The most popular baby names for 2022 have been revealed – and it turns out that Royal Family names haven't risen up the ranks.
BabyCentre has unveiled its much-anticipated list of baby boy and girl names for 2022, showing the biggest trends that have influenced parents over the last year.
With several new royal babies and changes within the Royal Family, some may have expected new parents to be influenced by the British royals.
However, even with the sad death of the Queen in September, it turns out that although the name Elizabeth has risen up the BabyCentre's half year data, there hasn't been any increase on full year data.
This is surprising, considering an estimated 250,000 queued to see the Queen's body Lying in State in Westminster Hall during the period of mourning.
Interestingly, other royal names didn't increase in popularity either, including Charlie, Lilibet, William, Kate, Harry and Meghan.
However, even though there hasn't been a surge in registrations, regal names still prove to be quite popular, with previous statistics showing both Archie and Louis had gained in popularity.
Instead of royals, it seems this year parents have been inspired by 90s names, the England women's squad and the reality stars of ITV's popular dating show Love Island.
For example, the name Luca leapt 21 places, landing in the top 10 boys' names, closely followed by Toby, which rose by 20 places. The girls' name Chloe also went up a space.
Luca Bish placed second in the latest series of Love Island with his now-ex girlfriend Gemma Owen, while Toby Aromolaran and ex-girlfriend Chloe Burrows were also crowned runner-up in 2021.
According to BabyCentre, 90s names are also surging in popularity, with names like Gabrielle and Aaliyah, who were huge icons during the decade, making the top list.
It turns out people are taking inspiration from the Lionesses for their children too, after they won the 2022 Euro final, with Leah, Gabby and Alexandra surging in popularity.
Sarah Redshaw, UK Managing Editor for BabyCentre, said: "Love Islander names are definitely parents' type on paper. And BabyCentre parents haven’t been putting all their eggs in the 2022 Love Island basket either.
"It's possible that the islanders' continued fame on social media and more reality TV is causing this surge. We now want to keep a watch on the names of 2022 winners Ekin-Su and Davide to see if they become more popular as they go on to bigger things."
And speaking of the 90s revival, she added: "We wonder if parents are just excited to be dusting off their bucket hats or if 90s babies are now starting to have their own and giving into nostalgia when it comes to naming their little ones!"
The top three girls names this year are Sophia, Lily and Olivia, and for boys, Muhammad, Noah and Theo are coming up top.
For the full list, see the top 100 baby names in the UK for 2022.
Are you surprised by the findings? Let us know in the comments below.
