TOI correspondent from London: “Muhammad” has become the most popular name for boys in England and Wales for the first time, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
“Muhammad” overtook “Noah” as the top baby name for boys in 2023. It 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.
“Noah” came second for baby boys’ names in 2023, with “Oliver” third.
There were 4,661 boys called “Muhammad” born in 2023, up from 4,177 in 2022, compared to 4,382 boys given the name “Noah” in 2023.
The analysis shows that “Muhammad”is the most popular boy’s name in four out of 10 regions in England and Wales, predominantly in the North and West Midlands, as well as London. Two other variants of the Arabic name “Muhammad” are in the top 100 with “Mohammed” being 28th and “Mohammad” ranked 68th.
The three most popular babygirlnames in 2023 were “Olivia”, “Amelia” and “Isla”, remaining unchanged since 2022. “Olivia” has been the top-ranked name for girls since 2016.
Films and music had considerable influence on parents’ choices.
Inspired by “Barbenheimer” which saw fans flock to cinemas in summer 2023 to watch Margot Robbie in “Barbie” and Cillian Murphy in “Oppenheimer”, the ONS spotted a rise in the number of parents choosing the names Margot and Cillian.
The names of pop stars had an influence too with Elton John and Kendrick Lomar triggering an increase in baby boys being named Elton and Kendrick; whilst Rihanna, Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey sparked an increase in baby girls being called Rihanna, Billie, Miley and Lana.
The analysis found that royal names such as Camilla, Meghan and Harry are decreasing in popularity whilst there is an increase in parents choosing names such as Reign, Saint and Psalm, inspired by the children of reality TV star family, the Kardashian-Jenners. Names named after seasons such as Autumn and Summer, or after days of the week such as Sunday and Wednesday, have also increased in popularity.
New entries to the top 100 baby names in 2023 include Hazel, Lilah, Autumn, Nevaeh and Raya for girls, and Jax, Enzo and Bodhi for boys.