Baby names in England and Wales: 2014

• Oliver and Amelia were the most popular first names given to babies born in England and Wales in 2014. Amelia has been in the top spot since 2011 while Oliver has been in top spot since 2013
• In England, Amelia was the most popular girls’ name in 8 out of the 9 regions and Oliver was the most popular boys’ name in 7 out of the 9 regions
• In Wales, Oliver remained the most popular boys’ name, while Amelia has been the most popular girls’ name since 2012
• Lily replaced Mia in the top 10 most popular girls’ names for England and Wales, climbing from number 12 to 9

This bulletin presents the 100 most popular first names for male and female babies born in England and Wales in 2014 and compares the rankings with those in 2004 and 2013. The difference in rankings between England and Wales and the regions are examined, along with the seasonality of names.

Baby name statistics have been compiled from final annual births registration data and include all live births occurring in England and Wales in 2014.

This is the first time that 2014 annual statistics on baby names in England and Wales have been published.

The top 10 names and changes in ranking for boys and girls in England and Wales are outlined in Table 1.

There were 3 new entries in the top 100 most popular boys’ names in 2014:

• Ellis at number 94 (up 9 places from 103)

• Joey at number 97 (up 5 places from 102)

• Jackson at number 100 (up 6 places from 106)

These replaced Evan (102), Aiden (103) and Cameron (123) which fell out of the top 100.

Kian showed the largest rise within the top 100, gaining 41 places to reach number 54. Teddy (up 20 places to 66), Theodore (up 19 places to 59), Elijah (up 16 places to 53), Albert (up 15 places to 84) and Freddie (up 15 places to 20) were also high climbers within the top 100.

Jamie (down 20 places to number 88), Ryan (down 18 places to 69), Riley (down 14 places to 35), Kai and Connor (down 13 places to 77 and 79 respectively) and Bobby and Finlay (down 12 places to 71 and 99 respectively) showed the largest falls within the top 100.

• There were 6 new entries in the top 100 most popular girls’ names in 2014:

• Thea at number 79 (up 42 places from 121)

• Darcie at number 80 (up 23 places from 103)

• Lottie at number 84 (up 20 places from 104)

• Harper at number 89 (up 71 places from 160)

• Nancy at number 90 (up 21 places from 111)

• Robyn at number 100 (up 19 places from 119)

These replaced Niamh (103), Paige (104), Skye (109), Tilly (110), Isobel (111), Maddison and Madison (equal 117) which fell out of the top 100. In 2013, Lydia and Sara shared the same ranking at number 100; consequently 6 names entered the top 100 in 2014 with 7 names leaving.

Aisha showed the largest rise within the top 100, gaining 18 places to number 76. Elsie and Heidi (up 15 places to 32 and 84 respectively), Evelyn (up 14 places to 31), and Eliza, Georgia, Ivy and Darcey (up 12 places to 47, 48, 54 and 72 respectively) were also high climbers within the top 100.

Lexi (down 22 places to number 64), Megan (down 16 places to 65), Hannah, Lacey and Julia (down 15 places to 59, 68 and 97 respectively) and Faith (down 14 places to 88) showed the largest falls within the top 100.

There are a number of possible reasons why the popularity of baby names change over time. The popularity of names can be influenced by names of famous figures or current celebrities and what they name their own babies. However, it can also be influenced by other factors such as the religious, cultural and/or ethnic identities of parents or the names of family, friends or fictional characters. As such, there is a great diversity of baby names. In 2014, there were 695,233 live births in England and Wales (ONS, 2014), with over 27,000 different boys’ names and over 35,000 different girls’ names registered. The top 10 names only account for 12% of all names in 2014.

Of the 10 most popular boys’ names in 2014, 5 were also in the top 10 in 2004: Oliver, Jack, Thomas, James and William.

When compared with 2004, the biggest increases in popularity for those names in the top 10 in 2014 were Oscar (up 51 places to number 8), Jacob (up 19 places to 4) and Charlie and George (up 10 places to 5 and 7 respectively). The largest decreases in popularity since being in the top 10 in 2004 were Daniel and Benjamin (down 19 places to 24 and 28 respectively), Samuel (down 15 places to 21), Joshua (down 11 places to 13) and Joseph (down 9 places to 19).

In the top 100 boys’ names of 2014, Dexter (up 335 places to number 73), Joey (up 281 places to 97), Teddy (up 229 places to 66), Ollie (up 181 places to 74) and Austin (up 164 places to 89) were the highest climbers since 2004.

Of the 10 most popular girls’ names in 2014, 4 were also in the top 10 in 2004: Olivia, Emily, Jessica and Sophie.

Compared with 2004, the biggest increases in popularity for those names in the top 10 in 2014 were Isla (up 165 places to number 3), Ava (up 147 places to 6), Poppy (up 40 places to 5) and Isabella (up 27 places to 7). The largest decreases in popularity since being in the top 10 in 2004 were Katie (down 68 places to number 77) Megan (down 55 places to 65), Ellie (down 41 places to 43), and Lucy (down 23 places to 30).

In the top 100 girls’ names of 2014, Harper (up 3,636 places to number 89), Lexi (up 724 places to 64), Ivy (up 704 places to 54), Violet (up 536 places to 71), Bella (up 462 places to 52) and Elsie (up 387 places to 32) were the highest climbers since 2004.

Both Oliver and Amelia were the most popular names in 11 out of the 12 months of 2014. Jack was the most popular boys’ name in January and Olivia was the most popular girls’ name in May.

The second spot was shared between Jack (8 months), Harry (3 months) and Oliver (1 month) for boys and Olivia (11 months) and Amelia (1 month) for girls. There were 14 boys’ names and 16 girls’ names that reached the top 10 for at least 1 month during 2014.

Holly (number 39 in the annual rankings), the fifth most popular name for girls in December (number 23 in January), fell to number 70 in June. Summer (number 58 in the annual rankings) reached number 25 in June but fell to number 105 in December.

There are some similarities between the top 10 most popular names in England and in Wales for 2014. For boys the 2 countries have 5 common names in the top 10, while for girls there are 7 common names.

Oliver is the most popular name for boys born to mothers usually resident in England and in Wales. There are 5 names in the top 10 for Wales which are not in the top 10 for England:

• Noah (number 11 in England)

• Alfie (number 13 in England)

• Leo (number 16 in England)

• Logan (number 24 in England)

• Dylan (number 36 in England)

Amelia is the most popular name for girls born to mothers usually resident in England and in Wales. There are 3 names in the top 10 for Wales which are not in the top 10 for England:

• Mia (number 13 in England)

• Evie (number 14 in England)

• Ruby (number 15 in England)

Oliver was the most popular name for boys in 7 of the 9 regions in England. Jack was the most popular in the North East and Muhammad was the most popular in London.

Among baby girls, Amelia was the most popular name in 8 regions and Olivia was the most popular in the South East.

Users of baby name statistics can be split into 5 groups:

• individuals, which includes parents and soon-to-be parents who want to pick a rare or a popular name for their child or are simply seeking inspiration - other individuals include people interested in the popularity of their name or the names of friends and family, or names from a particular origin

• special interest groups, such as Bounty, produce their own popularity lists and compare their lists with those published by ONS

• those involved in the manufacture and sale of named items, such as mugs

• researchers, who examine how names are changing over the years and how this reflects changes in culture

• journalists who report and produce articles on the popularity of names