UK Baby Names 2021

On 5 October, The Office of National Statistics published a table and analysis of 2021 baby names for England on Wales. That’s a 6 month lag behind a similar analysis for Scotland that appeared on 7 April. Here’s a comparative table

For England and Wales the statisticians commentary is

“Noah has replaced Oliver as the most popular name for boys in 2021, moving Oliver into second place and ending an eight-year reign at the top. Olivia remained the most popular girls name in 2021, having held the top spot since 2016. Interestingly, Noah was not top in any of the English regions, but has risen up the ranks in most regions since last year to take first place overall.

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 ten or fewer boys being named. Girls’ names such as Glenda and Kerry, that were more common before, are also becoming endangered and we have seen less than five girls being named each year since 2018.

Popular culture continues to influence parents’ baby name choices. Today we have also published analysis exploring cultural influences that could be inspiring baby name trends, from hit TV shows to musical icons.”

Find the release for England and Wales at https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/bulletins/babynamesenglandandwales/2021#top-baby-names

and for Scotland at
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/babies-names/21/babies-first-names-21-report.pdf