nuhahyearlyLaunch pricing - Get £50 off!nuhahyearlyOlivia, Amelia, and Isla lead the UK charts. The biggest trends are shorter names, nature-inspired names like Ivy and Wren, vintage revivals like Mabel and Edith, and increasing cultural diversity with names like Ayla, Zara, and Niamh. You have 42 days to register a birth in England and Wales.
Olivia is the most popular girls' name in England and Wales, followed by Amelia and Lily, according to the Office for National Statistics data for 2024, the most recent published. Olivia has held the top spot every year since 2016, with 2,761 girls given the name in 2024, and Amelia has sat just behind it for several years running. The biggest change near the top was Isla slipping to fourth as Lily moved into the top three. Ivy, Florence, Freya, and Poppy complete the top eight. The full top 50, in order and with meanings, is below.
Nature and flower names continue to define the girls' chart, with Lily, Ivy, Poppy, Florence, Willow, Daisy, and Violet all ranking high. Alongside them, vintage names from a great-grandparent's era keep returning, including Elsie, Mabel, Margot, Ada, and Maisie. Shorter, softer names remain strong, and recent years have brought a steady stream of new arrivals into the top 100, among them Eloise, Nora, Athena, Myla, and Sara. The overall picture is a list that blends botanical, classic, and gently old-fashioned names rather than following one dominant style.
The ONS builds the list from birth registrations across England and Wales, counting the exact spelling recorded at registration. This detail matters, because similar names with different spellings are counted separately, so Sofia and Sophia appear as two entries rather than one combined name. The figures are published once a year and describe births in the year named, so the 2024 data is the latest available. Positions low down the list can be separated by only a handful of births, so small year-to-year movements there are normal.
These rankings cover England and Wales. Scotland publishes its own list through National Records of Scotland and Northern Ireland through NISRA, and the leading names are broadly similar with some local variation. In Wales, names of Welsh origin such as Seren, Mali, and Eira feature strongly alongside the wider favourites, which is why a Welsh top ten often looks a little different from the England and Wales list as a whole.
A popular name is usually popular for good reason, often because it sounds warm and wears well from childhood into adult life, but it is worth thinking about how often your child might share it in a class. Say the full name aloud with your surname, look at the initials, and consider how it shortens, since the short form is often what gets used day to day. If you love a top-ten name but want a little distance, a less common spelling or a closely related form can give you both familiarity and a touch of difference. There is no rush either, and many parents only settle on the name after meeting their baby.
The 50 most popular, in order, each with its meaning.
Olivia has been the most popular girls' name in England and Wales every year since 2016, with 2,761 girls given the name in 2024 according to the ONS.
The ONS compiles them from birth registrations in England and Wales, counting the exact spelling recorded. Different spellings of a name are counted separately, so Sofia and Sophia are listed apart.
They cover England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland publish their own lists, which are broadly similar with some local differences.
Nature and flower names and vintage revivals are climbing, and recent new entries to the top 100 include Eloise, Nora, and Athena.
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