Baby names in England and Wales: 2023

In 2023:

• The three most popular names for baby girls in England and Wales were Olivia, Amelia and Isla, remaining unchanged since 2022.

• Muhammad has overtaken Noah as the top name for baby boys in England and Wales, followed by Noah and Oliver; Muhammad was the second most popular name in 2022 and has been in the top 10 most popular names for baby boys in England and Wales since 2016.

• Olivia was the most popular girls' name in five out of nine regions in England and the most popular in Wales, while Muhammad was the most popular boys' name in four out of nine regions in England and was ranked 63rd in Wales.

• New entries to the top 100 baby names include Hazel, Lilah, Autumn, Nevaeh and Raya for girls, as well as Jax, Enzo and Bodhi for boys.

• Pop culture continues to influence the popularity of baby names including music artists such as Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey, celebrity baby names from the Kardashian-Jenner family such as Reign and Saint, and film stars such as Margot Robbie and Cillian Murphy.

• Some names were more popular depending on the time of year; in December, Holly, Robyn and Joseph were more popular, whereas names like Summer and Autumn were popular in their respective seasons.

The three most popular baby names for girls in 2023 were Olivia, Amelia and Isla, remaining unchanged since 2022. Olivia has been the top-ranked name for girls since 2016 and has been in the top three every year since 2006.

Muhammad has overtaken Noah as the top baby name for boys in 2023, followed by Noah and Oliver. Muhammad was the second most popular name in 2022, and has been in the top 10 most popular names for baby boys since 2016.

New entries to the top 100 include Hazel, Lilah, Autumn, Nevaeh and Raya for girls, as well as Jax, Enzo and Bodhi for boys.

The top names for boys had much higher counts than those for girls. Since there are more unique names for baby girls – 35,000 unique names and spellings compared with 29,560 for boys – it suggests parents are choosing from a smaller pool of names for boys than girls, increasing the prevalence of each boys' name.

Figure 1: Top 10 most popular baby names for girls compared with previous year's ranking

Baby name ranks, England and Wales, 2023

Figure 2: Top 10 most popular baby names for boys compared with previous year's ranking

Baby name ranks, England and Wales, 2023

Wales

In 2023, the top three names for baby girls in Wales were Isla, Olivia and Freya, which are ranked third, first and fifth most popular in England.

The top three names for baby boys in Wales were Noah, Oliver and Luca, which are ranked second, third and seventh most popular in England. The top baby name for boys in England, Muhammad, was the 63rd most popular baby name in Wales.

Table 1 shows Welsh baby names that are in the top 100 in Wales compared with their rank in England.

Regions in England

The top girls' name in England, Olivia, is the most popular in five out of nine regions. These include the two most northern (North East and North West), the two most southern (South East and South West), and the West Midlands. The second most popular name, Amelia, is the top name in the remaining four regions of central England.

The top boys' name in England, Muhammad, is the most popular in four out of nine regions in England, predominantly in the North and Midlands of England, as well as London. In the remaining five regions, the most popular name is Noah in the East Midlands, East of England and the South East, Oliver in the North East, and Arthur in the South West.

Sub-regions in England

Figure 3: Explore the top baby name for girls in each local authority

Top baby names for girls in each local authority, England and Wales, 2023

Notes

1. Figures are based on mothers’ usual area of residence.

Figure 4: Explore the top baby name for boys in each local authority

Top baby names for boys in each local authority, England and Wales, 2023

Notes

1. Figures are based on mothers’ usual area of residence.

Films

Following summer blockbuster films Barbie (starring Margot Robbie) and Oppenheimer (starring Cillian Murphy), in 2023 there were an additional 215 baby girls named Margot and 14 baby boys named Cillian, compared with 2022.

Figure 5: Margot and Cillian became more popular baby names in 2023

Baby name counts, England and Wales, 2023

Music artists

There was an increase in popular musical artists' names as baby names in 2023 including Billie, Lana, Miley, and Rihanna for girls, and Kendrick and Elton for boys.

A number of events may have affected the popularity of these names for babies in 2023, including:

• Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey and Kendrick Lamar touring

• Rihanna's performance at the National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl halftime show

• Elton John headlining Glastonbury

• Miley Cyrus releasing an album

Figure 6: Popular music artist names that increased in popularity in 2023

Baby name counts, England and Wales, 2023

Notes

1. Names with a count of two or less have been redacted using S40 of the Freedom of Information Act to protect the confidentiality of individuals.

Royal family

Following Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953, the names Elizabeth and Philip increased in popularity in England and Wales (Top 100 baby names in England and Wales: historical data). Royal names were less popular in 2023, which may be because of a variety of modern influences on baby names.

Figure 7: Royal names are decreasing in popularity as baby names in 2023

Baby name counts, England and Wales, 2023

Notes

1. Names with a count of two or less have been redacted using S40 of the Freedom of Information Act to protect the confidentiality of individuals.

Celebrities

There has been a continued increase in parents in England and Wales choosing names inspired by the children of popular reality TV star family, the Kardashian-Jenners.

Figure 8: Kardashian-Jenner children’s names continue to be popular baby names in 2023

Baby name counts, England and Wales, 2023

Notes

1. Names with a count of two or less have been redacted using S40 of the Freedom of Information Act to protect the confidentiality of individuals.

Names with a hyphen were more popular for girls and less popular for boys in 2023 (Figure 9).

For baby girls, seasonal names such as Autumn and Summer increased in popularity and are now both in the top 100.

For baby girls, weekday names such as Sunday and Wednesday also increased in popularity. Popularity of the name Wednesday may be influenced by the Netflix series Wednesday (November 2022).

Figure 9: Hyphenated names were more popular in 2023 for girls

Baby name counts, England and Wales, 2023

Notes

1. Names with a count of two or less have been redacted in this publication using S40 of the Freedom of Information Act to protect the confidentiality of individuals. Names with a count of two or less contribute towards total counts and so were included in this chart, which looks at the frequency of unspecified names.

Baby name popularity was also affected by month in 2023, including:

• Poppy being most popular in November, likely because of the connection with poppies and Remembrance Day

• festive names such as Joseph, Holly, and Robyn being most popular in December

• Autumn being most popular in September and October, and Summer being most popular in June and July

Figure 10: Some names are more popular depending on the month in 2023

Baby name counts, England and Wales, 2023

Live birth

A live birth is a baby showing signs of life at birth. 

Stillbirth

A stillbirth is a baby born after 24 or more weeks' completed gestation and that did not, at any time, breathe or show signs of life.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in April 2012. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled "accredited official statistics".

Birth statistics represent births that occur and are then registered in England and Wales. Figures are derived from information recorded when live births and stillbirths are registered as part of civil registration, a legal requirement. These data represent the most complete data source available.

The registration of births is a service carried out by the Local Registration Service in partnership with the General Register Office (GRO) in England and Wales.

Baby name statistics are compiled from first names recorded when live births are registered in England and Wales as part of civil registration, a legal requirement. Statistics are based only on live births, as there is no public register of stillbirths.

To get a complete statistical picture for our baby names analysis, we use mother's data because information relating to mothers should appear on every birth registration. More information is available on the birth registration process in our User guide to birth statistics. We release further data relating to both parents' characteristics in our annual Births in England and Wales release.

Quality and methodology information

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our Baby names QMI.