was Leo. Parents of girls are playing it a bit safer as Amelia, which is the second most popular name overall in the UK, was the name given to the most baby girls in the city.
Reading
Three girls’ names top the most popular names, Emily, Grace and Lily all tie in top place. Similar to Leeds and Cardiff, parents also favoured the name Noah for their baby boys.
Hull
Olivia yet again tops the list for another city – which is no surprise as it is the most popular girls name overall in the UK. In Hull, 22 girls were born with the name Olivia in 2021. The most popular name for boys was possibly inspired by the hit TV show Peaky Blinders as 14 boys were given the name Tommy.
What are the most popular royal names?
2022 has been a year of ups and downs for the royal family, from celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s jubilee in June to unfortunately mourning her loss in September.
Elizabeth is the 5th most popular royal name for girls, with Peter Phillips’ daughter’s name Isla taking the top spot.
Princess Charlotte has the third most popular royal name for girls, interestingly Catherine, the name of the new Princess of Wales did not feature in the most popular royal names and neither did Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
King Charles also features in the most popular royal names taking a respectable 9th place. The most popular royal boy’s name is George. The second most popular is Harry, and in third place is Archie, which is Prince Harry’s son’s name.
Names can increase and decrease in popularity across the years, depending on TV shows, music and trends at the time. We wanted to discover which names are growing in popularity to see which might hold the future top spots. In order to do this, we looked at the number of positions names have moved in the past five years.
The boy’s name which has grown the most in popularity is Otis, which has increased 112 positions overall and is now the 81st most popular name in the UK. The girl’s name that has grown the most in popularity is Maeve, which was previously ranked 560th has moved a staggering 483 positions since 2017 and is now the 77th most popular name!
Interestingly both names belong to leading characters in the hit Netflix show, Sex Education. The show which has a viewership of over 40 million could have been the inspiration for both Otis and Maeve growing in popularity in recent years.
Once your bundle of joy is here and named, caring for your child is the next step, check out these alternative therapies for both baby and parent that will promote wellness below.
Holistic therapy
Sleepless nights can be expected with a little one, however holistic therapies such as baby yoga can promote deeper and longer sleep cycles in children which parents will be grateful for!
Baby Reflex Therapy
Baby reflex therapy can also be used from 4 weeks and help parents learn and bond with their children. Babies’ feet can be the secret weapon when they’re struggling with wind or need soothing. Toes are said to be linked to the head and teeth so the therapy may help with teething.
Breastfeeding counsellor
Breastfeeding isn’t for all parents, some find it comes naturally whereas others can find it challenging. If you or your partner falls into the latter, you may need the support of a breastfeeding counsellor (sometimes known as a Lactation Consultant). These counsellors can provide tips, guidance and tailored instructions on how to breastfeed if you have twins, infants or a preemie.
Methodology
To uncover the uncommon names, the team gathered the names which ranked 100th out of the most common names.
The most popular names by city were calculated by analysing the names which were given to children born during 2021 for the 15 most populated towns and cities in the UK.
To uncover which were the most popular royal baby names the team took a seed list of members of the UK royal family and compared this to where the names ranked overall – the names which ranked highest were most popular.
The names which had the most growth were calculated by analysing the number of positions moved in the past 5 years.
All data is correct as of December 2022. Source: All data was taken from ONS