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Daily Mirror

National

Ellie Fry

Most popular baby names announced - as Oliver knocked off top spot after eight years

Office for National Statistics Sara

Naming your newborn baby is one of the most important choices you'll make - and it's never an easy decision. Parents will want a moniker that feels unique and fitting to their little one, but equally, choosing something too unique can end in disaster.

The name you choose will stay with your child for life, and while a safe bet might be sticking to something more traditional, we've seen a rise in more unusual baby names in recent years as parents try to find something that help their kid stand out from the crowd.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released its annual figures for the most popular baby names In England and Wales for 2021 and it certainly makes for interesting reading.

Noah and Olivia bagged the top spots for 2021 (stock photo) (Getty Images)

Noah reigned supreme as the most popular boys' name for 2021, replacing Oliver from the previous year, meanwhile England and Wales' favourite girls name remains Olivia - a moniker that has been at the top of the list for six years in a row.

This is a major shift when it comes to boys names, as Oliver has been toppled off the top spot for the first time in eight years.

There was once a time where you couldn't enter a classroom without one or two Jacks in attendance, but the once-popular name dropped in position for 2021 - as Henry replaced Jack in the top 10 names for boys.

Freya, Florence and Willow replaced Isabella, Rosie and Sophia for girls, but this is the first time Jack has not been in the top 10 since the annual analysis began in 1996.

New entries this year to the top 100 include Lara, Beatrice and Sara for girls and Blake, Brody, Kai, Rupert, Tobias and Nathan for boys; this is the first time that Rupert and Brody have been in the top 100.

While traditional names fell in popularity in the previous year, 2021's list shows that mothers over 35 continue to be more likely to have babies with more classic names such as Thomas.

Meanwhile, younger mums plumped for shortened versions of the traditional moniker, such as Tommy.

James Tucker, Head of Health and Life Events Analysis, Office for National Statistics, said: "Muhammad was the most popular boys' name in four out of nine English regions, while Olivia was the top girls' name for every English region and Wales, except for the East Midlands where Amelia was the most popular girls name."

"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."