No end of Noahs … but a conquest of the Normans

NOAH was the most popular name for baby boys last year, ending the eight-year reign of Oliver.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today showed the name had jumped three spots into first place, while Olivia remained the most popular name for girls for the sixth year in a row.

Henry replaced Jack in the top 10 names for boys, while Freya, Florence and Willow replaced Isabella, Rosie and Sophia for girls.

New entries to the top 100 included Lara, Beatrice and Sara for girls, and Blake, Brody, Kai, Rupert, Tobias and Nathan for boys.

Muhammad was the most popular boys’ name in four out of nine English regions, including London. Noah and Leo took second and third place in the capital.

In total, 4,525 baby boys were named Noah in 2021, and 3,649 girls were named Olivia, up from 3,640 in 2020.Some names, such as Nigel, Clifford, Norman and Leslie, are waning.

James Tucker, of the ONS, said: “While Noah and Olivia are enjoying their places at the top, some names could be in danger of falling out of favour. Leslie has had relatively little popularity in recent years with fewer than seven boys named each year since 2018. Others such as Clifford, Nigel and Norman have not fared much better with 10 or fewer boys being named.”

Mothers aged over 35 were more likely to have babies with more traditional names such as Thomas, while younger mothers’ babies were more likely to have different versions, such as Tommy, the ONS said.

Popular culture continued to have an influence on parents picking a baby name last year. Luca surged 17 places to the 28th spot, which the ONS said could be inspired by the popular Pixar fantasy of the same name.

The number of newborn boys named Lando also saw an increase after the appearance of Lando Calrissian in the third film of the latest Star Wars trilogy.

But names with a royal connection appeared to decline, with a fall in the number of Charlottes and Archies.