The most popular baby names of 2023 so far have been revealed. The BabyCentre's annual mid-year top 100 charts offer a sneak peek at the current baby naming trends ahead of the final results at the end of the year.
And it seems mums and dads welcoming baby girls have opted for a bit of a shake-up, as last year's most popular name, Sophia, has been pushed off the top spot by Lily - which has increased in popularity after finishing in second at the end of 2022.
Interestingly, when BabyCentre released their half-year results last year, Lily was in the no.1 spot after having pushed Olivia off the top for the first time since 2015, but by the time the final list was published in December, Sophia had climbed from second to first. But now, it seems Lily is once again back on top, with Sophia now sitting in second, the Mirror reports.
Olivia, which once reigned supreme for years, is still in third place for girls' names, while Amelia and Freya finish off the top five. Elsewhere in the girls' top 10, Mila has made its first appearance after a huge boost in popularity, climbing a staggering 31 places to finish in 10th.
Over on the boys' list, there have been no changes at all in the top five since December of 2022, with Muhammad, Noah, Theo, Leo, and Oliver ranking first to fifth. Just missing out on a place in the top five though, was Arthur, which has climbed five places to now sit proudly in sixth, knocking Jack down to seventh.
According to BabyCentre's research, some of the shifts in baby name trends this year could be caused by controversies in the celeb world, as This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield have both seen their namesakes plummet in popularity - with Holly completely dropping out of the top 100, and Phil only having one registration this year so far.
When it comes to royal inspiration, the name Harry has also taken a nosedive in the rankings, toppling 10 places from 13 to 23, while Meghan - and the alternative spelling, Megan - has also dropped in registrations.
While real-life gossip has been turning parents off of certain names, on-screen drama is a whole other story, with names inspired by TV shows such as Succession and Bridgerton skyrocketing in popularity this year.
Succession patriarch Logan leapt up six places to 48, while wayward son Roman flew nine spots to 47. And for names inspired by Bridgerton and the recent release of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Charlotte soared up to 25, while Violet went up 19 places to 47, and Penelope was up 14 places to 60.
There's also been a return to the classics, as BabyCentre pointed out names that were popular during the birth of Gen X are starting to come back around again, with John and Sarah both crashing into the top 100 as new entries.
And there could also be a new naming trend on the horizon inspired by 'cottagecore' - a social media aesthetic depicting a homely, romanticised life in nature.
BabyCentre reported an uptick in nature-themed names including Jasmine, Dahlia, and of course, the most popular name, Lily.
Sarah Redshaw, managing editor for BabyCentre, said: "As more and more people work in the comfort of their homes and gardens post-pandemic, and away from the bright lights of city office blocks, nature-themed names have blossomed. New parents have also been branching out to tree-inspired names Willow, rooting itself at 14th place, and Hazel, which was a new entry to the top 100 at 72."
