nuhahyearlyLaunch pricing - Get £50 off!nuhahyearlyNoah, Muhammad, and Oliver lead the UK charts. The biggest trends are softer, gentler names, short forms used as legal names (Freddie, Alfie, Teddy), increasing cultural diversity with names like Hamza and Ibrahim, and nature and mythology influences with Atlas, Orion, and Bear.
Muhammad is the most popular boys' name in England and Wales, for the third year running, followed by Noah and Leo, according to the Office for National Statistics data for 2025, the most recent published. Muhammad has been in the top ten since 2016. The notable change at the top was Leo climbing two places into third and Luca rising three into fourth, with Oliver dropping from third to sixth. Arthur sits fifth, and George, Oscar, Theodore, and Freddie complete the top ten. The full top 100, in order and with meanings, is below. Choosing for a girl instead? The Top 100 Baby Girl Names UK 2026 covers the same ground for girls.
This list is built on the most recent official ONS data, covering births registered in 2025 and published by the ONS in July 2026, the freshest national picture available for parents choosing in 2026. Short, affectionate forms used as full legal names are a defining feature of the boys' chart, with Freddie, Alfie, Archie, Arlo, Albie, and Teddy all ranking highly, and Vinnie climbing thirty-three places this year, the biggest rise on the list. Softer, gentler sounds have largely replaced harder traditional names, and the list has grown more culturally varied, with Muhammad at the top and Musa, Yusuf, Ibrahim, and Yahya all inside the top 100. Vincent, Carter, Stanley, and Ruben are this year's new entries. Nature and mythology also feature, through names like Arlo, Rowan, and Oakley. The result is a chart that leans warm and informal while still carrying plenty of classics.
The ONS builds the list from birth registrations across England and Wales, counting the exact spelling recorded at registration. This is why Muhammad can appear more than once: the spelling Muhammad ranked first, Mohammed twentieth, and Mohammad fifty-fifth in 2025, each counted as a separate name. Combined, the spellings would lead the chart by a wide margin. The figures are published once a year, so the 2025 data, released in July 2026, is the latest available. Figures for 2026 will not exist until the 2027 release. Positions low down the list can be separated by only a few births.
These rankings cover England and Wales. Scotland publishes its own list through National Records of Scotland and Northern Ireland through NISRA, with broadly similar leaders and some local variation. In Wales, names of Welsh origin such as Osian, Arthur, and Harri feature strongly, and Muhammad, the top name in England and Wales overall, sits much lower in the Welsh list.
A popular name is usually popular for good reason, often because it is easy to say and wears well over a lifetime, but it helps to think about how many other boys in a class might share it. Say the full name aloud with your surname, check the initials, and consider the short form, since that is what tends to get used most. If you are drawn to a top-ten name but want a little distance, a related form or a meaningful middle name can give you both. There is no rush, and plenty of parents decide only once their baby has arrived. If nothing on the list feels distinctive enough, the unique baby names guide covers names outside the top 100 that are still easy to say and spell.
Ranked by the Office for National Statistics, England and Wales, 2025, the most recent official data. Arrows show movement since 2024.
Muhammad was the most popular boys' name in England and Wales in 2025, for the third year running, according to the ONS.
The ONS counts the exact spelling recorded at birth registration. Muhammad, Mohammed, and Mohammad are counted separately; combined, they would lead the chart by a wide margin.
They cover England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland publish their own lists, which are broadly similar with some local differences.
New entries to the top 100 in the 2025 data are Ruben, Vincent, Carter and Stanley, with Ruben making the biggest leap into the list. Nearer the top, Leo rose two places to third and Luca three places to fourth.
The current top 10, from the most recent ONS data covering births registered in 2025, are Muhammad, Noah, Leo, Luca, Arthur, Oliver, George, Oscar, Theodore and Freddie. Leo climbed two places into third and Luca three into fourth, pushing Oliver down to sixth.
No. The ONS publishes each year in the following summer, so the 2025 figures were released in July 2026 and are the most recent official data. Names given to babies born in 2026 will not be published until 2027. Movement at the top is gradual, so the 2025 list is the best available guide for choosing now.
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