The top baby names in England and Wales were announced last week.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, the most popular baby names last year were Amelia and Oliver.
Here are England and Wales’ top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2013:
Girl Names
- Amelia, 5570 baby girls
- Olivia, 4598
- Emily, 4049
- Ava, 3575
- Isla, 3526
- Jessica, 3507
- Poppy, 3422
- Isabella, 3246
- Sophie, 3013
- Mia, 2993
- Ruby, 2948
- Lily, 2883
- Grace, 2799
- Evie, 2767
- Sophia, 2764
- Ella, 2722
- Scarlett, 2643
- Chloe, 2401
- Isabelle, 2287
- Freya, 2266
Boy Names
- Oliver, 6,949 baby boys
- Jack, 6,212
- Harry, 5,888
- Jacob, 5,126
- Charlie 5,039
- Thomas, 4,591
- Oscar, 4,511
- William, 4,268
- James, 4,236
- George, 4,202
- Alfie, 4,138
- Joshua, 3,973
- Noah, 3,830
- Ethan, 3,572
- Muhammad, 3,499
- Archie, 3,265
- Leo, 3,264
- Henry, 3,248
- Joseph, 3,225
- Samuel, 3,188
There were some big moves on the boys’ side: Oscar rose from 17th to 7th, while Riley plummeted from 8th to 21st. (Here are the biggest moves overall for boy names and girl names.)
New to the top 20 are Scarlett, Archie, Henry and Joseph. They replaced Charlotte, Riley, Daniel and Max.
One thing I found interesting? Freya wasn’t on the England top 20. It also wasn’t on the Wales top 20. And yet still it managed to rank 20th on the combined top 20. Very sneaky, Freya.
Here are some of last year’s rare baby names, each given to between 3 and 10 babies (inclusive):
| Rare Girl Names | Rare Boy Names |
|---|---|
| Akvile, Alaska, Alphonsa, Andromeda, Arena, Arizona, Atlantis, Belinay, Bellatrix, Blousey, Boadicea, Boglarka, Bonnie-Blue, Boo, Boux, Charm, Cressida, Crystal-Rose, Daenerys, Delphie, Disney, Duru, Edwina, Ellery, Eloghosa, Enfys, Enlli*, Eos, Ernestine, Esila, Evan, Frayer, Freshta, Fausta, Garance, Gelila, Gemini, Gerda, Glorious, Halo, Honour, Io, Iole, Ionie, Iseult, Isla-Belle, Izna, Lava, Lleucu, Llinos, Llio, Loveday, Loxy, Mafalda, Man, Maple, Miami, Migle, Milda, Misk, Mirabella, Mirren, Myfi, Myrtle, Nandi, Nephele, Nma, Ottoline, Pebbles, Popi, Purity, Quorra, Quratulain, Rory, Ruby-Tuesday, Salsabeel, Sehrish, Sequoia, Sibel, Sobia, Solveig, Sundus, Tiggi, Tiggy, Tirion, Tulsi, Vespa, Vogue, Yiyi | Alaric, Bramwell, Cavalli, Ceirion, Denley, Diesel, Diggory, Drin, Eesaa, Eyoel, Fiachra, Finlo, Fyfe, Ghyll, Greatness, Gruff, Hanzala, Haoyu, Heathcliff, Henley-John, Ho, Hocine, Innis, Iori, J, Jai-Jai, Jay-J, Jaygo, Johnboy, Jonjoe, Kebba, Kelly, Khizr, King-David, Klevis, Lebron, Liutaruas, Llyr, Lochie, Messi, Mortimer, Nebi, Nimrod, Noman, Olti, Omarion, Orpheus, Osgar, Oska, Perseus, Ptolemy, Qi, Rhythm, Rozh, Rhon, Sandor, Shady, Shaquille, Sheriff, Shko, Soul, Swayley, T, Tiger, Tirath, Tobenna, Toprak, Tuguldur, Tylah, Tyrion, Ugnius, Viggo, Wentworth, Winter, Wolf, Wolfgang, Wren, Yanky, Yug, Zeus, Zsombor |
*Enlli, which debuted last year, comes from the name of the Welsh island Ynys Enlli (called Bardsey Island in English). The island name is usually translated as “island of the current,” with ynys meaning “island,” and enlli meaning “current.” You can hear the proper pronunciation of Ynys Enlli at Forvo.
Finally, all of my previous posts on the popular (and unique) baby names in England and Wales: 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008.
Source: Baby Names, England and Wales, 2013 – ONS
Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)
