According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the most popular baby names in England and Wales last year were, yet again, Olivia and Oliver.
Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:
Girl Names
- Olivia, 4,082 baby girls
- Amelia, 3,712
- Isla, 2,981
- Ava, 2,946
- Mia, 2,500
- Isabella, 2,398
- Sophia, 2,332
- Grace, 2,330
- Lily, 2,285
- Freya, 2,264
Boy Names
- Oliver, 4,932 baby boys
- George, 4,575
- Noah, 4,265
- Arthur, 4,211
- Harry, 3,823
- Leo, 3,637
- Muhammad, 3,604
- Jack, 3,381
- Charlie, 3,355
- Oscar, 3,334
In the girls’ top 10, Lily and Freya replaced Emily and Ella. The boys’ top ten includes the same ten names as in 2018.
In the girls’ top 100, Lara and Mabel replaced Aisha and Francesca. In the boys’ top 100, Alfred, Chester, Hudson, Ibrahim and Oakley replaced Alex, Dexter, Dominic, Kai, Sonny and Tobias.
The fastest risers within the top 100 were Hallie (on the girls’ list) and Tommy (on the boys’).
Several names that saw increased usage due to pop culture were…
- The girl name Dua, now at an all-time high thanks to English pop singer Dua Lipa, whose parents were Kosovar refugees.*
- The boy name Kylo, thanks to the Star Wars sequel trilogy. (Kylo debuted in 2015, the year the first film was released.)
- The boy name Taron, inspired by actor Taron Egerton, who was featured in the 2019 Elton John biopic Rocketman.
Here are the top ten lists for England and Wales separately, if you’d like to compare the regions…
| England’s top ten… | Wales’s top ten… | |
| Girl Names | Olivia, Amelia, Isla, Ava, Mia, Isabella, Grace, Sophia, Lily, Emily | Olivia, Amelia, Isla, Ava, Freya, Willow, Mia, Ella, Rosie, Elsie |
| Boy Names | Oliver, George, Arthur, Noah, Harry, Muhammad, Leo, Jack, Oscar, Charlie | Oliver, Noah, Charlie, Jacob, Theo, George, Leo, Arthur, Oscar, Alfie |
Finally, here are some of the rare baby names from the other end of the rankings. Each one was given to exactly 3 babies in England and Wales last year.
| Rare Girl Names | Rare Boy Names |
| Aiste, Avesta, Bella-Blue, Cosmina, Dolcieanna, Elliw, Floella, Gurveen, Harerta, Hessa, Iffah, Jainaba, Kalsoom, Lussy, Mallie, Nellie-Beau, Otterly, Primavera, Reevie, Reizel, Saffanah, Tuppence, Venba, Winter-Lily, Yidis, Zeemal, Zobia | Auburn, Boycie, Cybi, Dawsey, Eason, Folarin, Gedalya, Glyndwr, Hadrian, Hylton, Isaa, Johnjo, Kaniel, Lazo, Madani, Marmaduke, Now, Olgierd, Pijus, Rakai, Smit, Taqi, Veselin, Wilby, Wulfric, Yilmaz, Zarel |
Cybi, pronounced “kubby,” is the (Welsh) name of a 6th-century Cornish saint.
*Kosovar refugees are also mentioned in the posts on Amerikan and Tonibler.
Sources: Baby names in England and Wales: 2019, Baby names for boys in England and Wales (dataset), Baby names for girls in England and Wales (dataset)
Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)
