Picking out baby names can be a very interesting, personal - and often frustrating - process for many parents-to-be, with plenty of research going into that one, all-important word.
Many parents will be keen to know how popular their choice is nationwide, but may not be aware that name popularity can differ drastically from region to region.
This Office for National Statistics (ONS) tool allows you to search for baby names in England and Wales, with separate searches for boys and girls, giving you an idea of how popular - or how unusual - your chosen name is within your local region compared with others.
The tool compares the name of your choice to the two most popular names - Olivia and Oliver.
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According to the latest statistics, the name Olivia was the most popular for baby girls across all regions in England and Wales in 2020, apart from the West Midlands and London where Amelia proved to be the most popular.
When looking at all local authorities across England and Wales, it was discovered that more than one-third had at least one top girls’ name that was - surprisingly - not found in the top 10 overall in England and Wales.
For example, the name Maryam came in at 86th place for England and Wales overall but was found to be the top girls' name in Blackburn, while also being popular in Darwen, Luton, Pendle, Redbridge, and Tower Hamlets.
This trend was also noted among boys' names. For instance, although Oliver is the most widely used boys’ name for England and Wales, regionally it only came out on top in the North East.
Meanwhile, the name Muhammad had the top spot in four different regions of England, with Arthur being the most popular in three regions.
Noah was found to be the top boys’ name in Wales but, interestingly, only came in at fourth place when looking at England and Wales combined.
In the year 2020, 24.5% of local authorities were found to have at least one top boys’ name that was not ranked in the top 10 for England and Wales overall.
For example, Jac was found to be the lowest ranking top name for a local authority, ranking at 420th place for England and Wales, while being the top name for the Welsh county of Ceredigion.
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