If you're eagerly awaiting the birth of a child, no doubt you've been thinking about names. It's a big decision for lots of reasons, so how do you decide?
Well there's a bit of insight in the form of a twice-yearly list published by experts at Bella baby, Baby name UK and Babycentre, using data based on Google searches. As well as showing the most popular names, the most unpopular are also interesting.
In the half-year list that's just been released, showing what's hot and what's not in 2022 so far, Kristen, Lorraine and Suzanne are among those that parents are swerving. Chad, Stuart and Bill are also out of favour.
Angela, Kimberly and Alexa were also way down. Kobe isn't popular, nor is Graham or Gary.
The half-year update showed that Olivia was also not the most popular name for a girl for the first time since 2015, although she could reclaim her title by the end of the year. Aria and Ivy were new entries in the top 10, with Ella and Rosie falling down the list. Sophia remains at number two.
With the boys, Muhammed and Noah retain their place at number one and two, with Jack leaping to third place to replace Oliver. New top 10 entries are Ethan and Oscar as Freddie and Harry fall down the charts.
There are also a whole host of television-inspired names in the charts with some Peaky Blinders names - Arthur, Alfie, Freddie, Charlie, Finley (Finn), Luca, and Thomas were all in the top 20. Tommy was at number 43, Grace at number 14, Esme at 31 and Ada sat at number 51.
While the hotly anticipated new series of Stranger Things saw a rise outside the top 100 of fan favourites Robin, Maxine (Max), Elle, Mike, Billy, and Steve. Robyn, as an alternative to Robin, and Willliam (Will) both climbed up the top 100 while Lucas and Nancy held firm.
The Royals seemed to have an impact as Elizabeth went up two places in the top 100 while William climbed 12 places from 41 to 29. Lily – the shortened version of the queen’s nickname Lilibet as well as Harry and Meghan’s baby girl’s name- was crowned number one.
Zero-registration names often hark back to the 70s, with Kelly, Gail, Brenda and Susie and Keith, Leslie, Glenn and Terry all rejected by parents in 2022.
Sarah Redshaw, the managing editor for BabyCentre, said: "Parents proved they are judge and jury when it comes to baby names as they threw the book at Amber, Johnny, Wayne, Coleen and Rebekah, all at the heart of expensive high-profile court cases. I predict the impact of Johnny and Amber’s battle and the Wagatha Christie effect will continue and we will see those names fall further in the charts."
Boys' names
1. Muhammad
2. Noah
3. Jack
4. Theo
5. Leo
6. Oliver
7. George
8. Ethan
9. Oscar
10. Arthur
11. Charlie
12. Freddie
13. Harry
14. Zayn
15. Alfie
16. Finley
17. Henry
18. Luca
19. Thomas
20. Aiden
21. Archie
22. Teddy
23. Lucas
24. Ryan
25. Kai
26. Liam
27. Jaxon
28. Louie
29. William
30. Jacob
31. Ali
32. Caleb
33. Isaac
34. Joshua
35. Jude
36. James
37. Jayden
38. Adam
39. Arlo
40. Daniel
41. Elijah
42. Max
43. Tommy
44. Ezra
45. Mason
46. Theodore
47. Roman
48. Dylan
49. Reuben
50. Albie
51. Alexander
52. Toby
53. Yusuf
54. Logan
55. Rory
56. Alex
57. Harrison
58. Kayden
59. Nathan
60. Ollie
61. Ayaan
62. Elliot
63. Ahmad
64. Kian
65. Samuel
66. Hudson
67. Jason
68. Myles
69. Rowan
70. Benjamin
71. Finn
72. Omar
73. Riley
74. Zachary
75. Brodie
76. Michael
77. Abdullah
78. Matthew
79. Sebastian
80. Hugo
81. Jesse
82. Junior
83. Oakley
84. Abdul
85. Eli
86. Grayson
87. Mateo
88. Reggie
89. Gabriel
90. Hunter
91. Levi
92. Ibrahim
93. Jasper
94. Syed
95. Zion
96. Luke
97. Seth
98. Aaron
99. Asher
100. Blake
Girls' Names
1. Lily
2. Sophia
3. Olivia
4. Amelia
5. Ava
6. Isla
7. Freya
8. Aria
9. Ivy
10. Mia
11. Elsie
12. Emily
13. Ella
14. Grace
15. Isabella
16. Evie
17. Hannah
18. Luna
19. Maya
20. Daisy
21. Zoe
22. Millie
23. Rosie
24. Layla
25. Isabelle
26. Zara
27. Fatima
28. Harper
29. Nur
30. Charlotte
31. Esme
32. Florence
33. Maryam
34. Poppy
35. Sienna
36. Sophie
37. Aisha
38. Emilia
39. Willow
40. Emma
41. Evelyn
42. Eliana
43. Maisie
44. Alice
45. Chloe
46. Erin
47. Hallie
48. Mila
49. Phoebe
50. Lyla
51. Ada
52. Lottie
53. Ellie
54. Matilda
55. Molly
56. Ruby
57. Ayla
58. Sarah
59. Maddison
60. Aaliyah
61. Aurora
62. Maeve
63. Bella
64. Nova
65. Robyn
66. Arabella
67. Eva
68. Lucy
69. Eden
70. Gracie
71. Jessica
72. Amaya
73. Anna
74. Leah
75. Violet
76. Eleanor
77. Maria
78. Olive
79. Orla
80. Abigail
81. Eliza
82. Rose
83. Talia
84. Elizabeth
85. Gianna
86. Holly
87. Imogen
88. Nancy
89. Annabelle
90. Hazel
91. Margot
92. Raya
93. Bonnie
94. Nina
95. Nora
96. Penelope
97. Scarlett
98. Anaya
99. Delilah
100. Iris
